If you want a great career in the software industry, you don't necessarily have to move to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Although Silicon Valley is the undisputed epicenter of tech, the cost of living is so high that you can do better with a lower salary other cities.

Glassdoor recently sifted through its huge database of salary information to come up with this list of the 25 best cities to be a software engineer, based on average salary adjusted for cost of living.

While several Silicon Valley cities (including San Francisco) still landed on the list, the No. 1 best paying city for programmers isn't even in California.

SEE ALSO: This is the dark side of being a 'pampered' Valley software engineer

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No. 25, Huntsville, Alabama: $83,242

 Huntsville:

• Real Adjusted Salary: $83,242
• -8.7% below national average cost of living
• Median Base Salary: $76,000
• Job Openings: 269

No. 24, Tucson, Arizona: $83,248

Tucson:

• Real Adjusted Salary: $83,248
• -2.7% below national average cost of living
• Median Base Salary: $81,000
• Job Openings: 60

No. 23, Palm Bay-Melbourne, Florida: $84,122

Palm Bay-Melbourne:

• Real Adjusted Salary: $84,122
• -4.9% below national average cost of living
• Median Base Salary: $80,000
• Job Openings: 110

Dating app Bumble will roll out networking functionality this fall.

Called BumbleBizz, the networking feature will work just like the dating app and Bumble's friend-finding functionality, BumbleBFF. Users will swipe right or left on potential networking connections. If it's a match, a woman in the pairing will have to reach out within 24 hours, or the match will expire.

Users will, however, be able to create professionally-geared profiles on BumbleBizz that are kept distinct from their dating profiles.  

"Our users were already using our platform to network. So, we decided to introduce that curated section of the app to give them a distinct place to do this," Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe told Tech Insider. "This isn’t us introducing random new features. This is us listening to our users, and really inching toward our grand vision, which is to be the place for people to meet."

Wolfe expects that BumbleBizz will populate itself with already-active Bumble users, but they are rolling out an extensive marketing campaign in the months before launch to encourage users to sign up. That campaign will include pop-ups within the app and a social media campaign with career networking success stories.

Wolfe said she expects the app's hyperlocality and informal nature will set BumbleBizz apart from career networking giant LinkedIn or Swipe, a job search app billed as the "Tinder for jobs" upon its release.

"Sometimes when you get on a platform like LinkedIn or similar to LinkedIn, you feel like you have to go in the door with very formal wants or needs," Wolfe said. "We don’t want you to have to put forth very robust terms about what you’re seeking because a lot of the times, you don’t know what you’re looking for. And oftentimes, success comes from spontaneous connections."

And another thing that could set BumbleBizz apart is that it shares Bumble's feminist ethos by giving women the power to make those networking connections at a time when women still frequently face sexism in the workplace or hiring process. 

"Just like in dating, we as a company firmly believe that women and men don’t get treated with equality in business," she said. "We’re doing our very best to be a feminist product. Are we absolutely 100% perfect? No, absolutely not. We know that we have a long way to go."

SEE ALSO: Here's the email Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent employees announcing a significant executive reorg

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A hedge funder has lost his job after allegedly throwing a huge Fourth of July party in the Hamptons. 

Brett Barna, a portfolio manager previously working for Moore Capital Management, was fired after reports of the incident went public,  the company told CNBC in a statement.

"Mr. [Brett] Barna's personal judgment was inconsistent with the firm's values," the company said. "He is no longer employed by Moore Capital Management."

The furious Airbnb owner of the $20 million Hamptons mansion where the party was held is also planning to sue, according to Page Six's Emily Smith.  The owner claims Barna said he was holding a fundraiser for an animal charity with around 50 guests, according to Smith.  Instead, thousands of guests showed up for an event called the "Sprayathon" that was well documented on social media. 

"The only animals there were the people, a thousand of them. They drowned themselves in Champagne ... they broke into the house, trashed the furniture, art was stolen, we found used condoms,"the owner told Smith. "So many people were there that the concrete around the pool crumbled and fell into the water. It was like 'Jersey Shore' meets a frat party."

The owner told the Post he will be suing Barna for $1 million for alleged damages to the property, as well as Barna allegedly refusing to pay for the $27,000 Airbnb rental.

Another source told Page Six that that the party did raise $100,000 for Last Chance Animal Rescue, as well as hired cleaners and left the house in "good condition."

Airbnb spokesperson Nick Shapiro told Business Insider that Barna has been banned from renting again through the platform.

"We have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior and have removed this guest from our platform," Shapiro said. "We are working to support the host under our $1 million host guarantee."

