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My Professional Development and Career Growth Resources
My Professional Development and Career Growth Resources
Why I Share these Resources and Tools
Why I Share these Resources and Tools
These tools are the same resources that guided me throughout my own professional journey, and I share them freely because access should never be a barrier to growth. Early in my career, I often had to build frameworks, templates, and strategies from scratch—whether it was mapping out a vision, building a network, or shaping a career portfolio. Over time, these tools became my personal impact plan: they helped me clarify direction, align with real opportunities, and stay accountable to growth. Sharing them is my way of paying it forward, lowering the barrier of entry for others navigating similar paths without a clear roadmap.
My hope is that you treat these resources as living guides, not static documents. Each one is designed to spark reflection, break down big goals into actionable steps, and help you connect your professional aspirations with practical action. Your career and leadership journey doesn’t have to unfold by chance—you can design it with intention. These tools are here to help you imagine, plan, and build with purpose.
Your career, impact, professional, or personal journey does not have to be "by chance". You can be the architect. These tools I share are meant to provide a foundation for both imagining and operationalizing your future. From there, explore the strategy workbooks and career templates to layer on structure and depth. The goal is not only to use these tools but to make them your own, shaping them into systems that carry you forward in your career and leadership journey.
Where to Begin: A Simple Path
Where to Begin: A Simple Path
Reflect and Assess – Start by grounding yourself in where you are in your professional journey. Read [this article] for clarity.
Strengthen Your Mindset – Build on that reflection with the [keys to success], which outline the habits every professional should master.
Understand Your Environment – Learn the landscape of the field(s) you want to influence and map the key players using the [authorizing environment] tool.
Make Your Plan – Go deeper by using the Life Goals Sprint Tracker to break down your goals into 90-day sprints, and the Grand Strategy Workbook to align your long-term vision with high-impact actions.
Your journey doesn’t have to be reactive. With these tools, you can be intentional, structured, and empowered to design a future that reflects your purpose.
TOOLS AND WORKBOOKS
TOOLS AND WORKBOOKS
- Watch this Masterclass before you request to meet with a new Mentor or Connection
Video: Masterclass How to Come Correct and Master the Virtual Coffee Chat (Building Your Network from Nothing)
- Strategy and Personal Development Tools
Authorizing Environment: A strategic worksheet to map out the key people, institutions, and power dynamics that must support your vision for it to succeed.
Grand Strategy Work Book: A guided tool to help you define your long-term vision, align your mission with real-world impact, and prioritize your most high-leverage moves.
Life Goals Sprint Quarterly Tracker: A practical planner that breaks your big life goals into 90-day sprints, helping you track progress with clarity, intention, and accountability.
Daily Habit Tracker: For those who want to look at it daily.
Core Pillars of Power: Pillars and Influencers
Tool: Divergent Alignment Scorecard / 2025 Wheel of Life
- Career Tools & Templates
Template: Design your Own Digital Vision Board "Dream Life Blueprint"
Template: Resume and Cover Letter Templates via Harvard University Career Center
Template: Alexandria Maloney's Resume Template
Article: Why You Should Build a Career Portfolio
Article: Want to Advance in Your Career? Build Your Own Board of Directors
- Career Opportunities & Networking
Link: Opportunity Board: For Jobs, Internships, and more (Open to Anyone)
Link: List of External Foreign Affairs Fellowships & Scholarships (Also Join BPIA's Weekahead Newsletter)
Website: Design your own physical business cards on canva (instructional video) and upload/print via vistaprint
Video: For "digital" business cards, download Hi Hello App (free); but remember, some professional settings prefer physical cards. (I keep physicals on my EVERY where I go just in case).
Videos: All BPIA Leadership Recordings and Trainings
Motivational Videos (That I actually watch)
Motivational Videos (That I actually watch)
Video: Myles Munroe - Bulletproof Mindset
Video: The Mind - Motivational Video
Video: TD Jakes - Why Did God Chose Me
Video: TD Jakes - Leadership and Conflict
Video: Lone Wolf - Motivational Video for All Those Fighting Battles Alone
Video: Carla Harris - Take the Lead: How to Own Your Power Presentation
Video: Breeny Lee - You were never meant to live like this
Video: Leila Hormozi - Create Systems Not Goals (How to Make Progress so Fast It Feels Illegal
Video: Dr. Thema Sermon on Fighting Giants (Alfred Street Baptist Street)
Medium Articles
Medium Articles
Article: “Philosophy at the Edge of Survival”: Learning to Live When Life Itself Is Under Siege
Article: It’s Urgent for You — But Here’s Why I Can’t Make It Urgent for Me
Article: Why I Don’t Refer People I Haven’t Directly Worked With
Article: When Perception and Reality Don’t Match — A Lesson on Bloom’s Taxonomy
Article: Separating the Good from the Great: The “Keys” That Opened Doors for Me: The Inner Work Behind Outer Success
Article: Saying No Never Felt So Good
Article: What Keeping Your Camera Off on Zoom Is Doing to Your Trust Quotient
Article: They Got Your Email — Here Are the Reasons They’re Not Responding
Article: How I Vet New Relationships in My Industry: A Personal Protocol for High-Value Connection
Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading
- Philosophy and Understanding "Life"
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the 14th Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
This beautiful dialogue between two spiritual giants offers timeless wisdom on how to cultivate joy, even amidst suffering.Ethics by Benedict de Spinoza
Spinoza’s rational approach to human behavior and moral clarity provides a foundational framework for understanding virtue and freedom.Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with My Kids by Scott Hershovitz
This witty and accessible book shows how children’s questions reveal the most profound truths about life and ethics.Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
A profound reflection on suffering, survival, and the human spirit, this book helps every reader confront the question of why we live and how to find meaning in it.
- Social & Culture Analysis
The Moon and the Ghetto by Richard R. Nelson
This sharp analysis challenges us to examine why society invests in space exploration but neglects urgent human needs on Earth.Race and the Cosmos: An Invitation to View the World Differently by Barbara A. Holmes
Blending science, mysticism, and Black theology, Holmes invites readers to expand their imagination of justice and collective identity.Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin
A call to reclaim imagination as a radical, world-building force that resists oppression and sparks social transformation.
Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
A moral blueprint for inner liberation and social justice, this book influenced the spiritual foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. MLK Jr. kept this book in his suit pocket at all times.Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human by Cole Arthur Riley
A poetic and soulful offering that speaks to the embodied experience of Black spirituality, grief, healing, and hope.
- Personal Development
168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam
This practical guide helps you reclaim your time by showing how your weekly hours can align with your deepest priorities.Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz
Essential reading for anyone looking to build authentic, mutually beneficial relationships that fuel both career and personal growth.Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell unpacks the hidden factors behind extraordinary success, challenging our assumptions about talent and opportunity.
- Social impact
From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World by Michael Sheldrick. This actionable guide equips change-makers with real-world tools for turning bold ideas into measurable global impact.
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