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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
I read this book at a very pivotal time in my life - a time when I've felt the desire to have this question answered more than any other time. The book doesn't attempt to answer the question, but it was inspiring and uplifting, and told the stories of people who have been in similar situations as I am (and much much different situations) and how they made changes, and what their outcomes were. Not all the stories were happy, or relatable, but they were all real. And they made me realize that doing something is better than doing nothing. Nothing is safe, and nothing is complacent, and nothing gets you nowhere. If you do something, you might fail, but then you can just something again. And again. And eventually maybe you'll get somewhere.
I learned some valuable lessons about making changes in your life, about how it's never too late to change your big picture, a goal is never too far out of reach if you really want it, and that change rarely happens overnight. I bookmarked probably 20 different pages of quotes from people across the globe that I connected to, and I have a feeling I'm going to be going back to this book more than once.
I learned some valuable lessons about making changes in your life, about how it's never too late to change your big picture, a goal is never too far out of reach if you really want it, and that change rarely happens overnight. I bookmarked probably 20 different pages of quotes from people across the globe that I connected to, and I have a feeling I'm going to be going back to this book more than once.
If you just lost your job or something and need to figure out what to do, this book is not for you. If you are a college undergrad wanting to answer the question "what major should I choose?" then this book is also not for you.
This book is for someone who is willing to accept that there isn't an easy answer for a career, since choosing a career, like choosing the person to marry, can have a lot of positives from a number of options. It doesn't offer straightforward, simplistic career advice, it is more of a memoir (many, many people's short histories) with a narration that struggles to weave together an answer.
The answer is more zen than you would like, of course, but aren't all the best answers like that?
Po's writing is wonderfully journalistically investigative and he uncovers the questions that are nagging at me when someone says something like "Changing my job changed my life" and he digs into it to say, it's not just that easy, is it? I am very intrigued to read more of his writing now.
I did find it a little long winded. I realize it must've been very difficult to pare it down (there are so many good stories!!) and he did an amazing job of categorizing them in relevant fields (not career and job specific as would be the easy and mis-leading route). But there were numerous areas that were a bit repetitive, whereas I wish he had spent a little more time on the careers that were influenced by children and parenting (only 3 out of 57).
This book is for someone who is willing to accept that there isn't an easy answer for a career, since choosing a career, like choosing the person to marry, can have a lot of positives from a number of options. It doesn't offer straightforward, simplistic career advice, it is more of a memoir (many, many people's short histories) with a narration that struggles to weave together an answer.
The answer is more zen than you would like, of course, but aren't all the best answers like that?
Po's writing is wonderfully journalistically investigative and he uncovers the questions that are nagging at me when someone says something like "Changing my job changed my life" and he digs into it to say, it's not just that easy, is it? I am very intrigued to read more of his writing now.
I did find it a little long winded. I realize it must've been very difficult to pare it down (there are so many good stories!!) and he did an amazing job of categorizing them in relevant fields (not career and job specific as would be the easy and mis-leading route). But there were numerous areas that were a bit repetitive, whereas I wish he had spent a little more time on the careers that were influenced by children and parenting (only 3 out of 57).
At one point late in this book, the author is wringing his hands in dismay that his actions directly affected the career path of one of the people interviewed in the book. And I'm like, "Oh, NOW you worry about that?" Because he gives advice and ideas and opinions to almost everyone he interviews. I would have preferred a more distant style, without the continual reminders that Po Bronson is wise and excels at everything he does.
That said, I mostly liked this book. It's a question I struggle with every day, and I liked seeing how some people resolved, or in some cases haven't quite yet resolved, this question.
That said, I mostly liked this book. It's a question I struggle with every day, and I liked seeing how some people resolved, or in some cases haven't quite yet resolved, this question.
