48 Days to the Work You Love
928883
Excellent book.  Left a lucrative business that was killing me emotionally and spiritually and found the work I love by using the principles in this book.
2391269
I am really excited to put this plan into action and watch my productivity skyrocket.  It is going to be an extremely exciting year!
686756
This is a great book, which guides you in writing your novel in 52 weeks. He gives you exercises along the way to get you started -- things like "dress your characters" and give each of them characteristics and attributes. I created an Excel spreadsheet for my characters. Along the way, he also shows you his own fun novel, "Trophy Wives," to give you examples of the chapter topics. This book got me from stuck to starting. The book gets you to do the work that's necessary to move forward.
3660843
I really enjoyed the way that Erik and Jim put this book together. It's broken down to look at your goals one day at a time.

One thing that I struggle with is picking up a book and actually acting on what I read. But not with this book! Each day has it's own action step. Even though each step is small, I'm sure I'll see the benefits 30 days later.

Thank you for the hard work you've put in to create this masterpiece. I'm looking forward to Volumes 2 & 3!
570722
Last week, sitting at my desk, I was searching for inspiration at my mind-numbing web design job here in Los Angeles.  My Three Wolf shirt was in the wash that day (not that I could wear it to work anyway) and I needed something new to motivate me.  Rather ingeniously, I came to the Amazon Three Wolf page and took a screenshot, saving it in Microsoft Paint.  I then applied the image as my computer's desktop wallpaper.  No surprise here--I have been working at triple the rate of before, and my manager has noticed.  I'm up for a promotion and pay increase today and my wife is pregnant with triplets!  I can only assume this is because of the fruitful, osmosis-like power of Three Wolf.  I cannot recommend this shirt or this page enough!
4245827
Leave it to Don to take resumes to the next level with the PROFESSIONAL PROFILE.  His workbook reminds me of the popular saying "go big or go home"!  I have a successful career, but the book got me so pumped and motivated that it made me get out my "resume" and re-write it just to see what my own revised PROFESSIONAL PROFILE looks like.

A couple take-away impressions from my first read through the book (I plan to re-read at least three times):

1. The workbook style makes the work people need to do to change their thinking very real and very practical
2. If people are mired in thinking they don't have unique talents to offer an employer, the workbook exercises help uncover those "hidden" characteristics
3. Specific examples help to translate step-by-step a very daunting finished product into the components to get their incrementally
4. The passion (and experience) the authors have for the topic is obvious throughout the book
5. Supporting materials on their internet site make the book 10x more valuable than just the book alone - watch the videos too

I have already started giving copies of this book to my friends and neighbors who are either looking for advancement or are displaced due to the economy.  Most of them had decided that what defined them was based on the jobs and pasts they have had - not based on the jobs or objectives they WANT.  Don's book is a wake-up call to help people take the necessary steps to reimagine their best future:

A. Consider what you have done well already
B. Take credit for the value you bring to an organization
C. Imagine what you would like the future to look like
D. Be specific about what you want - and use your inventory to support your claim
E. Communicate these things cohesively and then go and get it!

If you are like me, sometimes it is hard to see the trees for the forest.  This book helps you step through the process of examining the trees in detail, consider their unique values, organize them, and them assemble them in a way that other people can appreciate just how valuable an asset you could be in their organization - assuming you don't decide to go out and work for yourself after realizing just how good you really are!

Bravo.
3073559
One of the biggest problems I've found with translating a print book to ebook format has to be when you come across a book that requires interaction. I have unfortunately encountered a few in the form of life coaching, self-help and faith and spirituality books and it can be frustrating to be unable to simply work through the worksheets as given. Thankfully, the publishers and author of this book made it super-easy to get usable copies of the worksheets off their website, which was wonderful, because this is a great book that you will want to do the exercises for.

As someone who works in a creative industry, this book is proving to be very useful, as it helps one tap into the deeper creativity inside and manifest those things in life that you may have thought out of reach for you. The programme is designed to be worked on over 21 days and, as such, I have not completed it yet. However, I am feeling myself grow each day and am genuinely excited about what the rest of the programme holds for me. I can heartily recommend this book for those who are in search of something in their lives. It will help you to start finding your focus and bring good things into your life.
418343
I have been blessed to be part of The Art of Work Book Launch Team, as part of the team I received an advanced copy to read. Not only did that first read increase my enthusiasm to be a part of the team, it started changing my thinking.  . Here are some thoughts on The Art of Work.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has questioned their calling, those who know there is something more and need some encouragement as well as practical and sometimes hard words on life changes.  This is a very well researched, very well compiled and even better written work on making a change in light of your true calling. . Jeff encourages you to make a change to living a rewarding life by doing the work you were meant to do. There may be failure, there will most definitely be learning, to not blindly accept, but to embrace the challenges because you will grow and learn through all your experiences. This book has touched my spirit and reenergized my work towards my own calling, I am sure you will find a similar experience.  Thank you Jeff Goins, for your work and your impact on my life.
3654763
What would you do if the very job you loved doing were suddenly eliminated? Add into that the possibility that any future openings in the line of work was slim at best and you are one of a hundreds applying for one of two openings? How would you decide what direction you would pursue knowing you had bills to pay, not to mention rent to your roommate? Would you simply walk away from the life you knew to pursue a dream you've always had, despite how ridiculous it sounds to everyone else?

