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Summary: You may just love this book if...
Review: 1) You went to Harvard or some other Ivy League school, 2) Were handed numerous high-paying job opportunities as a result of your connections, 3) Found the business world frustrating, because it didn't conform to the classic "progressive/ liberal/ socialist" notion of "meaning."If you want to read anecdotes about a bunch of people who are all of the above, buy this book now! If you are anybody else, you are likely to consider this book a waste of time. Removing the vapid quotes along with the words "Harvard "and "social justice" from this book would probably reduce the length to about five pages.
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Summary: A MUST for the midlife career changer
Review: Okay, we admit it's easier to find meaning in your life if you've got money and fame. Still, Albion bit the bullet. He left a tenured position. In academia, that's like jumping off a bridge: once you've done it, you're never viewed the same way again. In my earlier incarnation as a marketing professor, I knew of Albion's work and reputation. I admire Albion's ability to keep a toe in the academic water while embarking on a quasi-New Age search for meaning. When I gave up tenure, and eventually left academia, people stopped speaking to me! I am grateful to Albion for making escapes like mine acceptable. And as a career coach, I sometimes work with clients who want to jump ship. Albion's book is written for the midlife transitioner -- one of the few available. He doesn't paint a rosy picture, just an optimistic and inspiring one. Don't miss it.
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Summary: Very good motivational book.
Review: Full of wonderful quotes and incredible stories of success. It's nice to read a book that focuses on the success of individuals who have followed their hearts and dreams. A must read for anyone who feels that maybe there is more to life and they may be missing out on an opportunity to live the life they want to live.
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Summary: There is no security in life, only opportunity.
Review: The title of this review is a quote from Mark Twain. It is just one of many well-chosen quotes, scattered throughout case studies detailing the challenges that others have overcome in their battles to make a life and make a living. Each story shows a different perspective on how individuals have travelled different routes to their goal. All of the journeys have had their difficulties, making the possibility of turning back seem more and more attractive. A warts-an-all view of other people's journeys recognises that inspirational effects often wear off when you have to pay your grocery bills. This is one of the key ingredients of the book however. It does not attempt to say that the journey will be easy. Rather it highlights the fact that the journey can often be the goal in itself. The cumulative effect of the book is to drive you on, to try to understand what you really want from your finite time. A very brave and sharing piece of work.
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Summary: A waste of time for people who haven't made it yet
Review: I was really looking forward to this book. It's jacket and description are exactly what I'm looking for. However, this is just a storybook about a guy with strangely many wealthy, financially successful and oddly close friends who all have something in common: They take their businesses and careers and nest-egg parachutes and jump ever so lightly into the real world momentarily, and then use their extensive rich-friend networks and executive leadership resumes to capitalize on "the experience". Must be nice to have so much and then leave, knowing it's still there when/if something goes wrong with the Volvo. How do we, the middle-class people ... find purpose in this world without trekking through the Amazon (no offense) on sabbatical? This book doesn't even come close to an answer.
I suggest Gregg Levoy's "Callings..." as a more appropriate guide to those interested in what Albion claims to offer.
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Summary: The Book that MOTIVATES!
Review: Do you want a book that will get you excited about life and living your dream? Then this is the book for you !! "Making A Life, Making a Living" is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It ranks right up there with "Tuesdays with Morrie"! Take some time out for yourself each morning before you encounter your work day or right before you go to sleep, and read the inspirational words on the pages that will ignite your fire! I read this book while I was backpacking in Europe, taking a sabbaticle if you will from work. I found myself completely entranced in this book and truly taking time to think about where I am in life and where I want to be. The personal stories of triumph and tribulation and how each person found their passions were encouraging ----I felt like yelling hoorah for each person! Bye the time I finished this book, I had a clear vision of what my game plan would be and how I planned to get there! I've used the quotes in the book to keep me focused and uplifted. Now is the time to read a good book! Make the time to read "Making a Life, Making a Lliving", you'll be amazed at how ignited you are to live your life even more.