I'm almost done with this book. I've enjoyed the short chapters—each one a brief glance at those pivotal moments in one's life. I know I've had a few of those "ah ha!" moments that have so changed my course of life and career and I've many similar stories from friends and relatives. My only complaint is that sometimes Po Bronson feels the need to interject herself and question the wisdom and direction her interviewees take which is completely contrary to the spirit of the book!
This was suggested to me by a recent employer, since I've jumped from a few different jobs in my short career. He told me he reads this every year to sort of reinspire himself to keep pushing toward the thing that gives him his passion for his job.
I'd like to say that I found passion, but Bronson's book felt so much like a time-capsule of five to 10 years ago. Many of the stories are inspired looks at how people reacted to their wants and needs in response to what we learned and did in the 1990s, but in a recession like ours, rules change.
I'm not saying the book is bad, and I'm not saying that we can't still do what he suggests; he offers guidelines to follow our heart and be giving and connected to people not in a Tony Robbins way but in a way that uses your head as well as your heart. One of the most telling portions of the book to me was his observation about the work culture of the 90s and how we've evolved. Rather than forcing ourselves into being an adult quickly and then reaching back to lost youth like Baby Boomers, kids from my generation could see opportunity everywhere all the while refusing to change out of jeans and not bring a skateboard to work. For some then and now, work is less a thing that can bring some satisfaction to a facet of a person's life and more something to be put off, to struggle with between texts and feed updates. I feel like he's probably pretty close to accurate here.
What the book is missing now that it had even five years ago was opportunity. I feel like I know my passion, and I'm always taking steps toward trying to make that a reality; I want to be a socially responsible person as much as anybody. But our economy and our society isn't in a position that has lots of open space to allow people to move around and try new things. Time and again I would read stories about people who just decide to change careers or go back to school or do some other thing that requires time, money and resources. I'm not saying only people with huge resources can really do this, but it makes a huge difference as to what someone can really do to change.
All this said, I still mostly agree with his points. Follow where your life and your interests seem to guide you. Don't wait. Make difficult choices and talk to people you don't know. Have at least one meaningful conversation each day. Try things you think you might fail at. Especially in a tough economy like ours right now, these ring true, even if they sound a little bit truist now and again.
Beyond that, Bronson is definitely no journalist. He pitches this book as a biographical glimpse into all of these lives, and fails more often than not to actually give us observation of life beyond a physical description. His dialogue, especially, fell flat on its face for me. There's no way the conversations he quotes went they way he says; moreover, no one's voice but his own comes through. In almost every case, he sounds as if he's just talking aloud to himself, which in fact, I wonder if he is at a few points.
He also promises in the foreword that he tried very hard not to actually give these people advice or interfere in their lives. In almost every single story following, he outright gives people advice and inserts his own observations as the correct way the subject should be proceeding. What he writes in confidence to the reader is usually even more directive than what he actually "says" to the person, which just left me annoyed that the person I'm so interested is not getting a chance to speak for themselves. What must this man's notepad look like? It feels so blank, for a guy who interviewed so many people.
I'd like to say that I found passion, but Bronson's book felt so much like a time-capsule of five to 10 years ago. Many of the stories are inspired looks at how people reacted to their wants and needs in response to what we learned and did in the 1990s, but in a recession like ours, rules change.
I'm not saying the book is bad, and I'm not saying that we can't still do what he suggests; he offers guidelines to follow our heart and be giving and connected to people not in a Tony Robbins way but in a way that uses your head as well as your heart. One of the most telling portions of the book to me was his observation about the work culture of the 90s and how we've evolved. Rather than forcing ourselves into being an adult quickly and then reaching back to lost youth like Baby Boomers, kids from my generation could see opportunity everywhere all the while refusing to change out of jeans and not bring a skateboard to work. For some then and now, work is less a thing that can bring some satisfaction to a facet of a person's life and more something to be put off, to struggle with between texts and feed updates. I feel like he's probably pretty close to accurate here.