SEE ALSO: Airbnb owner plans to sue hedge funder after 1000 party guests in 'sprayathon' allegedly trash $20 million Hamptons mansion

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NOW WATCH: We tested an economic theory by trying to buy people's lottery tickets for much more than they paid

It’s tough being an entrepreneur. Sometimes we’re struck with brilliant startup and product ideas during romantic dinners and sometimes the brilliant idea we scribbled on our girlfriend’s napkin isn’t so brilliant after all.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you probably think of dozens of near-excellent ideas daily - in the shower, in the car, in the office -- constantly wondering if someone’s already developed an app for your very unique idea.

If someone didn’t, it’s probably not long before your excitement gets the best of you, and you find yourself already drafting your next startup’s mission statement in your head. But in a few months, you might stop and realize that you rushed into a startup that doesn’t have an explicit market need.

Unfortunately, this happens a bit too often. Or, to be exact, it happens 42 percent of the time. In this post, you'll learn four ways to test your startup idea before you ask your brother-in-law for that loan.

1. Check out the competition.

Your competitors are a great indication of the direction your startup should go and what aspects are lacking in the industry. First of all, if you have a viable direct competitor with active users, you know there’s a market for your idea. While healthy competition is always good for a given industry, knowing your differentiator is smart, especially if your rival is already very popular.

A good place to start is with features that competitor is lacking. For example, when Uber launched in 2009, there were many other startups eager to get in on the action. Lyft and Gett were some of Uber’s biggest rivals, but with Uber being extremely successful, they needed something to focus on that would tempt people to try its services as opposed to Uber’s.

For the Israeli startup Gett, this was the surge charges. Since Uber charges an extra fee during prime travel times, such as during morning and evening commutes, Gett decided to run a campaign called #surgesucks to differentiate themselves. In looking to improve on Uber’s flaws, Gett was able to establish a successful differentiating factor, helping them break into the business, and gain a significant following.

Leaping over to a different industry, Israeli startup Pepperi says it has identified a market opportunity in the CRM space for consumer packaged goods companies.

“We realized that traditional CRM vendors had neglected this space so we chose to focus on this blue ocean with a vertical-specific platform,” Pepperi CMO Oren Ezra said.

2. Conduct market research.

Now that you know what the competition is up to, it’s time to look into the market with the same level of scrutiny. Looking into the best methods, platforms and ways to gain exposure is the first step to making sure that your startup is on track to get the right exposure.

This is a great way to ensure that even before your product goes live, you have a leg up in getting your name out there.

Market research comes in many shapes and sizes: direct from the user, through agencies and even by running your own polls.

For example, you can create a survey asking if people would be interested in a potential product using Survey Monkey, and distribute it to relevant LinkedIn and Facebook groups. You can hold a focus group for group discussions to get real time feedback about what people think of your idea. You can also cold call, set up interviews, and poll people in target groups.

3. Try Google AdWords.

Today, we have everything at our fingertips: taxi cabs, movie tickets and of course, potential consumers. There’s a huge community out there, and it’d be a shame not to use the Internet to your advantage.

First, find $100.

Second, draft a few ads. Type out a few key features and the pain points your startup solves.

Third, link it to a landing page, mentioning that your product is launching within the next few months. Be sure to provide a space for them to leave their email address so if they’re interested, you can contact them once you’ve finally launched.

Last but not least, run the ads.

After a few weeks, you should see hopefully some telling results. Is Google giving you enough impressions? Are people clicking on the ads? Is anyone leaving their email address?

If you’ve answered yes to all three questions, then you’ve got your answer: You’re good to go. If not, I suggest tweaking the keywords, copy and landing page and trying again. If you’re still not getting positive results, well then, maybe it’s time to rethink your idea.

4. Test your product.

If you want solid market validation, obtaining a proof of concept is probably the best thing you can do. The results of a proof of concept will tell you whether or not it’s prudent to continue pursuing your startup idea. Startups looking to acquire a proof of concept will find it’s not always easy to find an enterprise willing to invest in the proof of concept acquisition process since it’s been known to be a complicated and sometimes risky process. However, finding pilot opportunities means companies can test new products and technologies that will turn into solutions for their expanding innovation efforts.

The process of testing a proof of concept, in turn, helps startups connect to enterprises to examine how well their product or service actually serves the enterprise. If you're in this stage, then you may want to check out Proov, a Pilot-as-a-Service marketplace.

If you're still not sure about your startup idea, then maybe your idea isn't meant to be brought to life. I'm all about following your passion, but if all of the above phases returned negative results, it may just be more logical to move on to your next brilliant idea.

