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Summary: Sap... pap... crap!
Review: Any more saccharin, and this would make a Hollywood movie.
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Summary: Making a Living by Marketing a Myth
Review: I definitely recommend reading this book. Easy to read with lots of personal examples from the author's life. I found it very inspiring. So very glad I picked it up !
Rating: 
Summary: Condescending Dribble
Review: I found this book to be very condescending in the way that it was written. I listened to the audio cassettes and stopped listening after the first cassette because I felt like I was being talked down to because I had not given up everything in life to go live in a eskimo community or in Africa figthing AIDS in some tribe that lives in the Nigeria.
I completely agree that the path to true happiness is not merely achieving success through becoming rich and famous, but I found it very interesting the examples that he chose for his success stories. For example, in his story of Judy and her business the "White Dog", he portrayed her as being so happy and having achieved such great success through her activism with regards to social issues, but just passed over the fact that she had two unsuccessful marriages and could keep her personal relationships successful.
I feel that the sense of the book is that you have to be involved in these major earth saving causes to find true happiness and I don't agree with that. I believe that you can find true happiness within the walls of your own home just as easily. I also believe that through small and simple things like being kind to others and volunteering in your community that great things are brought about.
I am glad the the author was able to come to some conclusions about how to find happiness in his own life but I felt that the book was very preachy in its approach.
If this book touched others' lives for the better, I think that the author was successful, but it didn't touch mine. In fact, it got on my nerves so much that I had to quit listening to it and felt the desire to write a review to let others know of the condescending airs that it portrays.
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Summary: Inspiration, Not Instruction
Review: I have read most of the reviews and they seem to fall into two camps. Positive reviews for inspration, negative reviews for practical advice or "elitism". If you are looking for a book that will give you a program to become financially, emotionally, and spiritually wealthy, this ain't it. (I am suspicious of any author that claims to do that.) If you are looking for positive stories about people who are commiting their professional lives to improving the lives of others, I think you will enjoy this. I have read and reread this book several times over the course of my career change, and it has helped ease the fear that comes with the transition. I have read a number of meaningful and life changing books, but none of them individually "showed me the way". This book's greatest strength is showing what is possible. Not all of the examples will survive the test of time as businesses. That's not the point. The point is that you can live a truly engaged life in pursuit of the dream, even if you don't achieve it. For more practical career advice on making a life with meaning check out Laurence Boldt's Zen and The Art of Making a Living. Buy Making a Life for someone who is unhappy with work but doesn't know there is another way. Buy it for yourself if that is you.
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Summary: Not enough....
Review: I was a subscriber on Albion's e-mail list some years ago. I bought this book expecting more depth than what the list had. I was looking for a book that would really show how people make hard choices and focus their lives in alternative paths.
I was disappointed and actually could not even finish the book.
It lacked depth. Albion could have probed its subjects, could have tried to question them. Instead, he chose to almost worships them.
Life is full of difficult choices. I personally have looked for books that open my eyes to new ways of looking at things, for in that I may find "my truth". This book tries to sell us "one truth" almost as a one-size-fits-all solution. I don't buy that.
For a book of this type, with life-stories examples, I suggest Po Bronson's "What should I do with my life". I think is more authentic and more dettached in its analyses.
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Summary: Big dissapointment
Review: Making a Life Making a Living found it's way into my life during a time of transition. Isn't it amazing how the universe provides us with what we need when we need it. I found myself out of work for the first time since I was 14 and ready to seriously evaluate my 13 year career as a marketing professional. Mark's book provided me with the insight, inspiration and courage to do some serious soul-searching and find my place in the world. But Mark's inspiration and support do not stop with this incredible book. He continues to support you on your journey through his newsletter. It provides a wonderful source of support and sense of community for those who dare to be themselves in the world. The journey can be scary and the road can be long, but you are never alone thanks to Mark Albion and his fellow travelers. Thank you, Mark, for sharing your journey and the journey of hundreds of others who are Making a Life, not just a living in this world.
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Summary: Real Life Inspiration
Review: Making a Life Making a Living found it's way into my life during a time of transition. Isn't it amazing how the universe provides us with what we need when we need it. I found myself out of work for the first time since I was 14 and ready to seriously evaluate my 13 year career as a marketing professional. Mark's book provided me with the insight, inspiration and courage to do some serious soul-searching and find my place in the world. But Mark's inspiration and support do not stop with this incredible book. He continues to support you on your journey through his newsletter. It provides a wonderful source of support and sense of community for those who dare to be themselves in the world. The journey can be scary and the road can be long, but you are never alone thanks to Mark Albion and his fellow travelers. Thank you, Mark, for sharing your journey and the journey of hundreds of others who are Making a Life, not just a living in this world.
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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: I laughed, I cried, I was very touched
Review: Making A Life, Making A Living came into my life at just the right time. As a big believer in pursuing my business and personal dreams, Dr. Mark's anecdotes and stories touched me in a very personal way. It's works like this that help you realize what's important and what really matters. I'm enjoying the journey every day! Thanks Dr. Mark!
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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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