What the book is missing now that it had even five years ago was opportunity. I feel like I know my passion, and I'm always taking steps toward trying to make that a reality; I want to be a socially responsible person as much as anybody. But our economy and our society isn't in a position that has lots of open space to allow people to move around and try new things. Time and again I would read stories about people who just decide to change careers or go back to school or do some other thing that requires time, money and resources. I'm not saying only people with huge resources can really do this, but it makes a huge difference as to what someone can really do to change.
All this said, I still mostly agree with his points. Follow where your life and your interests seem to guide you. Don't wait. Make difficult choices and talk to people you don't know. Have at least one meaningful conversation each day. Try things you think you might fail at. Especially in a tough economy like ours right now, these ring true, even if they sound a little bit truist now and again.
Beyond that, Bronson is definitely no journalist. He pitches this book as a biographical glimpse into all of these lives, and fails more often than not to actually give us observation of life beyond a physical description. His dialogue, especially, fell flat on its face for me. There's no way the conversations he quotes went they way he says; moreover, no one's voice but his own comes through. In almost every case, he sounds as if he's just talking aloud to himself, which in fact, I wonder if he is at a few points.
He also promises in the foreword that he tried very hard not to actually give these people advice or interfere in their lives. In almost every single story following, he outright gives people advice and inserts his own observations as the correct way the subject should be proceeding. What he writes in confidence to the reader is usually even more directive than what he actually "says" to the person, which just left me annoyed that the person I'm so interested is not getting a chance to speak for themselves. What must this man's notepad look like? It feels so blank, for a guy who interviewed so many people.
Po Bronson decided to tackle this question by soliciting stories from everyone he could and spreading his contact information around. When stories spoke to him, he got to know the person through emails, phone calls, and visits. Each chapter in the book respresents someone's story and the stories are all ordinary people who (intentionally or not) offered Bronson nuggets of wisdom as they searched for and (sometimes) ultimately found the answer to what they should do with their life.
I love that these are ordinary stories - these are people like me or people I know who found themselves, sometimes through a lot of work and sometimes despite their life dragging them kicking and screaming. This book was very calming and inspiring and definitely left me with a sense that it's okay that I haven't figured it out yet as long as I continue to seek. I did feel that these stories leaned heavily on businesspeople - perhaps because that's Bronson's background.
Themes: vision, life, goals, dreams, future, self-improvement, identity
I love that these are ordinary stories - these are people like me or people I know who found themselves, sometimes through a lot of work and sometimes despite their life dragging them kicking and screaming. This book was very calming and inspiring and definitely left me with a sense that it's okay that I haven't figured it out yet as long as I continue to seek. I did feel that these stories leaned heavily on businesspeople - perhaps because that's Bronson's background.
Themes: vision, life, goals, dreams, future, self-improvement, identity
The aim of this book is grand and possibly very important to a great many people - what to make of your life? How to live genuinely to yourself? Refreshingly not related to religion (although it would have been the easiest answer by far), it's a collection of almost 56 personal stories from different people (the author including), telling how they seemingly found the good way to live. It's an interesting reading, although the stories do not necessarily align in an understandable pattern. I constantly had the impression there is more to see in these stories, but it's hidden right behind the surface, untouchable to the kind reader. Could be the author could not fully bring to life his characters; could be that the guiding structure behind the stories was not all too clearly exposed. Either way, although very enjoyable, I was looking for more than this book actually had to offer in the end.
I'm re-reading this for book club. I'm so glad i decided to reread it and not rely on my memory. This is a book that can take on new meaning, with each read since i'm on the quest to answer the question.
Though this is one of my favorite books, I liked some chapters/people's stories better than others. Po Bronson, (who may be compared to the late, great Studs Terkel) takes us through why people choose the jobs they have. It opens up with a man who gets a letter from the Dalai Lama when he's 18 that says he is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior scholar. So, he becomes a lama. All of the interviews are interesting, and Bronson shows just a little bit of himself as a non-objective, interested participant in this exploration of destiny/fate/choices/life.