Chapters : Create a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change [Hardcover]

Candice Carpenter (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071381813 | ISBN-13: 978-0071381819 | Publication Date: September 18, 2001 | Edition: 1st

This text picks up where "Who Moved My Cheese" leaves off. "Chapters", which means living life serially, like chapters in a book, is a concept that will fundamentally change the way we look at our careers, our relationships, our families, and our futures. By living serially, we can take charge off a force that threatens to overwhelm us. We can learn to master change. "Chapters" is constructed around two fundamentals truths of 21st century life: we are living longer, and we are living at an accelerated pace. Change has become such a constant in our lives that the old paradigms for living no longer apply. Two generations ago, the story of our lives was largely etched in stone by choices we made in our first 25 years: colleges, the mates we chose, first jobs, and contacts we made. Since then, social change, economic change, and technology have altered traditional expectations. We no longer spend our careers at a single or even several companies, or even a single occupation. Marriage is no longer necessarily for the long term. Retirement may mean life on the golf course, the start of a new career, or both. Today, we have the opportunity of choosing and choosing again every five to ten years how we're going to reinvent ourselves. The problem with living life at this pace, however, is becoming increasingly clear: humans weren't built for the degree of change now being imposed upon us or for the information overload that accompanies it. "Chapters" is about taking control of the change that overwhelms us all before change takes control of us. To master change and the transitions it brings, we need to discard the notions that life is lived on a continuum, that we should strive to achieve perfect "balance," and that we can have it all, all the time. Instead, "Chapters" prescribes a step-by-step approach to serial living wherein we anticipate and plan for the changes in our lives, treating each chapter as the only chapter rather than endlessly multitasking. By focusing serially rather than juggling endlessly, we can learn to live and work in the "zone," a term borrowed from the lexicon of athletes, which enables us to perform at our peak at achieve true personal satisfaction. Candice Carpenter uses the chapters in her own life to illustrate her step-by-step approach to living with change, and she draws on myriad examples from people she has interviewed. They come from all walks of life - doctors and lawyers; students, schoolteachers and stay-at-home moms; entrepreneurs and executives - but their lives have common themes: what it takes to begin a new life chapter, how to recognize when it's time to shift gears and take a new road, how to plan ahead for change, how to handle the inevitable false starts and failures, and above all, how to deal with the emotional upheaval that comes with changing from one life stage to the next.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If you've been fired or are just feeling restless in your job, Carpenter is here to tell you there's nothing wrong with you. You're part of the new world where people go through four to five distinctly different careers and eight to 10 different jobs in the course of a lifetime. Between careers, they also take time to concentrate on their families, do volunteer work or simply regroup for their next career shift. Carpenter terms these changes "chapters" because they have distinct beginnings and endings. Her own genuinely encouraging chapters take the reader through the various stages of closing an old chapter and opening a new one. Carpenter offers advice on how to recognize when "The Gig Is Up" (being fired can be a powerful clue), how not to panic but to take the time to find out what you really want to do next (her advice to always have enough money on hand to be able to live without a paycheck for a full year won't seem practical to many readers, however). She also talks about the need for companies and managers to embrace their employees' desires to open new chapters. The book works more as inspiration than as a true road map, using anecdotes from the lives of the many high-flying execs Carpenter has known (Barry Diller, with whom she worked on Q2; Michael Milkin; Bob Pittman) as well as her own. Carpenter's background is from a world in which a driver is a necessity, the doorman at Versace knows her by name and the next job comes with a corner office and the title of CEO. So some of her ideas will be far-fetched for those struggling in lower-level jobs. She writes with such conviction, however, that she'll carry even skeptical readers along with her, and she offers genuine help by giving people the words to understand and describe what they are going through as they close and open chapters of their lives. (Nov.)Forecast: Carpenter is well known in the media and Internet worlds, which will bring interest for her name alone. The current surge in books on how to deal with change (e.g., Who Moved My Cheese?) will draw readers who are unfamiliar with Carpenter, as will the blurb by Deepak Chopra on the book's cover.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Life's lulls, finds energetic business executive cum entrepreneur Carpenter, are ideal times to begin transforming old notions of self professionally and personally if we can constructively change our inner conversation to reflect who we truly are and what we really want out of life. The author carefully outlines how we can regenerate ourselves through transition rituals such as disengaging from our old roles, casting about wherever our thoughts take us, and implementing new plans so that each phase or chapter of life is authentic and complete. Although she is able to move the concept of hiring a transition job coach to the forefront of mainstream consciousness, the content and tone of this book suggest that it will appeal mostly to professionals who have had some level of work success. Invigorating yet sometimes exhausting, Chapters is a worthwhile choice for its reminder that gaining access to self requires the equally difficult task of drawing the courage to respect and act on what comes from this exploration. Recommended for self-help and career sections of public libraries. Lisa Liquori, MLS, Syracuse, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies; 1st edition (September 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071381813
• ISBN-13: 978-0071381819
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,938,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars INTERESTING CONCEPTS BUT NOT FOR EVERYONE!, March 11, 2002

