Rating: 
Summary: Inspiration for the prosperous
Review:
I listened to the audio cassette version of this book, so I can't judge whether that represents the full contents. But, based on what I heard, I felt the book was uneven and often rather superficial. There was a lot of focus on people like Albion himself, who achieved all the trappings of "success," but felt that their lives lacked meaning and abandoned their careers for more personally satisfying work. To which I found myself saying, "Nice, if you can afford it." Yes, most families would rather have a happy parent who loves his/her work than a Jaguar and a mansion on the hill ... but if one is a single parent with little education, trying to raise two kids and pay the rent, ditching that soul-deadening job for something more "meaningful" isn't really an option. While I feel that Albion is doing a valuable service by helping the movers and shakers of corporate America redefine "success," he's appealing to a rather limited audience. He did include some blue-collar examples (such as his mother, whose story really *is* inspiring), but in general his focus is on the already prosperous.
Some of his points are valuable to anyone. I can vouch that getting a good education is paramount: my own background is mostly blue-collar, but my parents believed strongly in education, so that's enabled me to succeed professionally without the advantages of birth and "good connections." Likewise, I share his conviction that we should live our OWN dreams and not the life someone else has planned for us. And I couldn't agree more that we need to redefine "success" in other terms than power, prestige, and big bucks. But the author's points are undercut by the preponderance of examples drawn from the already well-off: he seems to be saying "Success in conventional terms is meaningless, but you have to succeed in conventional terms first before you can go beyond it"!
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Read!!!
Review: It is widely believed that it is impossible to compartmentalize our lives. Each of us has a unique identity that drives how we desire to create value in the world - our "purpose." Mr. Albion eloquently tells the stories of several people who have reconciled their lives so that they live AND work according to their purpose and passion. I was truly inspired by this book!
Rating:
Summary: A Must-read
Review: I recently picked up this book at the airport on my way to yet another client meeting in a far away city. The stories in this book are profound and have forced me to think deeply about my career and career goals. I know some people have been put-off by this book - "it's just for mid-career rich snobs", but I firmly believe everyone can benefit from reading this book. At a minimum, it will force you to re-evaluate your life and your goals. This is the best book I've read in many years.
Rating:
Summary: Not for Everybody
Review: If you are like Dr. Albion (a talented Harvard Business School professor -- well educated, rich, connected), then this book offers you a formula for dealing with mid-life crises. If you're common folk, you will have to stretch to pick up the nuggets from this book. Plusses: some wonderful insights and quotes in this book. Minuses: inconsistent.
Rating:
Summary: My Dad is Making a New Life
Review: Mark Albion's book has been instrumental in my father's life transformation. Listening to my Dad speak about the people featured in Mark's book, with respect and admiration, was very moving. It was a dream come true for me to hear my Dad admit to himself, with such conviction, "That there has to be more to life than this". Making a Life, Making a Living has given my Dad the inspiration and encouragement to finally craft his life with his passions. Nine months after reading this book, TWICE, my Dad has now begun to make a new life and living, in which his heart and soul will prosper. I am deeply grateful to Mark and his invaluable gift of Making a Life, Making a Living.
Rating:
Summary: Albion is essential reading
Review: Mark Albion's book spans the world of head and heart. It's essential reading not only for those who have forsaken big business to have more control over their lives, but also for those people who have opted to stay corporate and try to bring a little more humanity to the scene. If you're wondering whether it's unrealistic for you to want more from your work, in terms of both meaning and pleasure, then Albion has some important things to say to you. Let this book set you dreaming about your own life and what you want it to stand for.
Rating:
Summary: Why stand alone?
Review: People often ask me where I find the courage to stand alone. I don't get the question: why stand alone? Go out and buy "Making a Life, Making a Living" and surround yourself with kindred spirits, foremost among them, courageous Dr. Mark himself. I pull this book off the shelf whenever I need company in the prone position; and plug the tape into my head when I'm upright. This is a wonderful book/tape and will give you energy you need for whatever your next steps may be. Buy it.Barbara Waugh, Ph.D., Co-Founder, World e-Inclusion, Hewlett-Packard; and author, "Garage for the World: Story of a Corporate Revolutionary"
Rating:
Summary: Insights on discovering one's bliss
Review: There is one great zen saying in this book that summarizes the author's message: "There are no wrong turns, only wrong thinking on the turns our life has taken." Through a combination of storytelling and insightful quotes, Mark teaches that living a passionate, meaningful life is a choice. It simply takes some soul searching, a little courage, and right thinking! A great inspirational read.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring stories; too much success, Harvard, busy-ness
Review: First of all, I would like to compliment the writers of the 32 or so reviews I read of this book before I wrote mine. It was very interesting to read such a wide variety of mostly thoughtful reviews, mostly positive and a few negative. Honestly, I found the negative reviews more akin to some of my own thoughts, simply because I cannot agree with the "everything works out if you just have a positive attitude" slant of this book. I know of people who have refused to sell their ideals to the system, have tried to "follow their bliss," and have not succeeded, and I attribute this as much to the dog-eat-dog mentality of the business world as to their "negativity." If you are a "mover and a shaker" who wants to find a meaningful way to channel your talents and energies, then I would highly recommend this book to you as inspiration. As other reviewers stated, the book does not delineate specific paths for finding meaning in your work. The author clearly assumes that the reader either has his/her own ideas on what work would be rewarding, and wrote the book to inspire the reader to "go for it" through many fine examples of both men and women who in some cases endured a lot of ups and downs to create the work environment they could love, and to their credit, an equitable work place for their employees. The stories in the book of people who sacrificed profit for employee benefits are very heartening, as are the stories of people who sacrificed income for "spiritual" satisfaction in their work. And for those who do want help in finding such a path, the author has a web site and organization that might be useful, though it does appear that his service is limited to business leaders, not ordinary workers like most of us! As others have written, I found myself very put off by the constant mention of what I will call the "H" word, Harvard. The author overuses it, along with the mention of other big name schools, as if he cannot give up the superiority of those institutions and those who attend them. If he had moderated his repetition of cases related to "big-name" schools, along with the glee over the "success" of the people depicted, I would have found the book much more likeable. To write a book such as this an author would clearly have to question some of what constitutes "success" in the world, yet Mr. Albion neither questions nor seems to have a problem with some of the ridiculous excesses of capitalism, i.e., the compulsion to be "successful," along with the manic busy-ness of so many people, which somehow automatically equates to self-importance and self-worth. Over and over again the people depicted in the book are workaholics who probably have no time to question any of what I consider to be (at least partially) some of the fallacious underpinings of capitalism and busy-ness. However, to each is own, I get worth from questioning, and others derive it from being busy all the time. I agree with the reviewers who found the quotes by famous, successful people, which are offset in bold on practically every page of the book, to be "too much" and distracting, yet what I found expedient was to ignore them as much as possible the first time I read the book, and then while skimming the book a second time concentrate on them. I found this quite rewarding and I even made a list of many pithy quotes I liked, and I appreciate the research the author did to compile such a useful list. Indeed these often inspiring quotes are as if a book within a book, and best of all, almost all of the people quoted themselves went against the tide to create their own meaning and "success" in life.
Rating:
Summary: Good book to find your place in life
Review: Dr. Mark does an excellent job of defining what's important in life and, for those of us going through one of the many life crisis, helping us identify alternatives. Highly recommended!
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