Thursday, June 2, 2016

Born For This by Chris Guillebeau (Book Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

Have you ever met someone with the perfect job? To the outside observer, it seems like they've won the career lottery -- that by some stroke of luck or circumstance they've found the one thing they love so much that it doesn't even feel like work—and they're getting paid well to do it.  


To the outside observer, it seems like they’ve won the career lottery—that by some stroke of luck or circumstance, they’ve found the one thing they love so much that it doesn’t even feel like work, and they’re getting paid well to do it. 

In reality, their good fortune has nothing to do with chance. There’s a method for finding your perfect job, and Chris Guillebeau, the bestselling author of The $100 Startup, has created a practical guide for how to do it—whether within a traditional company or business, or by striking out on your own. 

Finding the work you were “born to do” isn’t just about discovering your passion. Doing what brings you joy is great, but if you aren’t earning a living, it’s a hobby, not a career. And those who jump out of bed excited to go to work every morning don’t just have jobs that turn their passions into paychecks. They have jobs where they also can lose themselves for hours in the flow of meaningful work. 

This intersection of joy, money, and flow is what Guillebeau will help you find in this book. Through inspiring stories of those who have successfully landed their dream career, as well as actionable tools, exercises, and thought experiments, he’ll guide you through today’s vast menu of career options to discover the work perfectly suited to your unique interests, skills, and experiences.

You’ll learn how to:
• Hack the job of your dreams within a traditional organization by making it work for you
• Find not only your ideal work but also your ideal working conditions
• Create plans that will allow you to take smarter career risks and “beat the house” every time
• Start a profitable “side hustle” and earn extra cash on top of your primary stream of income
• Escape the prison of working for someone else and build a mini-empire as an entrepreneur
• Become a rock star at any creative endeavor by creating a loyal base of fans and followers

Whichever path you choose, this book will show you how to find that one job or career that feels so right, it’s like you were born to do it.

My thoughts-

For the last year I have been working hard to take my direct sales business to the next level, so I have been looking for books that will help me do just that. I was hoping that Born For This would have good advice on what steps I can take to make my business more successful and there are tidbits here and there that I did find helpful, but mostly this book is for really searching yourself to find what job it is you would really like to be doing and advice for getting there in the meantime. I enjoyed it, but found some of the advice to be impractical for someone trying to start a new career unless they were single and without children. I think Born For his would make a terrific gift for a new graduate who doesn't know what they want to do with their life or someone who isn't feeling happy in their current employment situation. 

1 comment:

  1. This book is for anyone who has a dream to do something BIGGER. Chris does an awesome job guiding you through the most poignant process in our lifetimes: What are you here for? If you have ever been asked "What's your passion?" or "What do you want to be when you grow up?" or "What's your purpose" and were unsure of the answer...then this book is for you. Enjoy it!

    Mariz
    Hail Claim

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