Finally, a practical, useful career book without the fluff.
Find meaningful work, build your own network of mentors and teachers, and unleash a world-class network through building your own brand.
Most career books suck. They’re written by hacks and box-checkers who either throw quick tricks and gimmicks at you or have you re-do the same-old, same-old from before the Great Recession.
How to Get Ahead gives you a proven system for you to reach the next stage of your career.
With tested, actionable content to help you get ahead at work, you’ll learn how to build your own career system that helps you…
- Find meaningful work and build a clear path to get there.
- Create your own group of mentors, teachers, and advisors, both personally and professionally.
- Get more done without burning out.
- Unleash your personal brand to make people bring new opportunities to you.
- Create a world-class network without feeling sleazy, even if you hate “networking.”
- Pitch yourself for and land new opportunities.
This is a book made to be applied. This isn’t a book of fluff and feel-good stories. It’s not like most business books. It’s a book of action, strategies, and tactics that builds to a system you can apply at any stage of your career.
I know, I used the system myself to go from having no substantive professional connections and growing up in rural Pennsylvania to having a network that is the envy of my friends and peers. I’ve used it to land my dream opportunities and help others do the same. Tested with myself, my students, my readers, and through top-tier teachers, I’ve put the system in this book together to work. Period.
Whether you’re a founder, an employee, a recent grad, or somebody just trying to get to the next stage in your career, this book will help you make that leap.
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Don’t Believe Me? Take it From the Experts
"What a solid tome about how to get ahead in this new world. Times are very much changing. People who are stuck in the old way will perish and in their place will stand people who understand and manipulate the fundamental idea expressed in this book: the future is about your ability to connect with people, sell your skills, and hustle. In this new world, no one gives you anything, but you are free to have whatever you want--provided you do the real work, take chances, and hustle. I can’t recommended this book enough."
-- Ed Latimore, author, entrepreneur, boxer, and personal branding expert
"Slayback is one of the sharpest people I’ve ever met, and one of the few people who has figured out how to break into places you want to be when you don’t have history to show you’re valuable. Perhaps one of the most important skills in this day and age is the ability to break in and provide value quickly, and Slayback knows exactly how to do that, and at scale. "
-- Austen Allred, CEO & cofounder, Lambda School
"Until I read How to Get Ahead I had pretty much given up on career and personal development books—all generalities and fluff, and no real strategy or specific steps for the reader. Zak Slayback’s work is just the opposite: full of brilliant insight and actionable content, and it can genuinely take you to the proverbial next level if you implement it. If your comfort zone has become a prison and you’re ready for a jailbreak, read How to Get Ahead and open that new chapter in your life without delay."
-- Tom Woods, New York Times bestselling author and host of “The Tom Woods Show”
"Zak’s work is insightful, charming, and ahead of its time. How to Get Ahead is a beacon for those who have a story to share and those still trying to find their voice. Zak brings back the beauty of communication that tends to get lost in our current digital landscape."
-- Cynthia Johnson, CEO, Bell-Ivy, and author of Platform: The Art and Science of Personal Branding
"Slayback orients his readers towards developing a relentless value creation perspective while giving them nuts-and-bolts suggestions for how to achieve goals worth pursuing. As the child of working-class parents with no connections, I had to discover much of what he recommends here over the course of decades. Whether you are a parent, a mentor, or an educator, give this book to every young person you know. It is likely to be more valuable for career success than are most degrees—at a tiny fraction of the cost."
-- Michael Strong, Founder, Academy of Thought and Industry
"The shelves are full of career-related advice books—mostly boring, repetitive, superficial, and loaded with cheap shortcuts. Now comes Zak Slayback with a refreshing approach that applies keen insights to building your brand, creating a valuable network, and becoming a sought-after professional. How to Get Ahead is a road map for personal success."
-- Lawrence Reed, President Emeritus, Foundation for Economic Education
"Throughout his career, Slayback has developed unique insights into how our society operates—learning what works and what doesn’t. With this book, Zak has operationalized his philosophy into an easy-to-understand system. The key to success, we learn, is not “checking boxes” or taking life “hacks.” Rather, Zak will teach you to build your personal brand, and staff your very own cabinet of role models. I highly recommend that students of all ages read this book, and learn how to get ahead. "
-- Josh Blackman, Associate Professor of Law, South Texas College of La
"Zak Slayback is not one to mince words, and he is also not afraid of presenting ideas that challenge the status quo. I really enjoyed How to Get Ahead, but the chapter on execution specifically spoke to me. As an entrepreneur who has only been at it for less than a year, I have struggled with time management, analysis paralysis, and poor habits that have crippled me. This book provided me some great tools to conquer new projects, manage my time better, and build a world class network that has led to some profound opportunities. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to narrow down the focus, identify who can help you reach your goals, work smarter and most importantly, be successful."
-- Danny Vega, “The Ketogenic Athlete”
"How To Get Ahead is an essential read for any individual seeking distinction and definition. Where other “self improvement” and entrepreneurial books fall flat with platitudes, and thoroughly out of touch advice for the less resourced, Zak artfully and frankly synthesizes steps for personal development, strategies to cut through a noisier and noisier landscape and be heard. It is one thing to affirm to yourself in the mirror that your aspirations are within reach- it is another thing to execute that belief with self-confidence with finesse."
-- Janett Liriano, Startup Founder & Executive, Forbes 30 Under 30
Available below, or anywhere you can buy books:
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- Purchase 100 copies and I’ll give a webinar talk to your group.
- Purchase 250+ copies and I’ll fly to your group and give an in-person talk.
- Purchase 500+ copies and I’ll fly to your group and give an in-person, all-day seminar.