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Writing an email isn't so hard, but figuring out how to sign off can be a real challenge.

Is "cheers" too casual? Too pretentious? Too British? Is "sincerely" timeless and professional, or stodgy and overly formal?

Perhaps, as Matthew J.X. Malady persuasively argued at Slate, we should just call the whole thing off and ditch the email closer altogether.

But as anyone who has sat staring blankly at a screen, weighing "best" vs. "all best" vs. "all the best" knows, not signing off doesn't feel quite right, either — especially if the context is professional.

"Not closing seems way too abrupt," business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter tells Business Insider. "If you have a salutation, you should have a closing to balance it out."

Will Schwalbe, who co-authored "SEND: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better" with David Shipley, agrees, pointing out that "we don't go around in life barking orders at one another and we shouldn't on email either."

And, manners aside, the email close serves a practical function. It helps "define the personality of the email's content," says Aliza Licht, author of the career guide "Leave Your Mark."

It's also an opportunity to define or redefine your relationship to your correspondent, Schwalbe adds. A shift from "love" to "best," for example, indicates that you may have a problem.

If we accept — at least for the moment — that email sign-offs are here to stay, the question becomes which one to use, and in what contexts to use it.

We had Pachter, Schwalbe, and Licht weigh in on 28 common email closings. Here are the ones they say to avoid in most situations — and which one to use when you're just not sure.

This is an update of a story originally written by Rachel Sugar.

SEE ALSO: 15 email-etiquette rules every professional should know

THE WINNER: 'Best'

All three experts agree that "best" is among the safest possible choices, inoffensive, and almost universally appropriate.

So when in doubt, go with "best."

Sign-offs to avoid in most situations:

'Thanks'

Ask the Insider columnist Ashley Lutz answers all your work-related questions, including the awkward, sensitive, and real-world ones. Have a question? Email asktheinsider@businessinsider.com.

Dear Insider,

I recently changed jobs. At the old job, I had amazing coworkers and a wonderful company culture. Everyone was incredibly friendly and outgoing, and the office was very busy. People genuinely cared about one another, departments ate lunch together, and we shared stories about our home and family lives. While the atmosphere was great, the career growth potential was not.  It was a difficult decision to leave but necessary to in order to keep challenging myself and building my career path.

I'm just finishing the tenth week at my new job. The company is pretty similar at first glance (same industry, size, private and family owned), yet offers more growth and earning potential. Unfortunately, it couldn't be more of a culture shock. Nobody collaborates, and it is quieter than a library. I'm in sales and although we have designated call times, often it will be hours before anybody utters a word. Successes aren't mentioned or celebrated. People don't greet each other and nobody has conversations besides absolutely necessary work-related topics.

We sit in an open floor concept so that makes it even more awkward. I'm an outgoing person and enjoy being friendly and collaborating, so the reserved demeanor of the group has really thrown me off. While my coworkers aren't necessarily rude, they don't make an effort to be friendly or social. I try to start conversations by asking nice questions or seeking advice about a customer account, and people will answer me but go no further. There are only about a dozen people in my building and I've observed and experienced this similar introverted atmosphere with everyone. I'm generally very self-aware and have always gotten along well with others, so I know it's not something I'm doing wrong.

During a meeting with my manager, he's asked how I feel like I'm fitting in with the culture. I tactfully brought up how I enjoy my coworkers but the culture is a bit more "reserved" than I'm used to. He agreed and said that's just the way it is.

I end each day feeling dejected and lonely from lack of friendly human interaction. As much as I'm trying to focus on the tasks at hand and the work itself, I really feel impassioned due to the lack of a company culture and apathetic atmosphere. Am I overreacting? How important is company culture? I can do my job well but I don't enjoy showing up to work everyday.

 Sincerely,

Social Butterfly Trapped in a Cage

***

Dear Social Butterfly, 

Unfortunately, this isn't a quick fix. You've just started at the company and making friends with people can take a while. You aren't going to instantly walk into the office and feel the same way.

Even though it's difficult, the best thing you can do for now is to stop comparing the new office to your old one. It's just going to result in feeling nostalgic and sad. Hold on to the good memories, but accept that this is a new chapter and not everything is going to feel the same. 

You will make friends at your new office in time. It sounds like the overall culture is more reserved, so I'd suggest identifying people you are friendly with and inviting them to coffee or happy hour one-on-one.

Another way to make friends in this office could be to send around a funny article or video clip electronically. Starting a conversation in person is tricky because you could be interrupting important work or approaching the person at an inopportune time. But sending occasional electronic messages allows people to respond on their own terms. 