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Summary: Inspiring & Illuminating Ideas from a Fast Company Favorite
Review: Making a Life Making A Living is a perfect companion for those seeking authenticity, passion, and balance in life. If you're envisioning what comes next, or just pondering the possibilities of what you have, Mark Albion's writing brilliantly captures the essence of the balance we all try to strike between "shoulds and coulds" and the age old relationships between life, work, and happiness. ** Why did I buy? The power of the book’s premise illustrated in the opening pages: "A study of business school graduates tracked the careers of 1,500 people from 1960 to 1980. From the beginning, the graduates were grouped into two categories. Category A consisted of people who said they wanted to make money first so that they could do what they really wanted to do later -- after they had taken care of their financial concerns. Those in category B pursued their true interests first, sure that money eventually would follow. What percentage fell into each category? Of the 1500 graduates in the survey, the money-now category A's comprised 83 percent, or 1,245 people. Category B risk takers made up 17 percent, or 255 graduates. After 20 years, there were 101 millionaires in the group. One came from Category A, 100 from Category B. The overwhelming majority of people who have become successful have become so thanks to work they found profoundly absorbing...Their 'luck' arose from the accidental dedication they had to an area they enjoyed." ** Why am I writing this review? The power of an authentic author: I wrote to Dr. Mark earlier today with a question. I heard back via email *within the hour* with real, illuminating words of wisdom. Now that's rare under any circumstance, never mind authors responding to unknown readers. Mark Albion is a true human being who intersperses his work with wisdom from the likes of Coehlo, Emerson, Browning, and Churchill as he shares the stories of real people leading lives of extraordinary excellence and passion. The people he profiles range from a mother who never graduated college but went on to raise $30M in venture capital for a wildly successful business; to the socially minded restaurateur who whose life journey meandered from a stint in Alaska to running alternative clothing stores in Philadelphia; and to the MBA fast trackers who found true meaning and unbelievable success outside of their original planned, Excel sheet-laden existence. "To achieve beautiful synchronicity between who you are and what you do, assume your own shape rather than fit into some corporate box." -- from Chapter 11, Alan Webber, Founding Editor, Fast Company. Making a Life Making Living will be essential reading for everyone in any of my ventures in life, and has already made it onto the reading lists of friends and associates. You can devour a preview of chapter one at: Take a second, I think you'll be pleasantly amazed.
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Summary: Great title, average book
Review: I bought this book based on it's title. Unfortunately, it fails to meet the expectations. I'm sorry I paid for it in hardback. What I liked about this book. Lots of interesting an inspiring quotes. So many infact, that this book might be improved by removing the remaining content, and turning this into a quote a day calendar. It's too much of a good thing, and often the quotes are included for no apparent reason. To be fair, the stories are interesting, but the writing is not compelling. I could not identify with the author or the people who chose to write about, because they all seemed so priveledged. Furthermore, although the author is supposedly trying to illustrate the ethical and humanistic evolution of the people he describes, he validates their experiences with the same values system. Money, status, prestige. He never transcends this. Despite all this, there's something essential in this book, that makes me want to read it again, make some notes, and then give the book away. There is a certain noble spirit of possibility. If I were the editor of this book, I would ask the author to remove over half the quotes, since less is more. I would also suggest that he reduce the number of stories, since by the end, the way he tells the stories is formula. In fact, I think that the strongest part of the book is "Judy Wick's Ministry," and perhaps this book could have used her as a single example. I would suggest two other books, to people attracted to this book by the title. One is Zen and the art of making a living and the other is Think and Grow Rich
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Summary: A Solid Effort!
Review: Mark Albion addresses "successful" businesspeople who feel as if their personal lives are not successful. He believes life is too short to work at something that has no value to you. He presents real stories from his own life and the lives of others interspersed with uplifting quotes from philosophers, poets, and celebrities. While the stories make for interesting reading, this book might be a little too "warm and fuzzy" for some readers. Albion paints a perfect world where all people work at jobs they enjoy, but he doesn't spend enough time addressing the real difficulties involved in making a major life change. The shortage of specific instruction makes this book more valuable as a tool for inspiration than as a "step-by-step" guide to changing your lifestyle. We from getAbstract recommend this book for people who are unhappy with their current jobs and considering making a career change.
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Summary: A Life Changing Book
Review: There are an awful lot of books out there, but few have the genuine potential to change the course on one's life. Influence, yes, but CHANGE, no. It's not so much what the BOOK does, it what inspires YOU to do. Along around midlife, we often begin to ponder the contribution we have made to our world. Is it a better place? Are people better off because I came and worked? And what of the future? How should I direct my energy and utilize my skills and talents from here on out? Dr. Albion shares the personal stories of many of our peers who faced these challenging personal questions, and reveals to us in a readible and candid way, the changes they decided to implement as a result of their individual intellectual/emotional experiences. But he goes further; he shares his own PERSONAL struggles with these same dilemas. If you find yourself successful but empty, hungry to do something significant, meaningful, and personally fulfilling, check out this book. It will show you how others on similar journeys made the changes in their lives that they believed would lead them to that place of peace and contentment. A place from which they might look back on those changes, and say "Yes, that was a good decision."
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