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74 reviews for:
What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question
Po Bronson
3.46 AVERAGE
74 reviews for:
What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question
Po Bronson
3.46 AVERAGE
A life with purpose will beckon all of us at some point to answer these questions.
Are we doing something worthwhile with life?
Is our work meaningful?
Are we wasting it away at a keyboard or in an office or in the air on business travel?
Is this what we imagined ourselves to be doing in not just our adult years but also the very best years of our lives, realizing that working full time takes up at least a third of our waking hours?
Then if we keep prodding, we may hear the imploring of the heart as it always asks the heavy questions: What is our true purpose? Is there even such a thing? Maybe I am asking too much…. maybe just having a job and my health is good enough … but something inside is itching for more, for depth of meaning and a feeling of accomplishment of something we can call our own, a true labor of love and devotion.
With these thoughts swimming in my head at the time when I read the book in 2007, I came across a fabulous article by FastCompany.com. I have shared this article with numerous friends and colleagues, and soon I picked up “What should I Do with My Life?” by Po Bronson. I find it funny and sad at the massive number of people who are looking for answers to this question. The question seems to strike a chord with those from every walk of life, every background, every culture, and every corner of the world.
I instantly loved Po Bronson’s writing style, ever so full of inspiration and awe. I started reading the book immediately but I am not sure why I read it so slowly. I think partly I wanted to digest every story. Po travels around the country for a long time, interviewing hundreds of ordinary people who have struggled to find the answers, people who have made brave, crazy, shocking, and dramatic changes in a life that seemed to be going just fine, perhaps too fine by some of our standards.
This is a remarkable book about the strength of spirit and the unpredictable conditions of the human heart – to learn that you are not happy with the dream job and the dream house, and that you took yourself to be someone else all these years is daunting enough, but to face it and to make brave outrageous decisions to move away from the shackles of daily routine and to pursue the passions deep inside your heart takes the kind of courage that we read about in novels and watch in movies.
Po Bronson found these traits in multitudes of ordinary people across the country, and he tells us about his discoveries in beautifully written tales. There are, we learn, as many paths to success as there are people dreaming up such paths.
Since reading this book, it took me a few years but I continued my search, then resigned from that miserable yet cushy corporate job, I started my own company and I did the unthinkable so for anyone who reads this and calls these case studies more fiction than fact, well, I gotta disagree. You want a different life? Get one! It's that simple and yet not easy but oh so possible! Thank you Po for showing me that even I could make the unthinkable change and break free of the chains of corporate to follow my heart.
Are we doing something worthwhile with life?
Is our work meaningful?
Are we wasting it away at a keyboard or in an office or in the air on business travel?
Is this what we imagined ourselves to be doing in not just our adult years but also the very best years of our lives, realizing that working full time takes up at least a third of our waking hours?
Then if we keep prodding, we may hear the imploring of the heart as it always asks the heavy questions: What is our true purpose? Is there even such a thing? Maybe I am asking too much…. maybe just having a job and my health is good enough … but something inside is itching for more, for depth of meaning and a feeling of accomplishment of something we can call our own, a true labor of love and devotion.
With these thoughts swimming in my head at the time when I read the book in 2007, I came across a fabulous article by FastCompany.com. I have shared this article with numerous friends and colleagues, and soon I picked up “What should I Do with My Life?” by Po Bronson. I find it funny and sad at the massive number of people who are looking for answers to this question. The question seems to strike a chord with those from every walk of life, every background, every culture, and every corner of the world.
I instantly loved Po Bronson’s writing style, ever so full of inspiration and awe. I started reading the book immediately but I am not sure why I read it so slowly. I think partly I wanted to digest every story. Po travels around the country for a long time, interviewing hundreds of ordinary people who have struggled to find the answers, people who have made brave, crazy, shocking, and dramatic changes in a life that seemed to be going just fine, perhaps too fine by some of our standards.
This is a remarkable book about the strength of spirit and the unpredictable conditions of the human heart – to learn that you are not happy with the dream job and the dream house, and that you took yourself to be someone else all these years is daunting enough, but to face it and to make brave outrageous decisions to move away from the shackles of daily routine and to pursue the passions deep inside your heart takes the kind of courage that we read about in novels and watch in movies.
