Callings : Finding and Following an Authentic Life

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Summary: This is a book with substance
Review: I agree with most of the other reviewers below that this is a fantastic book. Often these types of books are pretty "fluffy" and don't help too much. I've been pleasantly surprised, however, as each section of this book has legitimately helpful information. I feel as though I've learned a lot and been reminded of a lot of things I once knew. I recommend the book to anyone who has a vague idea that his life isn't turning out like it should but isn't quite sure what to do about it. It will help you as you try to figure out what to do and give you the courage to do it.

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Summary: The best book of its kind
Review: I have a veritable library at home of self help and right livelihood titles. After reading this book, I am ready to sell all other titles to the half-price book store, and replace them on my shelf with this one. The author writes some of the most elegant prose I've read anywhere, coupled with unparalelled insights and illuminating examples. Believe me, I wouldn't even write a review unless I were so compelled!

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Summary: Amazing and profound!
Review: I have been savouring this book for the last several weeks. Every time I open the book, it seems that the particular chapter pertains to the events in my life at that moment. I have bought three copies to give as Christmas gifts and I will continue recommending it to everyone I know.

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Summary: i love this book
Review: I have read this book twice already, and am sure I will read it again in the future. It is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read -- the language is so lyrical and every idea so wonderfully stated, often I would go back and re-read pages just to immerse myself in the words. Numerous times I wished I knew the author personally, as I wanted to pick up the phone and exclaim to him how much I *love* reading this book. I often find myself thinking of snippets from it as I struggle with the universe and my place in it. I found some clarity with this book and the author's open-minded viewpoint. For me, it was thought-provoking, insightful and inspiring.

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Summary: Amazingly inspirational book.
Review: I have the audio version of this and have "read" it before. I was thoroughly impressed with it at the time and in following it, opened up many new avenues in my life. I have now found it again at a new crossroads in my life and it is no less meaningful the second time. I am now buying it for friends and family whom I believe will be greatly uplifted by it.

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Summary: This book helps you to find and follow your life's dreams.
Review: I love this book! I plan to revisit it for years to come. It is most helpful in its many affirmations of following your deepest intuitions, and in its how-to methods to clarify a vision for your life's purpose. But its cautionary tales are also valuable. It offers real-life stories and quotes from diverse sources. The references are always illuminating and never gratuitous. The book is so jam-packed with wonderful thought-provoking quotes that I would love to visit Levoy's library and peek at his filing system for this source material! I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is currently in transition, or who is interested in pursuing a life that is guided by intuition and passion. Life is too precious to be following someone else's rules. This book helps you to find and follow your own dreams.

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Summary: something for everyone
Review: I read and re-read this book. I highlighted and scribbled. I sat with friends and discussed passages that meant something to me. This book was a catalyst for exploration and a mirror to other situations in my own life. Read and enjoy the journey.

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Summary: A beautifully written, compelling book!
Review: I read this book a year ago and could not put it down. Reading it is like stepping into a dynamic conversation, with others who have struggled to find a genuine life, and with the deepest parts of oneself. It demands a response, a shift in focus. By the time I had finished, the margins of every page were filled with my own affirmations and exclamations of joy. I wrote a note in the front, sent it to a friend, and his experience was similar. Now he has written a note in the front, and has given it to the first of five friends waiting in line for it. I imagine this original volume in five years, tattered but brimming and alive with not just the voices that Levoy documents so lovingly, but also with the whispers, tears, and HALLELUJAHS of this widening circle of readers. Needless to say, I have sent new copies to countless others, and I'm here on line today to buy another copy for myself. It is a once-in-a-lifetime book.

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Summary: Revolutionary
Review: I was never going to fill my father's shoes when he asked me to take over the family business - he was voted the "county's finest offal butcher" 9 times in his career. That's a lot to live up to and something which may have led to the debilitating aimlessness which has marred my life for the past 43 years. But this book has been a Godsend and through reading it I have learnt to focus my energy and reach for my dreams. Being rendered a de facto prisoner in my own home through my own obesity and a having glass eye aren't going to keep me from Hollywood now.

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Summary: Good advice that can come from within
Review: I'll have to admit that I'm a fairly big reader of self-help books. Many of the "to-do" lists in self-help books are useful, I found this book an internal to-do list. Instead of outward activities that many books ask you to partitipate in to make progress, this author advises looking to your most inner thoughts, your dreams, your conscience, in order to find what you really want out of life. It works. Listen to your quiet moments, pay more attention to your third sense and record the things that occur in your dreams. There is a direct relationship between all of these thoughts and the things that will make you happiest. Interesting thought in the book ... "What did you want to do when you were seven?" Think about it and the level of satisfaction you are getting our of life now.