That is just the questions running nilly-willy through Nina Redmond's head when her job at the local library in England is eliminated in an effort to downsize and reduce costs. Now all the other employees are also in the same boat and there is only two positions available for more than a couple hundred people applying and on top of that they are looking for someone young who can multi-task and deal in a variety of tasks in this new multi-functional job position. While Nina definitely has the passion and true love of everything to do with books, she doesn't believe this is the job for her. She envisions a job where she matches the perfect book with a reader and running her own business. But just what can someone do to make that happen. If she doesn't figure something out soon, her roommate, Surinder is about to kick her out of the building they share due to the overstock of books she has recently acquired over her time living there.

So she does what any good natured book lover does, she answers an ad for a old van she hopes to renovate into a mobile bookstore and take it around England in hopes of creating her dream job. Only problem is that the van is located in Scotland and despite all her best intentions, she can obtain any of the permits necessary in England to make this happen. So she packs up what she can in her small car and heads to Scotland to start over again despite all the best intentions of her friends well meaning advice.

I received The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers. Being a huge book lover, I was immediately drawn to this book as I could envision doing this myself in some degrees. I love Nina's adventurous spirit to leave it all behind and begin a new future for her in Scotland. The authors insight and descriptions of a small farming town is just perfect for a virtual escape and I love how Nina can pick out just the right book for any reader or non readers in some cases. Any book lover will appreciate this book and I believe it garners a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion. This is my first time reading any of Jenny Colgan's novels but will be checking out the others she gives readers a sneak peek at in the conclusion of this novel.
3234165
What a lovely way to start your day for 40 days! Very beautiful and inspiring!
2897477
This was an amazing read that helped me to prioritize the work in my life. I now wake up, take a run, have a cup of tea and make it my business to create something that makes me happy prior to hopping onto my computer for work. Highly recommended for any artist.
127068
I work with a lot of people each day, actually about 100. I meet all sorts of personalities. I come home and voraciously read this book after working 12 hours a day...it's soooo interesting. I can go back to work and use it on my clients and co-workers. I wish I read all her books years ago, it would have helped me with my personal and professional life a lot!!! Maybe she's working on a third book, I can't wait. Love, love, love this book.
3996777
Many of us struggle with finding work that not only pays the bills, but also excites us. In The Art of Work, Jeff Goins clarifies what a calling is and how to pursue it, using examples from his own life as well as the lives of others. He discusses passion, painful practice, community, failure, apprenticeship, humility, serving others, living a "portfolio" life, mastery, and living (and leaving) a legacy.

This book will encourage you, inspire you, and prod you to take the risks necessary to pursue your calling. My notes from this book fill pages - that's how good it is. As I read the book, I found myself nodding and sighing with relief. If you only read one book this year, make it this one. You'll be glad you did!
4734968
This is a generous book.  Harriet Rubin shares the excitement and the terror of leaving a successful corporate career to go it alone.  For anyone contemplating such a move, this book is a must.  For those who prefer to  live vicariously, this book is fun.  I found inspiration and strategy for  my own, more conventional, career change, especially the chapter,  "Brand-New You."  Whether you seek to attract clients or market  yourself to an employer or to take charge of your life in some other way,  thinking through "what kind of promise you want to make to the  world" is a tough and necessary step.  When I need a little more  courage or confidence to take the next step, I will turn to this book.
2337669
I like Elizabeth Gilbert's attitude to creative work: Create for the pure joy of creation - without thinking about the outcome or rewards. Work, work, work! "It doesn't have to be perfect, and you don't have to be Plato. Begin anywhere. Preferably right now. And if greatness should ever accidentally stumble upon you, let it catch you hard at work. Hard at work, and sane."
Wonderful! The book just brought back the joy of my creative work, in a time where the rewards are small. The outcome and the rewards are not under my control - but my work is. So, I continue to work hard - so that "when inspiration comes my way, it will catch me hard at work".
1298449
If your starring role is a stay-at-home mom with a creative soul and dreams yet to be fulfilled then 20,000 Days will dish up hope in your messy world.  It is jet-fuel for your soul.  Its content sculpts an illuminating path to be more productive and fruitful in the everyday while motivating you to cast a bold vision for your future and all your roles.  My teenage son loved the book and I love what is now embedded in his heart from reading it.  He is proud to say he eats no's for breakfast and delights in Robert's advice about eating dessert first!  This is a great family read and will ignite a new culture inside your family.  Reading 20,000 Days will make you a very dangerous person.  You can no longer sit quietly and wait for your destiny. This book will get your boldness back and remind you of goals and plans tugging at your heart and placed there by God.  It is now my go-to-gift for birthday presents and graduation gifts.
3921145
Make your dreams come true.  I was introduced to this book by a Bowenworker therapist less than two years ago.  I believe in the power of positive thinking, visualization, and positive affirmation, but Afformations was new to me. I embraced it right away, and it worked right away!

I was having a hard time at my job.  My boss was a real doozy, always giving me too much work, and never really appreciating me, raises few and far between, so my moral was very low.  I was on the verge of giving my notice, when I came across this book.  I started saying to myself, "Why do I enjoy my job so much."  Lo and behold, I started coming home from work, telling my spouse, "I had a really good day today.  But the bad boss thing became too overwhelming, so when I put in my notice, there was a bit of an uproar.  Higher ups than my boss, decided that they would rather see him leave then me!  He was asked to step down from the position and I decided to stay!

My new boss is so cool.  I remember him from when I first applied for the job.  I remember the day like it was yesterday.  It was a long interview.  I arrived at 0930 and didn't leave until 1730!  Anyway, I digress.  The next order of business was a new raise for me!  So I read more in the book, and decided that I would be very happy if I were making $1500 more a month.  So I started repeating, "Why am I so happy making $1500 more a month?"  Folks I am here to say that I am now making $1100 more a month and very happy!