Don't forget that this is an adjustment period that will take time to get used to. Try to immerse yourself in your new position, and let the social aspect happen naturally. 

If you're still unhappy in a year, start looking for a new job. When you're interviewing for positions, you can ask existing employees what the company culture is like. Try to get a feel for how social the office is so that next time, the adjustment isn't so tough. 

***

Ashley Lutz is a senior editor at Business Insider answering all your questions about the workplace. Send your queries to asktheinsider@businessinsider.com for publication on Business Insider. Requests for anonymity will be granted, and questions may be edited.

SEE ALSO: 'Help! My coworkers' eating habits are driving me insane'

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Work meetings aren't always fun. However, when you're required to attend one, it's important that you conduct yourself in a respectful and professional manner among your coworkers, bosses, and current or prospective clients.

Barbara Pachter, a career coach and author of "The Essentials Of Business Etiquette," gave us a few tips to maintain a positive and professional image while in a meeting. We compiled her advice in the graphic below:

Vivian Giang contributed to this article.

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NOW WATCH: Turns out people make these snap judgments about you within seconds of meeting you

You know the drill: Every business or management book that has ever been published promises to tell you the silver bullet for being successful.

Sounds interesting, but, of course, most of them don't say much more than what's printed in the summary on the back.

As someone who has read a ton of business books over the past few years, I figured I would save you some time and money by sharing the ones that I've found to really be useful.

If you only have time to read a few, give one of these five a try!

SEE ALSO: I took Harvard Business School's new pre-MBA course online — and it is definitely worth the 150 hours and $1,500

1. "Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard"

This is probably the most useful general management book I've ever read.

Chip and Dan Heath talk through different methods for successfully implementing change at work and home by sharing a couple frameworks and illustrating their points using stories.

The best part about this book is that it's simple — I read it more than four years ago, and I still remember their key takeaways and apply them in my daily life.

2. "Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most"

Need a go-to book for focusing on interpersonal skills or relationship-building techniques? "Difficult Conversations" is it. I like this book because it's able to boil down an extremely complicated topic into a set of actionable recommendations.

Going through this book with other people can also be a good way to strengthen work relationships or bounce ideas off others. For example, my manager and I read it jointly and then, moving forward, were able to use language from the book when discussing sticky situations.

The need to exercise empathy is what has stuck with me most from this book — without fully grounding yourself in the other party's situation, it's very difficult to reach a consensus.

3. "The One Minute Manager"

I know, this one sounds like a gimmick, but it's actually incredibly useful in day-to-day work life.

Essentially, Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson provide the reader with a bunch of extremely simple, quick actions a manager can take to better oversee and motivate employees.

It's especially helpful for someone who's new to managing others because it presents a wide variety of scenarios that I found useful to think through before encountering them in real life.

This is also a great book to talk through with senior members of your team, as they've likely read it and will have some advice to offer about implementing key concepts. Advice is structured around one-minute goals, praisings, and reprimands.

Billionaire founder and CEO of Spanx, Sara Blakely, hosted a Navy SEAL in her apartment, per her husband's invitation. Here's what she learned from the man who pitched an oxygen-deprivation tent in her guest bedroom.

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If your go-to conversation topics revolve around work and weather, then you probably don't enjoy going to networking events.

But talking to new people doesn't have to be such a drag.

There are ways to get the conversation going without resorting to irritating clichés.

Check out these 17 icebreakers that will help ease you into an engaging conversation with people you've never met before.

SEE ALSO: How to talk to anyone at a networking event

'Hello.'

A smile, a name, and a confident handshake can sometimes go a long way, says Ariella Coombs, content manager for Careerealism.com: "Sometimes, the easiest way to meet someone is to offer a handshake and say, 'Hi, I'm Peter.'"

'Are you originally from [wherever the event is], or did your business bring you here?'

This question will help you jump-start an engaging conversation with ease because "it doesn't feel like you are asking for a stiff elevator speech," Diane Gottsman, national etiquette expert and owner of The Protocol School of Texas, tells U.S. News & World Report.

The conversation will allow both parties to talk about themselves, which is the ultimate goal of career-savvy people attending a networking event, Gottsman says.

'What kind of volunteer work do you do?'

Asking people about their volunteer work will open up "a world of wonderful conversation," writes strategy consultant Alice Korngold on Fast Company.

Korngold says that she especially enjoys meeting people who work on nonprofit boards because she gets to learn about how an organization was founded, how the person got involved with it, and about the "fascinating group dynamics of boards."

Landing your first job and entering the workforce can be overwhelming.