Po Bronson found these traits in multitudes of ordinary people across the country, and he tells us about his discoveries in beautifully written tales. There are, we learn, as many paths to success as there are people dreaming up such paths.
Since reading this book, it took me a few years but I continued my search, then resigned from that miserable yet cushy corporate job, I started my own company and I did the unthinkable so for anyone who reads this and calls these case studies more fiction than fact, well, I gotta disagree. You want a different life? Get one! It's that simple and yet not easy but oh so possible! Thank you Po for showing me that even I could make the unthinkable change and break free of the chains of corporate to follow my heart.
Apparently, if I was once a successful investment banker or lawyer, I can do anything!
A life with purpose will beckon all of us at some point to answer these questions.
Are we doing something worthwhile with life?
Is our work meaningful?
Are we wasting it away at a keyboard or in an office or in the air on business travel?
Is this what we imagined ourselves to be doing in not just our adult years but also the very best years of our lives, realizing that working full time takes up at least a third of our waking hours?
Then if we keep prodding, we may hear the imploring of the heart as it always asks the heavy questions: What is our true purpose? Is there even such a thing? Maybe I am asking too much…. maybe just having a job and my health is good enough … but something inside is itching for more, for depth of meaning and a feeling of accomplishment of something we can call our own, a true labor of love and devotion.
With these thoughts swimming in my head at the time when I read the book in 2007, I came across a fabulous article by FastCompany.com. I have shared this article with numerous friends and colleagues, and soon I picked up “What should I Do with My Life?” by Po Bronson. I find it funny and sad at the massive number of people who are looking for answers to this question. The question seems to strike a chord with those from every walk of life, every background, every culture, and every corner of the world.
I instantly loved Po Bronson’s writing style, ever so full of inspiration and awe. I started reading the book immediately but I am not sure why I read it so slowly. I think partly I wanted to digest every story. Po travels around the country for a long time, interviewing hundreds of ordinary people who have struggled to find the answers, people who have made brave, crazy, shocking, and dramatic changes in a life that seemed to be going just fine, perhaps too fine by some of our standards.
This is a remarkable book about the strength of spirit and the unpredictable conditions of the human heart – to learn that you are not happy with the dream job and the dream house, and that you took yourself to be someone else all these years is daunting enough, but to face it and to make brave outrageous decisions to move away from the shackles of daily routine and to pursue the passions deep inside your heart takes the kind of courage that we read about in novels and watch in movies.
Po Bronson found these traits in multitudes of ordinary people across the country, and he tells us about his discoveries in beautifully written tales. There are, we learn, as many paths to success as there are people dreaming up such paths.
Since reading this book, it took me a few years but I continued my search, then resigned from that miserable yet cushy corporate job, I started my own company and I did the unthinkable so for anyone who reads this and calls these case studies more fiction than fact, well, I gotta disagree. You want a different life? Get one! It's that simple and yet not easy but oh so possible! Thank you Po for showing me that even I could make the unthinkable change and break free of the chains of corporate to follow my heart.
Are we doing something worthwhile with life?
Is our work meaningful?
Are we wasting it away at a keyboard or in an office or in the air on business travel?
Is this what we imagined ourselves to be doing in not just our adult years but also the very best years of our lives, realizing that working full time takes up at least a third of our waking hours?
Then if we keep prodding, we may hear the imploring of the heart as it always asks the heavy questions: What is our true purpose? Is there even such a thing? Maybe I am asking too much…. maybe just having a job and my health is good enough … but something inside is itching for more, for depth of meaning and a feeling of accomplishment of something we can call our own, a true labor of love and devotion.
With these thoughts swimming in my head at the time when I read the book in 2007, I came across a fabulous article by FastCompany.com. I have shared this article with numerous friends and colleagues, and soon I picked up “What should I Do with My Life?” by Po Bronson. I find it funny and sad at the massive number of people who are looking for answers to this question. The question seems to strike a chord with those from every walk of life, every background, every culture, and every corner of the world.
