Getting Comfortable... ??

Now more than ever it's important to improve your technical, professional, and soft skills. The landscape is more competitive than ever, and the technologies shaping our world are evolving more quickly than at any other point in history.  This isn't a time to get comfortable with your knowledge set. Take the time to invest in yourself and reap the benefits.

Watch a Video!
Quickest way to get up to speed on a number of technologies? YouTube. Check it out! Seriously. For example, check out Chad Sakac's videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/sakacc.

Attend a Webcast!
Maybe you missed one? Want to check out topics that have presented before? Check out http://www.brighttalk.com. 

Try Hands on Labs!
Hands on Labs are growing in popularity because they can be managed easier with cloud platforms and reset instantly, allowing the resources used for someone else to be released as a baby-powder fresh clean slate for your learning pleasure.

Grab a book!

This is the list of books I've been giving students for years. Full disclosure - two of these are mine. They were written to give IT professionals a kickstart with a different skillset.

• Security and Auditing
• IT Auditing: Using Controls to Protect Information Assets
• Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World
• Counter Hack Reloaded: A Step-by-Step Guide to Computer Attacks and Effective Defenses (2nd Edition)
• Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition
• Hacking Exposed Computer Forensics: Computer Forensics Secrets & Solutions
• Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C
• The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
• Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems
• The New School of Information Security
• Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World
   
• Professional and Soft Skills
• The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
• A Survival Guide for Working With Humans: Dealing With Whiners, Back-Stabbers, Know-It-Alls, and Other Difficult People
• Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
• The Million Dollar Toolbox: A Blueprint for Transforming Your Life & Your Career with Powerful Communication Skills
   
• Technical Sales
• Mastering Technical Sales: The Sales Engineer's Handbook
• Great Demo!: How To Create And Execute Stunning Software Demonstrations
• Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets