[.ca] What Should I Do With My Life? (ISBN 0099437996)

From Amazon.com:
In What Should I Do with my Life? Po Bronson manages to create a career book that is a page-turner. His 50 vivid profiles of people searching for "their soft spot--their true calling" will engage readers because Bronson is asking himself the same question. He explores his premise, that "nothing is braver than people facing up to their own identity," as an anthropologist and autobiographer. He tackles thorny, nuanced issues about self-determination. Among them: paradoxes of money and meaning, authorship and destiny, brain candy and novelty versus soul food. Bronson's stories, limited to professional people and complete with photos, are gems. They include a Los Angeles lawyer who became a priest, a Harvard MBA catfish farmer turned biotech executive, and a Silicon Valley real estate agent who opened a leather crafts factory in Costa Rica. Bronson is a gifted intuitive writer, the bestselling author of The Nudist on the Late Shift, whose thoughtful, vulnerable voice emerges as the book's greatest strength and challenge. He describes his subject's lives along with the ways they annoy, puzzle, and worry him. He frets about meddling with his questions, yet once, memorably and appropriately, he offers a talented man a top post in his publishing company. While this creates the juiciness of his portraits, it also can make Bronson the book's most memorable character and the only one whose story is not resolved. Even so, this remarkable career chronicle sets the gold standard for the worth of the examined life. --Barbara Mackoff

What Should I Do...Me, Me , Me!:
· The book makes the central mistake of all the "self-help" that has perpetuated our culture since the 1970's, from Dr. Phil's book "Self Matters," to Joseph Campbell's mantra of "follow your bliss," to Bradley Grieve's fuzzy pictorial "The Meaning to Life," to even Robert DiNeiro's lament of "wasted talent" in his film A Bronx Tale: that narcissism is the way to meaning and happiness. Bronson and these authors often poo-poo those who choose (and stick with) a stready, less-satisfaying job. But these are the folks who can support their families and contribute needed services and taxes to the economy. For those making good salaries, they support charities (which need $ more than our bodies), move their families to safe neighborhoods, and put their kids through a good college. I'd give all these people a medal, frankly. · Here's the myths Bronson perpetuates through his book, IMO: MYTH 1: career is your central medium for achieving happiness, and fulfilling your purpose in life MYTH 2: duty and responsibility are "shackles" that are holding you back from being truly happy. MYTH 3: if the "job" aspect of your life is not fulfilling, you have failed or at best, lost or misguided. · Bronson terribly embellished most of the profiles in the book. Many of the interviewees have come forward complaining, and other aspects of their life (mostly privileged) have come out since publication. · It doesn't follow the people long-term. · And lastly...The book is somewhat nauseating due to Po Bronson's love for...Po Bronson! I got the impression he thinks he knows more than the people he's profiling (read the NY Times Review at their website for best examples). Hard to take a guy seriously for career advice when he's in his early 30's and loaded in $ from a trust fund and can do whatever he wants. Put him out there as a starving Writer (which nearly all are who do it full-time) for a year and watch him go back to his former cushy Wall Street job, stat. (sorry, my cynical New Yorker side has come out). I'd recommend "The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?" It came out the same time as Bronson's book and offers a different recommendation: service to others and thinking outside yourself is what it's all about. It is a Christian book, and I don't adhere to all it's recommendations, but it helped me to stop focusing inward (which I discovered is the best way to get really depressed and hate your job). Interestng to note that one of the most consistent findings in psychological research is the relationship between happiness and helping others. And you don't need to be a Mother Teresa to do that, just do it day-to-day. I'd also consider the work of the late Donald Super (Godfather of Counseling Psychology) who defined "Career" as one's "Life," encompassing all our "work roles": job, family, friend, citizen, steward, parent, volunteer, child, church member, activist, hobbyist, etc, etc. Although many of these roles you have not embarked upon yet (or forced on to you yet!), it is freeing to remember that you do not have to achieve a "calling" in just your career, but rather, through contributions from all aspects of your life. Although ironic, that's actually easier to do. It's less of shock to your system too: Po Bronson made a public apology after many read his book, quit their stable jobs for Internet start-ups, and promptly lost their livelihood after the Tech Bubble! Thanks, Po. Hey, I'm sounding like Po Bronson now! A 30-something geek telling you about the meaning to life. I better close now and go back to my own Mid-Life Crisis.

What I Needed When I Needed It:
I was in an airport when I saw it; the question that has been on my mind for the past year, staring back at me from the cover of a book at the airport newstand. It was Po Bronson's book, "What Should I Do With My Life?" I thought about buying it, but didn't at the momement because I had a plane to catch. But I thought about it on the flight home, and downloaded the e-book to read on my PDA. I actually like that it's not a self help book. I'm not naive enough to think that any one book can tell me what to do with my life, or how to find my purpose or calling. I did find it comforting to know that I'm not the only one struggling with this question, and I was grateful to hear how other people approached this question. I could see some of myself in them, and some of their stories in mine. Until this book, I was beginning to think of myself--a 35 year old gay dad--as a late bloomer. Now I think that I haven't bloomed yet, but I'm not late. Bottom line, if you're looking for a book to give you the answers, this isn't it, and good luck finding it. But if you're looking for stories about how other people approached this question, I'd recommend this book.