Chances are, your college didn't offer classes on how to negotiate your salary, deal with a micromanaging boss, or confront annoying coworkers. 

But there's still something you can do to prepare yourself for the tricky world of work: read.

Here are 19 books we think every young professional should read before starting their first job:

Natalie Walters contributed to a previous version of this article.

SEE ALSO: 23 books Mark Zuckerberg thinks everyone should read

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'What Color is Your Parachute?' by Richard N. Bolles

If you're only going to read one book on the list, you may want to choose this one. Why? It covers a little about everything. 

Bolles writes in the first chapter, "In today's world, he or she who gets hired is not necessarily the one who can do that job best; but, the one who knows the most about how to get hired." 

The first half of the book talks about how to create an eye-catching résumé and cover letter, as well as how to improve your networking, interviewing, and negotiating skills — while the second half focuses on how to find your ideal career.

BUY IT HERE»

'Never Eat Alone' by Keith Ferrazzi

"Never Eat Alone" is about using relationships to reach success. In other words, it's about who you know, not what you know.

Ferrazzi, a master networker, talks about how he used connections to get into Yale for his undergraduate degree, Harvard for his MBA, and later, to land a number of top executive positions. 

Based on his experiences and additional research, Ferrazzi claims that networking is the difference between average and super successful people. To help others achieve their dream life, he lays out his exact steps for reaching out to people in his network, as well as networking tips from the most well-connected individuals in the modern business and political world. 

These tips have helped him connect with Washington power players and Hollywood A-listers, so they should definitely be able to help you. 

BUY IT HERE»

'Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion' by Robert B. Cialdini

This book will teach you how to make people say "yes."

No matter what field you're in, you need to know how to get others to agree with you and help you out.

Cialdini explains the science behind doing just that based on his 35 years of research, as well as his three-year study on what makes people change their behavior. 

Not only does this book teach you how to become a powerful negotiator, it also teaches you how to resist one. 

BUY IT HERE»

When you're working hard and doing all you can to achieve your goals, anything that can give you an edge is powerful and will streamline your path to success.

Mind tricks won't make you a Jedi, but using the brain's natural quirks to your advantage can have a positive impact on everyone you encounter.

None of these tricks are deceitful or disingenuous, except for number six, and I trust that you'll only use that one with good reason.

As soon as you become aware of these 12 tricks, they start popping up wherever you look.

With minimal effort on your part, their unconscious influence on behavior can make a huge difference in your day-to-day life.

Related: 15 Secrets of Really Persuasive People

SEE ALSO: 14 habits of the most likable people

1. When a group of people laughs, members makes eye contact with the person they feel closest to.

This trick can make you an astute observer of relationships of all types. It can tell you which members of your team are bonding and learning to trust one another, just as easily as it can tell you if you might have a shot at landing a date with a certain someone.

Of course, you’ll learn a lot about how you feel about other people just by paying attention to whom you make eye contact with.

2. When someone does a favor for you, it actually makes them like you more.

When you convince someone to do you a favor, they unconsciously justify why they are willing to do so. Typical justifications include things such as "he's my friend,""I like him," and "he seems like the kind of person who would return the favor."

These justifications serve you perfectly. Not only did you just get help with something, but the other party also likes you more than they did before.

3. Silence gets answers.

When you ask someone a question and they're slow to respond, don't feel pressure to move the conversation forward. Remaining silent plays to your advantage. Moments of silence make people feel as though they should speak, especially when the ball is in their court.

This is a great tool to use in negotiations and other difficult conversations. Just make certain you resist the urge to move the conversation forward until you get your answer.

In today's business world, leaders are emerging at all ranks. The role of the leader is not exclusive to executive-level positions. 

But being a great leader doesn't have to mean going to management school.

You can emerge as an effective trailblazer in your office by being true to yourself and constantly learning from the information that is at your fingertips.

Start by watching these short lectures and embodying their lessons.

SEE ALSO: 10 TED Talks that will make you smarter about business

1. Carol Dweck: The Power of Believing That You Can Improve.

Unleash potential in yourself and in those you lead by encouraging a growth — rather than fixed — mindset.

In this talk, Dweck discusses the power of students receiving a "Not Yet" grade versus a failing grade — it increased their motivation and ability to succeed.

In another talk about mindset, Charlie Reeve found that employees with a growth mindset were constantly looking to adapt and to grow in their professional and personal worlds; they didn't believe that their talents and futures were predetermined.

Think about how you can shift your mindset to be more growth oriented. Now, imagine the results if you helped your peers and employees shift their mindset as well.

