A practical plan for getting out of the weeds and following the ideal path.
A debut author dispenses advice on how to design the life of your dreams.
Your life is a garden that requires careful, deliberate tending, according to professional coach Young. Yet too many people let their gardens go to seed, finding themselves frustrated and unfulfilled even if they enjoy the outward trappings of success. In this pithy guide, Young walks readers through the process of creating a “lifescape that feeds your soul and gives you a reason to be excited when you get up in the morning.” Just as a gardener must select the right plants for the climate and the soil, so must we all identify the “required ingredients of our dream life,” she argues. Fortunately, Young has devised a process to help people do exactly that. She begins by encouraging readers to “discover what makes your heart sing,” then discusses topics such as clarifying needs and wants, tracking progress, making use of available resources, creating an action plan, and enhancing one’s professional image. Each chapter ends with a series of pointed questions for readers to answer, which will help them apply that section’s lesson to their own lives. The goal is to move through the book sequentially, ending with a clear vision for the road in mind as well specific criteria for success and a sense of possible obstacles ahead. Though the title suggests a more general self-help tome, the book is primarily focused on helping people find their perfect career paths. The tone throughout is perky and positive, with the implication that once readers have decided what they want out of life, they’re halfway to making it a reality. This rosy “if you can dream it, you can do it” outlook is encouraging, but there’s less discussion about what to do when readers hit a bump or how to cope when their dreams and talents don’t align. But for those who have a nagging sense that there’s something missing from their lives, Young’s work is a valuable starting point.
A practical plan for getting out of the weeds and following the ideal path.Pub Date: April 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9971207-4-5
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Emerald Lake Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.
“Quality of life means more than just consumption”: Two MIT economists urge that a smarter, more politically aware economics be brought to bear on social issues.
It’s no secret, write Banerjee and Duflo (co-authors: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty, 2011), that “we seem to have fallen on hard times.” Immigration, trade, inequality, and taxation problems present themselves daily, and they seem to be intractable. Economics can be put to use in figuring out these big-issue questions. Data can be adduced, for example, to answer the question of whether immigration tends to suppress wages. The answer: “There is no evidence low-skilled migration to rich countries drives wage and employment down for the natives.” In fact, it opens up opportunities for those natives by freeing them to look for better work. The problem becomes thornier when it comes to the matter of free trade; as the authors observe, “left-behind people live in left-behind places,” which explains why regional poverty descended on Appalachia when so many manufacturing jobs left for China in the age of globalism, leaving behind not just left-behind people but also people ripe for exploitation by nationalist politicians. The authors add, interestingly, that the same thing occurred in parts of Germany, Spain, and Norway that fell victim to the “China shock.” In what they call a “slightly technical aside,” they build a case for addressing trade issues not with trade wars but with consumption taxes: “It makes no sense to ask agricultural workers to lose their jobs just so steelworkers can keep theirs, which is what tariffs accomplish.” Policymakers might want to consider such counsel, especially when it is coupled with the observation that free trade benefits workers in poor countries but punishes workers in rich ones.
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61039-950-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
Career and business advice for the hashtag generation. For all its self-absorption, this book doesn’t offer much reflection...
A Dumpster diver–turned-CEO details her rise to success and her business philosophy.
In this memoir/business book, Amoruso, CEO of the Internet clothing store Nasty Gal, offers advice to young women entrepreneurs who seek an alternative path to fame and fortune. Beginning with a lengthy discussion of her suburban childhood and rebellious teen years, the author describes her experiences living hand to mouth, hitchhiking, shoplifting and dropping out of school. Her life turned around when, bored at work one night, she decided to sell a few pieces of vintage clothing on eBay. Fast-forward seven years, and Amoruso was running a $100 million company with 350 employees. While her success is admirable, most of her advice is based on her own limited experiences and includes such hackneyed lines as, “When you accept yourself, it’s surprising how much other people will accept you, too.” At more than 200 pages, the book is overlong, and much of what the author discusses could be summarized in a few tweets. In fact, much of it probably has been: One of the most interesting sections in the book is her description of how she uses social media. Amoruso has a spiritual side, as well, and she describes her belief in “chaos magic” and “sigils,” a kind of wishful-thinking exercise involving abstract words. The book also includes sidebars featuring guest “girlbosses” (bloggers, Internet entrepreneurs) who share equally clichéd suggestions for business success. Some of the guidance Amoruso offers for interviews (don’t dress like you’re going to a nightclub), getting fired (don’t call anyone names) and finding your fashion style (be careful which trends you follow) will be helpful to her readers, including the sage advice, “You’re not special.”
Career and business advice for the hashtag generation. For all its self-absorption, this book doesn’t offer much reflection or insight.Pub Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16927-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Portfolio
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
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