What Should I Do...Me, Me. Me!:
· The book makes the central mistake of all the "self-help" that has perpetuated our culture since the 1970's, from Dr. Phil's book "Self Matters," to Joseph Campbell's mantra of "follow your bliss," to Bradley Grieve's fuzzy pictorial "The Meaning to Life," to even Robert DiNeiro's lament of "wasted talent" in his film A Bronx Tale: that narcissism is the way to meaning and happiness. Bronson and these authors often poo-poo those who choose (and stick with) a stready, less-satisfaying job. But these are the folks who can support their families and contribute needed services and taxes to the economy. For those making good salaries, they support charities (which need $ more than our bodies), move their families to safe neighborhoods, and put their kids through a good college. I'd give all these people a medal, frankly. · Here's the myths Bronson perpetuates through his book, IMO: MYTH 1: career is your central medium for achieving happiness, and fulfilling your purpose in life MYTH 2: duty and responsibility are "shackles" that are holding you back from being truly happy. MYTH 3: if the "job" aspect of your life is not fulfilling, you have failed or at best, lost or misguided. · Bronson terribly embellished most of the profiles in the book. Many of the interviewees have come forward complaining, and other aspects of their life (mostly privileged) have come out since publication. · It doesn't follow the people long-term. · And lastly...The book is somewhat nauseating due to Po Bronson's love for...Po Bronson! I got the impression he thinks he knows more than the people he's profiling (read the NY Times Review at their website for best examples). Hard to take a guy seriously for career advice when he's in his early 30's and loaded in $ from a trust fund and can do whatever he wants. Put him out there as a starving Writer (which nearly all are who do it full-time) for a year and watch him go back to his former cushy Wall Street job, stat. (sorry, my cynical New Yorker side has come out). I'd recommend "The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?" It came out the same time as Bronson's book and offers a different recommendation: service to others and thinking outside yourself is what it's all about. It is a Christian book, and I don't adhere to all it's recommendations, but it helped me to stop focusing inward (which I discovered is the best way to get really depressed and hate your job). Interestng to note that one of the most consistent findings in psychological research is the relationship between happiness and helping others. And you don't need to be a Mother Teresa to do that, just do it day-to-day. I'd also consider the work of the late Donald Super (Godfather of Counseling Psychology) who defined "Career" as one's "Life," encompassing all our "work roles": job, family, friend, citizen, steward, parent, volunteer, child, church member, activist, hobbyist, etc, etc. Although many of these roles you have not embarked upon yet (or forced on to you yet!), it is freeing to remember that you do not have to achieve a "calling" in just your career, but rather, through contributions from all aspects of your life. Although ironic, that's actually easier to do. It's less of shock to your system too: Po Bronson made a public apology after many read his book, quit their stable jobs for Internet start-ups, and promptly lost their livelihood after the Tech Bubble! Thanks, Po. Hey, I'm sounding like Po Bronson now! A 30-something geek telling you about the meaning to life. I better close now and go back to my own Mid-Life Crisis.

We All Have the Same Questions:
If you are seeking your calling, you have plenty of company. Our circumstances differ, but we all have the same questions. How do you find your calling, what road do you take? This collection of memoirs is not a self-help book-- you will not find an explicit roadmap to follow-- but you may well find comfort that many share your quest for direction. The range of people covered is fascinating-- the subjects include a Buddhist monk, a Harvard MBA turned catfish farmer, a social service worker, and a cake-maker, among many others. Bronson is sympathetic to his subjects, and includes his own profile in the book. If you are looking for good company on your own life journey, this book is a worthy companion.

Hard to put down:
Several reviewers here complained that "What Should I Do With My Life" is weak as a self-help book. They are correct, but Bronson is very clear in his introduction that he has no experience in this area. As he says at one point in the book after comparing this project to a box of confections that everyone wants to try, he is "NOT XRAYING THE CHOCOLATES". Instead he says he writes of people who are being honest with themselves in answering the question, in most cases with his prompting and interaction. He intertwines his own experiences in all the stories such that he too answers the question as well through the course of the book. Each interviewee generally is given their own 4-5 page section, so the book seems to read fast. Sometimes the sections are too concise and disjointed and other times the sections provide just enough information to communicate a message. What a fantastic project this must have been for him. While for the reader there are no real pearls of wisdon, it makes one reflect, and and it is very enjoyable to read.