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Summary: AHA!!!
Review: Something so simple as first looking for the 'Essence' of your work has a very insightful effect. This book was a major break-through for me. Get it. It will get you unstuck!
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Summary: Not for Everyone
Review: The people that gave this book low reviews were expecting it to give them something that it was not designed, nor did it promise, to do. Those people need to buy a Carlton Sheets course or something like that. This book is about something much larger. I personally despise buzzwords like "empower". I think they're cheap and I don't trust people who use them. I pretty much hate all "new-age" crap. And some of the positive reviews of this book border on that stuff. The bottom line is that this book will teach you to have confidence in yourself if you are one of those people who doesn't do well in a corporate environment (like myself-surprised?). No, the book is not going to tell you how to be a millionaire, but that's not the title either, is it? I have always held this book in high esteem above over just about every other garbage self-improvement/money-making book or course I've ever gotten, and I've gotten my share. YOU have to make it work for yourself; what is right for you will not be right for anyone else. That is the whole point, to help you design and FINANCE the life that is right for you. But then again, I don't have any kids to support. If you do, you're probably best off just sticking it out with your job...
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Summary: Inspirational & motivating! I can't wait to change my life!
Review: This book breaks down your fears. Reminds you of your dreams (& helps you discover them if you've been out of touch with yourself). It made me realize that it would be easier than I thought to leave my current job. If you're unhappy with your present situation, this book can help you to "redirect" your energies.
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Summary: An excellent workbook!
Review: This book helped me put the passion back into my work. Having been self-employed for most of the last 20 years, I had lost interest in what I was doing. The exercises and worksheets were helpful in identifying what had been lost over the years, and how to CHANGE my business. I have a new focus, and am having fun with it. Winter keeps the psychobabble to a minimum, and writes a very readable book. I also reccommend her newsletter to people who have read the book.
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Summary: How to live the life you want -- and deserve
Review: This book is amazing, and that's because this woman is amazing. The book has been around for years, but Barbara is still out there, traveling and promoting the joy she has derived in her life for working for her favorite person -- herself.
I met her in Washington, D.C., at a seminar she gave, and in a desperate moment, I contacted her personally and she immediately gave me a wonderfully encouraging response. She practices what she preaches -- she warns her audience that there are a lot of people out there who are altogether too happy to burst your bubble and try to convince you that it is your civic duty to work at a job or company you hate -- and it's because people are jealous and maybe even terrified that you will succeed and leave them to be miserable the way you used to be.
Recently, I left a job and am freelancing. It's tough; there's just not enough work to cover my bills right now. But I am doing it on my own terms, and I would say that reading this book and talking with Barbara gave me the courage in myself to know that, if I want it badly enough, I can make it happen. She is full of ideas of what you can do and how you can use your strengths, and she's more than happy to give you her thoughts on untapped markets -- because, let's face it, she knows that keeping her thoughts to herself won't make a difference in the world.
I recommend this book because of its content that never loses its timeliness. I urge you to find your dreams and run after them, and do it knowing that a truly amazing person helped to blaze the path for you.
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Summary: If You've Ever Dreamed of Being Your Own Boss
Review: This book is definitely for you. Like the previous reviewer, I was always too eratic for the status quo, didnt think like other people nor have the same "ingrained and expected" corporate mindset. This book has helped me see a way to buy my own ticket to freedom. Its good to know that there is a place for those of us who are more independently minded and that in fact we can succeed too....just on our own terms and in our own way. I would *highly* recommend this book and have bought it for others as a gift.
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Summary: Practical, inspirational -- this book has it all!
Review: This book is not about theory. Barbara Winter knows what she is talking about because has lived life on her own terms for 20 years. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to create a meaningful livelihood outside the traditional 9-to5 job world. You'll be informed AND inspired
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Summary: It will change how you think about your skills/abilities.
Review: This book is the book for exploring your fears, strengths, weaknesses, and possibilities for how to face tomorrow and earning money there. It has basic exercises to stimulate your exploration of what you can offer the marketplace, and it provides easily understandable commonsense direction of how to find "work" you will enjoy. I have also read "Do what you love and the money will follow" by Marsha Sinetar. Both authors agree that you must do something you enjoy, but Barbara Winter gives you some direction on how to discover what that is. I can't say enough about this book. I am inspired, and I know that I will not spend the rest of my life dreading my "day job" and working only for the weekend.
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Summary: Fantastic life changing book
Review: This is a fantastic book for the individual who has a gut feeling that something better exists than a 'job' to create a flow of income to support oneself. This is a very inspiring, well written book for anyone and everyone who has had it with the corporate 9-5 nonsense. The author 'walks the talk' and has a great deal of information to offer in this book. This is the first book that I read cover to cover in a long time. For the wanna be entrpreneur...no book is better.
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Summary: a great resource
Review: This is a remarkably interesting book about how to approach self-employment. It is not a cookbook or listing of readymade businesses, but rather a guidebook about the entire process of moving into self-employment.
Published in 1993, some of the information is a bit dated, but since the primary thrust of the book is not to provide the reader with specific current opportunities, the book holds up very well over time.
There are many examples of people building different types of businesses, and advice from some well-known success stories. The book is broken into five parts, each with two or three chapters. Each chapter starts with a relevant quote, and treats a specific area of focus, such as; Doing First Things First, Uncovering Your Assets, Creating Multiple Profit Centers, Marketing On A Shoestring, etc.
While there is plenty of advice on creating and starting a business (or multiple businesses), the thing that I think is most important in this book is how the author deals with the psychological issues. Most books on starting your own business will mention the emotional and mental obstacles involved, but seldom give the reader much in the way of concrete methods for dealing with them. This book gives you the tools for dealing with the most difficult part of running your own business - your own habits and attitudes. Winter spends a great deal of time covering the psychological groundwork necessary to succeed at being your own boss. She does this in a clear manner, with examples from the real world. There is also a booklist in the back with resources for different areas, such as Personal Growth, Marketing, Entrepeneurial Inspiration, and so on.
I found this book one of the most useful in working on my attitude about being self-employed. It is a positive, uplifting read without being unrealistic and full of fluff. This may well be one of the best books around for preparing a person to start their own business. While there is not a laundry list of business ideas nor a lot of technical detail like legal issues and such, I think that creating the kind of mindset that allows one to succeed is the first and most important step in reaching that success, regardless of the venture. This book will be a very great help in establishing the kind of mindset that will allow one to succeed. I think the author's approach will also allow this book to be of use for decades to come, regardless of how technologies and markets change. This information is basic to all business ventures.
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