By 

Sandra D. Peters "Seagull Books" (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chapters : Create a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change (Hardcover)

Much of what the author is saying in this book looks good on paper; however, many suggestions are simply not practical for anyone in a low-income bracket. How many individuals could afford to have a year's wages set aside in the event they lose (or quit) their job? If you are a professional with considerable investments and savings, that may be possible, but for one who lives from paycheque to paycheque and just barely scrapes by, that idea is a dream not a realistic possibility.

On the positive side, there is much truth to the fact that an individual will have an average of nine different jobs through the course of their employable years. Life is indeed much like the chapters of a book - for everyone that ends another begins. In this respect, the author does help us to understand the various stages we go through as we close one chapter and begin another. There are some interesting anecdotes in the book and a lot of inspiration; however, readers will need to read the suggestions and apply what they feel will work for them based on their own unique personal situation. A "one-shoe-fits-all" approach cannot be found here because we have such varied income levels, disposable income, and financial responsibilities. Read the book for the tips it contains, then decide what will personally work for you and what will not.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pul-eeze How narcisstic can you get?, May 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Chapters: Create a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change (Paperback)

I have to admit, this book does have a good premise and some good practical exercises -

however - I could hardly relate to Ms. Carpenter and her assorted group of colleagues, all of whom seem rather "priviliged" in their varied media/outdoors/CEO status. You could hardly imagine these case studies really "suffered" with career problems; they all seemed rather "connected" (power brokered), monied and probably from families that eased the way for them to start off. The Chapters book was rather self-serving of Carpenter, who "discovered" a new career of writing/coaching (albiet with a ghost writer/collaborator). I was soooooo turned off by this book (like "oh, my my maid just quit, how bad can it get??"). I am a well educated professional myself but have none of the luxury and "connections" Carpenter seems to have. As a quite "elitist" book, I suggest it only if you went to an Ivy League school and/or were "born into" money. Sorry be be so negative, but that's what I came away with here.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps you navigate the inevitable career ups and downs, January 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Chapters : Create a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change (Hardcover)

I work for a company that has the dubious distinction of laying off the largest number of people in 2001. Although I had gotten promotions and praise, I was not immune to the turmoil and was let go in November. Ultimately I was able to find another job within the same company, but the failure stung. Hey, "The Gig was Up".

I had four weeks off between the two jobs, and it was during this downtime that I picked up "Chapters". Had I read it earlier, I might have rejected the job offer. This book perfectly captured my feelings and put a name to the stages I was going through. For example, I did nothing but watch TV for the first two weeks. I didn't know if this would last two weeks or two years, and I was terrifed that I wouldn't EVER feel like getting off the couch. Knowing that someone else had gone through the same experience, and that I would come out of it, was comforting. Even though she is a senior executive and I'm a middle manager, our experiences had similarities. She lays out many examples of non-linear careers that are ultimately successful and satisfying.

This is not a "how to" book. However, this tome lays the groundwork for further exploration and is a welcome addition to the career/self-help genre.