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Rating: 
Summary: An uplifting book for career changers.
Review: I felt this book was more of a spirit-lifter than a guide to creating the work you love. The author clearly states early on that she will not give specifics on how to create a vocation for yourself which leaves only examples of those who have done so (many of whom have made lots of money before they 'started the work they love'). Positive-not practical. I currently am reading her 1st book, I hope it's better.
Rating:
Summary: Not focused, but encouraging and uplifting all the same
Review: In "To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love," Marsha Sinetar devotes a chapter each to exploring the attributes that she believes an entrepreneur possesses: inventive inclination, authentic focus, meaningful purpose, "figuring-out" skills, risk-taking effectiveness, strategic outlook, and high spiritual intelligence.An "inventive inclination" is simply creativity combined with resourcefulness. Unleashing your inventive powers, she claims, involves asking "what," not "how." It's being open to possibilities. Once we open our mind to creative possibilities, it's necessary then to focus authentically on who we are at heart. "Authentic people are activated by their inner truths," she writes. "When we're authentic," she claims, "others usually perceive us as such and will often go to great lengths to help us succeed ... When we're real, we're believable, credible." Authentic focus also requires focusing on our energy. "What good is it to identify your fascinations and goals if you're too tired or stressed out to pursue them? ... Vitality also translates into widened opportunities. People like to be around us when we're centered and enthused." By focusing on their own needs, Sinetar writes, entrepreneurs find ways to address others' needs and thereby profit. "Meaningful purpose" delves deeper into the spiritual dimension of entrepreneuring. It involves both posing and answering the question, "What exactly do you want out of life?" "No one can tell you what your purposes are," Sinetar writes. It involves moving slowly, gaining balance, poise, and self-understanding. "This is a spiritual stance," she writes. She encourages her readers to grow in their "down" times and to develop discernment, which involves strict self-discipline. She also warns that "conscious choices are often costly ones." It is in delving into meaningful purpose that a rich personal transformation can take place. It involves making honest self-assessments. By "figuring-out" skills, Sinetar implies that "entrepreneurs trust the mystery of the unknown. Rather than accepting imprisonment by what they don't understand, entrepreneurs strive to transcend their questions and limits." This is where a genuine love of learning is required. "Figuring out involves eliminating illusions." It involves expanding on what we want by answering the questions of where, when, for whom, and why, and listing the steps you're willing to take to explore the territory you want to inhabit. "Part of creating work involves establishing a solid foundation of chance-taking skills," Sinetar writes. Wisely, she advises practicing in low risks before undertaking high risks. She writes about creating spaces in which to fail safely, to monitor our performance, to correct and improve ourselves. She then illustrates a stepladder of risk-taking skills, and differentiates risk-taking from impulsivity. "Begin small. Go slow. Build skill," she says. "Prudent risk-taking involves making contingency plans, asking 'what if?' and assessing the probability of failure." By taking small, calculated risks, she says, discernment grows. In exploring what a strategic outlook is, Sinetar writes that it involves first elevating oneself to the point of feeling entitled to have the life and work one enjoys. Strategy transcends a mere business plan, she writes. Eventually, our strategies ask us to think about where we'll find supportive, affordable resources for our objectives. Your decision to study whatever you don't understand becomes part of your strategy. She encourages her readers to research specific ways to add value to customers and clients and to consider how to position your product or service in the niche you hope to enter. Finally, "discovering and creating vocation requires discernment," Sinetar writes. Once the above six skills have been considered, "our job is to unfold." A high spiritual intelligence recognizes that "we ourselves are the work." It involves accepting that we must change. A high spiritual intelligence realizes that "vocation comes as you discover and express your own identify." It views work as art, recognizing that we learn best when we're learning about ourselves. "Almost all gifted artists strive to mesh inner feelings or vision with marketplace realities," she writes. "Only actualizing adults find enough personal reward in such risks to accept the turmoil involved," including family and inner conflict, struggle, and doubts. Vocation is neither about career nor money, Sinetar writes; "it's doing God's will."
Rating: 
Summary: Another approach to discover the true nature of "work"
Review: Often we read passages from how-to books which do not consider the true depth of enlightenment in the workplace. Marsha Sinetar in her book, does not try to prescribe a sollution yet rather lets the reader think outloud about the potential that is awaiting us in a place of Positive relection at the workplace.I found her approach refreshing and on the mark, her open ended questions are helpful and realistic. Less puffery than other "spiritual books"
Rating: 
Summary: Positive, realistic and practical side of entrepreneuring.
Review: Seems the "skills" and reality side of Do What You Love.... these are stories that show everyday people --not superstar Trump types -- in various stages of starting their own small ventures or shaping the life and values they love. Especially relevant to me is the story of Esther, the eighty-something woman who returned to ministerial college at seventy-something and now runs a little spiritual direction business out of her home. More power to Esther and anyone like her. Good stories for adult ed. course, too.
Rating:
Summary: Positive, realistic and practical side of entrepreneuring.
Review: Seems the "skills" and reality side of Do What You Love.... these are stories that show everyday people --not superstar Trump types -- in various stages of starting their own small ventures or shaping the life and values they love. Especially relevant to me is the story of Esther, the eighty-something woman who returned to ministerial college at seventy-something and now runs a little spiritual direction business out of her home. More power to Esther and anyone like her. Good stories for adult ed. course, too.
Rating:
Summary: Not focused, but encouraging and uplifting all the same
Review: This book has been one of the most valuable books I have read on the topic of creating meaningful work. Sinetar artfully illustrates how entrepeneurs find their true vocation in their own wholeness--work as a natural expression of their authentic selves. The catch is...this takes time. Time in reflection. Time in retreat. Time in honest evaluation of one's values and skills. Meaningful, fulfilling work is a spiritual journey and I fear that, in our fast and faster world, a book about slow and stop will be overlooked. I actually purchased this book in 1998, but put it down because it didn't seem to "apply" to me. Picking it up again in 2001, I was ready to hear the truth about creating the work that I had always wanted. I'm happy to say that I'm well on my way. I highly recommend this book as a light for your spiritual path.
Rating:
Summary: True vocation is a spiritual journey
Review: This book has been one of the most valuable books I have read on the topic of creating meaningful work. Sinetar artfully illustrates how entrepeneurs find their true vocation in their own wholeness--work as a natural expression of their authentic selves. The catch is...this takes time. Time in reflection. Time in retreat. Time in honest evaluation of one's values and skills. Meaningful, fulfilling work is a spiritual journey and I fear that, in our fast and faster world, a book about slow and stop will be overlooked. I actually purchased this book in 1998, but put it down because it didn't seem to "apply" to me. Picking it up again in 2001, I was ready to hear the truth about creating the work that I had always wanted. I'm happy to say that I'm well on my way. I highly recommend this book as a light for your spiritual path.
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