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2. Sam Richards: A Radical Experiment in Empathy.

This is, as the title suggests, a radical and often misunderstood TED Talk about the importance of putting ourselves in others' shoes.

Not only is empathy a quality of being a good person, it is also key to being a great leader.

It helps us understand how to better communicate with and understand our superiors, peers, and employees. Do not underestimate this key characteristic. 

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3. Angela Lee Duckworth: The Key To Success? Grit.

Duckworth defines grit as "passion and perseverance for long-term goals."

Grit is one of those intangible concepts that we still know very little about, but one thing is clear: The grittier we are, the more successful we become.

This is just another reason to find your true passion and purpose in life and truly dedicate yourself to it. 

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Books suck. No question about it, almost everyone who writes a book is a crappy writer. 

And this is a good thing. 

It's because the writer spent his life getting GOOD at what he was writing about. He didn't spend his life being good at writing. 

He didn't spend his life typing. He ran a country. Or built a robot. Or discovered DNA or walked between the twin towers. 

He or She DID something. Something that changed lives. Something that went from his or her head out into the real world. 

But that's OK. There are a few good books out there. 

I like reading billion-person books. Books, that if read widely, would change a billion lives. 

I like reading books where I feel my brain have an IQ orgasm. Like, I literally feel my IQ go up while reading the book. 

And, (please let me stick with this metaphor one more sentence), I might have a little brain-child that turns into my own special idea or book after reading a great book. 

Before I give my list, I want to mention there are three kinds of non-fiction books: (and I'm only dealing with non-fiction. Fiction is another category). 

Business card books: 

These are books like "How to be a leader". 

They establish the author as an expert. The author then uses this book to get speaking gigs or coaching or consulting gigs. 

These books usually suck. Don't read one. But nothing wrong with writing one. 

In fact, writing one might be desperately important to your career. 

Books that should be chapters: 

A publisher will see an article somewhere like, "12 ways to become smarter" and say, "that should be a book". 

Then the writer mistakenly says, "ok" and he has to undergo the agony of changing something that was a perfectly good 2000 word article into a 60,000 word book. 

Those books suck. Don't read one. And DEFINITELY don't write one. Unless you want to waste a year of your life. I wasted 2004-2009 doing that. 

Braingasm books:

Here's my top 10 list of braingasm books. Books that will raise your IQ between the time you start and the time you end. 

By the way, there are more than 10 of these books. This is just my TOP 10. Although not really in that order. It's hard for a small mind like mine to order these.

[Note: I KNOW, Jeff, that I have a monthly book club. Don't yell at me!

But this is separate. That's 10 books A MONTH.

This is my top 10 of ALL TIME, although it might change. In fact, I know it's going to change tomorrow. I'm reading a good book right now. 

Sometimes it changes everyday.]. 

SEE ALSO: A Wharton professor recommends 7 books everyone should read

"Mastery" by Robert Greene

This book is like a curated version of 1,000 biographies all under the guise, "how to become a master at what you love." 

"Bold" by Peter Diamondis and Steven Kotler

Basically if you want to know the future, read this. 

Supplement it with "Abundance" by the same two and "Tomorrowland" by Steven Kotler" and even "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley. 

I feel "Abundance" is like a sequel to "The Rational Optimist". So I'm giving you four books with one recommendation. 

"Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell is not the first person to come up with the 10,000 hour rule. Nor is he the first person to document what it takes to become the best in the world at something. 

But his stories are so great as he explains these deep concepts. 

How did the Beatles become the best? Why are professional hockey players born in January, February and March? 

And so on.

Ask the Insider columnist Ashley Lutz answers all your work-related questions, including the awkward, sensitive, and real-world ones. Have a question? Email asktheinsider@businessinsider.com.

Dear Insider,

I have been at the same restaurant industry job for five years. I always liked my job. That is, until one of my coworkers became completely obsessed with Donald Trump.

He is always sending us articles in the group text and berating people who try to disagree with him. I disagree with Trump's views and get emotional when this stuff comes up. But he becomes even more of a bully if you try to say something. I have asked him (nicely) to stop, but he doesn't listen. 

Now I am dreading work and starting to lash out more. 

What can I do? 

Sincerely,

Tired Of Politics At Work

***

Dear Tired:

You are correct in your feeling that the workplace should be a politics-free zone. 

"The general guideline for talking politics in the office? Don't do it,"Barbara Pachter, a career expert and author of The Essentials of Business Etiquette: How to Greet, Eat, and Tweet Your Way to Success, told Business Insider. 

Talking about politics at work is a don't because it can make people uncomfortable (as you are) and change their perception of you. 

