9 to 5?

Posted on 24. Jul, 2007 by Susan in Books

I’ve informed my husband that if we weren’t already married, I would be immediately finding the doorstep of Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, by sundown.  That might be kind of hard, considering he’s a world traveler and all. And, Scott reminds me that last year my crush was on Johny Resnick, lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls.  You gotta love reality checks.

However, I’m not sure I’ve had a one sided love affair with an author like I am having right now with Mr. Ferriss.  RUN to your bookstore for this book. It is fun, entertaining, and potentially, if you are open to it, life altering. 

I really took notice of this quote, placed in the first few pages of the book:  "Life doesn’t have to be so damn hard. It really doesn’t. Most people, my past self included, have spent too much time convincing themselves that life has to be hard, a resignation to 9 to 5 drudgery in exchange for (sometimes) relaxing weekends and the occasional keep-it-short-or-get-fired vacation."

How often have we heard from our parents, grandparents, and others that "That’s just how life is."  Or, "Jobs aren’t supposed to be fun."  Over and over again, we’re taught to suck it up and deal with it.  Who cares that your job is causing some strange dermatology nightmare, hair loss, and quite literally a case of the "Look at me like that again and I’ll poke your eyes out" personality disorder. Really, there are starving children in china.  Count your blessings. (Well, the gratitude part I’ll agree with.)

I just love that the book clearly articulates that there are many ways to design an ideal life.  There are so many interesting and fulfilling ways to fill 24 hours, and none of them have to resemble what "everyone else" is doing.  Truly, maybe you are confused about who and what you want to be when you grow up, is precisely because you are looking at all the very clearly defined roles (ie attorney, doctor, banker).  Did you know that there is such a thing as an interior book designer?  Or a kayaking coach?  If you open yourself up to the possibility that there is something out there calling your name, that you might not even know about just yet, you be much more likely to stumble across it.

Let me know what you think after your read this.  Ferriss calls it "lifestyle design."  Gotta love that.

Susan

My Book Obsession

Posted on 31. May, 2007 by Susan Hyatt in Books

I love to read!  My husband is constantly gasping at the amount of money I spend with Amazon.com.  Yes, I am too impatient to be on the waiting list at the library for new books.  When I am interested in a topic, I want to read about it yesterday.  When I was little, my mom would take me to the local library and I’d check out so many, that I’d fill a paper grocery bag.  (By the way, THANKS MOM!)

The next best thing to reading a great book is sharing it with my peeps.  So here they are….my favorite books from the past year.  AND, they next best thing to that, is hearing about all of the books that other people love.  So send me your favorites, and I’ll keep up my reputation with those folks at Amazon.

Be Well,

Susan