I instantly loved Po Bronson’s writing style, ever so full of inspiration and awe. I started reading the book immediately but I am not sure why I read it so slowly. I think partly I wanted to digest every story. Po travels around the country for a long time, interviewing hundreds of ordinary people who have struggled to find the answers, people who have made brave, crazy, shocking, and dramatic changes in a life that seemed to be going just fine, perhaps too fine by some of our standards.
This is a remarkable book about the strength of spirit and the unpredictable conditions of the human heart – to learn that you are not happy with the dream job and the dream house, and that you took yourself to be someone else all these years is daunting enough, but to face it and to make brave outrageous decisions to move away from the shackles of daily routine and to pursue the passions deep inside your heart takes the kind of courage that we read about in novels and watch in movies.
Po Bronson found these traits in multitudes of ordinary people across the country, and he tells us about his discoveries in beautifully written tales. There are, we learn, as many paths to success as there are people dreaming up such paths.
Since reading this book, it took me a few years but I continued my search, then resigned from that miserable yet cushy corporate job, I started my own company and I did the unthinkable so for anyone who reads this and calls these case studies more fiction than fact, well, I gotta disagree. You want a different life? Get one! It's that simple and yet not easy but oh so possible! Thank you Po for showing me that even I could make the unthinkable change and break free of the chains of corporate to follow my heart.
https://www.amazon.nl/What-Should-Do-My-Life-ebook/dp/B00BFTV08Q
because: featured at American Book Centre (and stefan likes two earlier bronson books)
because: featured at American Book Centre (and stefan likes two earlier bronson books)
While I had hoped that this book would give me a light bulb moment, it didn't, but what it did do was give me the confidence to keep thinking. It taught me that many of the people who ultimately figured it out didn't have a light bulb moment. They questioned whether their idea was the right thing to pursue. They doubted themselves. Their pursuit wasn't an overnight change. So now I feel calmer knowing that just because I'm not ready to pursue my thoughts and plans with determination doesn't mean that they're not the right plan for me. So, thanks for giving me permission to keep thinking and figuring it out.
If you're in the process of figuring out what to do with your life, this book is not gonna help. This book is a compilation of stories that I find inspiring sometimes, but more often I can't relate to them. If you're a white-collar professional wondering what to do next after making millions from your business then this book is for you. Besides, the author can't help putting his narrative everywhere and it gets annoying.
Po Bronson collects many different stories of people trying to answer the question "What should I do with my life?" I can appreciate the enormous effort it took to compile all of these stories and edit them into a collection. Po tends to interpret his subjects' stories and insert his own story for comparison. In some cases, this is necessary; Po encounters quite a few subjects who are in pain and have not been able to really think about the choices they made and why, so it is refreshing to read Po's take on why they might have made these choices. However, Po tends to insert himself in almost every story. The readers, I like to think at least, picked up this book to read about how so many people dealt with these feelings that always seem solitary, not Po's life story. Edit yourself out a little, Po.
Interesting concept, relatively diverse perspectives. can get touchy-feely at times and may leave reader wanting more directives and practical applications. all around decent read.
My love bought me this when I was having a crisis over whether to be a teacher or not. He had enjoyed it a few years ago and thought that I might get something out of it. It's a collection of short biographies collected over a period of years by Bronson, of people who had made decisions that led to more rewarding jobs and/or lives. It doesn't pretend to have all the answers about how to make choices or changes for the reader, but the reader comments at the front certainly indicate that for some people it has worked that way.
Sadly, this was not a book for me. I found the writing annoying - it's definitely not my style - and because there were no obvious applications that I could take away and think about, I ended up feeling like it was just a voyeuristic trip, and one into lives that I wasn't inherently interested in. I've therefore abandoned it, having read bits and pieces over the last six weeks or so.
Sadly, this was not a book for me. I found the writing annoying - it's definitely not my style - and because there were no obvious applications that I could take away and think about, I ended up feeling like it was just a voyeuristic trip, and one into lives that I wasn't inherently interested in. I've therefore abandoned it, having read bits and pieces over the last six weeks or so.
Don't wait for epiphanies, be true to yourself, explore little glimmers of interest.