According to Pachter, you have a few safe options for staying sane. 

The first is to politely excuse yourself when politics come up in the office. Simply say, "sorry I've got to go!" and walk away. 

You can also try changing the subject in a non-confrontational way. Bring it back to work by saying something like "Did you see the memo our boss sent around?" or "What's the plan for the next happy hour?" 

If those methods don't work, you can try lightly saying "Don't go there; I'm done talking about this!" in a light, joking tone and walking away. 

If the softer approaches fail, you can have a more serious conversation with your coworker. Tell him you're uncomfortable discussing politics in the office and would rather focus on your job. 

And as a last resort, you could try going to your manager and suggesting a policy on discussing politics in the office. 

Almost everyone feels uncomfortable discussing politics at work. You shouldn't have to deal with it. 

Ashley Lutz is a senior editor at Business Insider answering all your questions about the workplace. Send your queries to asktheinsider@businessinsider.com for publication on Business Insider. Requests for anonymity will be granted, and questions may be edited.

SEE ALSO: 'Help! My coworkers' eating habits are driving me insane'

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In a desperate time Chris Froome once resorted to a desperate measure.

As the now three-time Tour de France winner revealed in his autobiography, "The Climb," Froome once impersonated a Kenyan cycling official, using the man's email username and password to get his résumé into the right hands.

It was 2006, and Froome, who was born and raised in Nairobi, was racing as an amateur for Kenya's national cycling federation. The up-and-coming talent, who aspired to race abroad, found himself caught in a power struggle between his mentor, David Kinjah, and the federation's president, Julius Mwangi. Froome sided with Kinjah.

Froome was hungry to prove himself on the big stage in Europe, the hotbed of world cycling. He believed that if given the chance, he could prove his mettle and land a contract with a pro team. But to get an invite to Europe he needed to get his résumé in front of the right person — or into the right inbox. And he knew it would be a waste of time trying to do that with Mwangi.

One day Froome saw an opportunity. As he writes in "The Climb," he was in Cairo competing in the Tour of Egypt when Mwangi asked Froome to help him out with some administrative tasks.

Mwangi gave Froome his email username and password.

Here's Froome recalling the situation in chapter nine of his book:

"I thought it was odd that he had given me this information; he knew that I was a good friend of Kinjah's. Regardless of the peculiarity, I sat there and typed out the few emails he wanted done. They were administrative tasks to be sent to various people, and there was nothing of any significance. Mr. Mwangi wasn't too confident of his written English, so I assumed he had found a good use for his spare mzungu. I made a mental note of the login details.

"After Egypt and after Melbourne I had an idea.

"I had already begun sending out my CV to cycling teams in Europe. A two-pager that I had typed up, which included all of my results from everywhere I had been racing in Africa, together with a few photos pasted on the side. I thought it looked great. In the back of my mind I was aware that European cycling teams were really only interested in seeing CVs which provided evidence of having raced in Europe. A few people got back to me and asked that very question. 'Have you done any races in Europe, sonny?'

"I thought that if I did the Under-23 World Championships in September, in the city of Salzburg, which was definitely in Europe, it might be a giant step towards becoming a professional. Things were bad between the Kenyan Federation and the Safari Simbaz. Asking the Federation to enter me into the race and fund me to get there would be a waste of time. They knew I was on Kinjah's side.

"So I sat down and logged on to the Federation email address. Posing as Julius Mwangi, I wrote a short letter to the UCI, informing them that I would like to enter Christopher Froome, one of my country's most promising Under-23 riders, into the World Championships at that grade in the autumn. Thank you.

"Mr Mwangi, I am sorry I impersonated you. To be fair, I did mention it all vaguely before I left. That time when I said I had 'sorted something out.'"

Froome's plan worked, and he got to Salzburg.

There, he competed in the 2006 under-23 world championship time trial and road race. The TT started with a mini disaster when Froome crashed rather dramatically into a race official on the course, but he finished a pretty impressive 36th. He did well in the road race, finishing 45th and better than several future stars of the sport.

The next year, Froome turned pro at age 22 with Konica-Minolta before joining the Barloworld team and moving to Europe. This past Sunday, 10 years after posing as Mwangi, Froome won the world's biggest bicycle race for the third time. In his neo-pro year with Barloworld, he earned 22,500 euros a year; now he makes $5 million with Sky.

Impersonating Mwangi helped Froome get to Europe, where he got to compete against the world's best on pro cycling's biggest stage, the one he now rules. Importantly, it gave him the confidence he needed to pursue cycling. Career-wise, it turned out to be one of the best moves Froome has ever made.

 Who is Chris Froome?

 Chris Froome is using these weird chainrings

 After Froome cut back on carbs for more protein, he lost 20 pounds, started winning the Tour de France, and became a millionaire

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Ever wish you could drop everything to just roam around the country drinking beer? Your dream job has arrived.

The Smithsonian Institute is currently hiring an individual to quite literally travel around the US, sipping beer and researching the history of American brewing along the way, the Washington City Paper reports. 

Last week, the Institute posted a job opening for a "Historian/Scholar, American Brewing History Initiative." (It's part of the Smithsonian's ongoing Food History project at the National Museum of American History.) The position last for three years and pays an annual salary of $64, 650 — plus benefits. 

Now for the sobering news: The application is technically open to all, but the Smithsonian is looking for a pro historian and/or scholar with experience in the field and "an advanced degree in American business, brewing, food, cultural, or similar specialization within history," according to the application. The Historian/Scholar will also be tasked with developing museum content and programs based on his or her research. 

Want to live the dream? The application instructions are right here. But hurry: the deadline is August 10. 

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Click here to apply for this position

We're hiring a Senior Research Analyst to lead our Payments research team, as part of our growing team at Business Insider Intelligence. Candidates will have 3-5 years of relevant work experience.

We’re looking for a Senior Research Analyst with a vision for how to make our payments research products more exciting and insightful than anything else on the market. If you have strong research experience, a knack for story telling, and a passion for payments, this is a great role for you. 

The Senior Research Analyst will set the Payments research agenda and manage and mentor a team of analysts, ensuring the delivery of quality, forward-looking analysis to our clients. 

The Senior Research Analyst will work closely with BI Intelligence’s editorial team to produce insightful in-depth reports and data-driven analyses on the most impactful trends shaping the payments industry. Areas of coverage include: mobile payments, P2P payments, remittances, payments security, mPOS and others.

She or he will represent BI Intelligence at leading industry events and be able to identify and extract what our clients need to know about emerging trends, disruptive technologies, and the digital landscape.

About BI Intelligence

BI Intelligence is a fast-growing research service from Business Insider. BI Intelligence offers insights essential to companies making strategic decisions across the mobile, digital media, e-commerce, Internet of Things, payments, and digital financial services industries. Our clients are Fortune 1000 companies, startups, advertising agencies, investment firms, and media conglomerates that have come to rely on our timely, forward-looking insights to keep atop of trends shaping the digital landscape.

Desired Skills

• Thorough understanding of the payments industry and broader financial services
• Track record of clear and concisely-written research covering complex topics
• Ability to quickly sort through masses of information, identify data-driven trends, and understand what really matters and why
• Excellent management and communication skills
• Desire to work in fast-paced and fast-changing environment
• Ability to develop and defend actionable insights and conclusions
• Comfort and experience presenting, speaking at conferences or on panels, or the desire to further develop these skills
• Proficiency with excel, data, and charts
• 4-6 years of professional writing / research experience
• Experience with advanced statistical methods, writing syntax/queries, and/or programming languages is helpful but not required

If this is the right opportunity for you, please apply online and tell us why you’re a good fit for the role. Thanks in advance! 

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If your go-to conversation topics revolve around work and weather, then you probably don't enjoy going to networking events.

But talking to new people doesn't have to be such a drag.

There are ways to get the conversation going without resorting to irritating clichés.

Check out these 19 icebreakers that will help ease you into an engaging conversation with people you've never met before.

This is an update of an article originally written by Natalie Walters.

SEE ALSO: How to talk to anyone at a networking event

'Hello'

A smile, a name, and a confident handshake can sometimes go a long way, says Ariella Coombs, content manager for Careerealism.com: "Sometimes, the easiest way to meet someone is to offer a handshake and say, 'Hi, I'm Peter.'"

'Are you originally from [whatever city the event is in], or did your business bring you here?'

This question will help you jump-start an engaging conversation with ease because "it doesn't feel like you are asking for a stiff elevator speech," Diane Gottsman, national etiquette expert and owner of The Protocol School of Texas, tells U.S. News & World Report.

The conversation will allow both parties to talk about themselves, which is the ultimate goal of career-savvy people attending a networking event, Gottsman says.

'What motivated you to come to this event?'

Rather than asking the classics like "What's your name?" or "What do you do?" Darrah Brustein of Network Under 40/Finance Whiz Kids tells Inc. that she likes to ask what motivated an attendee to come to the event.

The answer to this question will give you insight into your conversation partner's career goals, and you may even find that you can help them to achieve those goals, Brustein says.