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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Take the title to heart and skip this book, July 23, 2008
This review is from: Direct Your Own Life: How to Be a Star in Any Field You Choose! (Paperback)
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"Direct Your Own Life" is another of those annoyingly upbeat books on how to succeed, or, as the subtitle puts it, "How to Be a Star in Any Field You Choose!" Trouble is, neither Efren Ramirez, who describes himself as an actor who appeared in "Napoleon Dynamite," nor Chris Barrett, the "first corporate-sponsored college student in America," seem to have directed their lives so much as they've relied on pure luck. Maybe I'm too much of a cynic, but I also suspect they had connections that they do not acknowledge, the kind that open doors wider than true talent ever does.
For instance, Barrett tells us that after seeing Tiger Woods wearing a Nike logo cap at a press conference, he was inspired to seek corporate sponsors to pay his tuition at the world class colleges to which he sought entry. What did he do? He started a web site to attract these sponsors and, presto, in no time at all he not only had a sponsor, but he's being interviewed on radio, in newspapers, in the pages of "People," and appearing on "The Today Show." Did this just happen or would a little investigative reporting reveal that a family member was employed by one of these media giants and helped open those doors? Maybe the corporate sponsor employed his father, uncle, or someone else who saw this as a good way of getting some free advertising for the company. The fact that Barrett was considering such colleges as Pepperdine and Stanford suggests his background was pretty cozy. He's probably the product of private schools and, therefore, was already affluent.
Books like "Direct Your Own Life," of which there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, promise much but deliver little. The authors warn against "get rich quick" schemes, but "Direct Your Own Life" and other books in this genre are rarely nothing more than "get rich quick" schemes for their authors. The fact that they're writing such a book at all suggests the authors are not the successes they claim. Ramirez was in "Napoleon Dynamite," but what acting gigs has he landed since? A look at his listing at the IMDb, where one of his upcoming roles is in a film starring Adam West, suggests his career is far from thriving. If it was, he wouldn't likely have the time to collaborate on a book.
My advice would be to take the title to heart. DIRECT YOUR OWN LIFE, and skip books that pretend they can help you realize your dreams.
Brian W. Fairbanks
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The less direct way, July 5, 2008
This review is from: Direct Your Own Life: How to Be a Star in Any Field You Choose! (Paperback)
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What's the chances of even an established actor letting alone an unknown being in a movie that grosses $400 million?
How many students can have their college-education sponsored by a major corporation like Chris and his friend Luke were? How many web sites get found as Chris and Luke's were and get so much media attention?
How many people have been launched by YouTube videos, however well self-promoted?
What is going on in the U.S. Patent Office when it will give anyone a patent for labels to tell the footwear intended for one's left foot and the footwear intended for one's right foot?
Seen the ads on television by the guy who says he got rich placing small classified ads in newspapers across the country for simple items and will sell you information on how to do it? I suppose that is like Chris selling his guidebook about getting free concert tickets via eBay? How many people do well enough that way? I don't know but someone has to pay for a concert ticket and if she spent on a guidebook will she have enough money for the ticket?
It certainly is good to have a dream but most jobs aren't for dreamers, they are for people willing to make significant compromises to pay the bills. No doubt one doesn't want to pick a field that is no fun but you may not have much realistic choice, at least for a long while.
If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, will you need this book? Will you be reading this review? My guess is that you are out directing your own life already.
What does seem positive in this book, however, is recognizing that if one can identify a dream and start approaching it step-by-step, no question you might have a better chance of attaining it than if you just did some boring job each day and came home to watch television and drink beers. On the other hand, if you got sufficient education for a field in demand that seemed adequate for your needs, you might be able, as you gained experience and perhaps moved around, to discover a dream you never expected. Or fulfil that dream outside of work.
I'd imagine there are plenty of books at the library that can get you started with work or coach you on planning your life. I'd suspect some would have much substance and less flash, relying less on who the authors are and help you consider more who you are. When I didn't know what I wanted to do, I found a special week long offering being developed that was experimental and hence nearly free. Most of the suggestions required graduate school and I didn't want to take a loan. I admit I didn't think of finding a corporation to sponsor me for graduate school. That was before the Web and even if the Web had been around, I admit I'm not the enterprising. But I found free on-the-job training and years later I actually did get the companies I worked for to finance a graduate degree. I'm not a star and I'm not in the field of my initial choice but my life and work have been blessed in ways I never could have expected.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiration Goulash, October 23, 2008
This review is from: Direct Your Own Life: How to Be a Star in Any Field You Choose! (Paperback)
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These young authors share inspiration with other young people by sharing their own unique story. While it's unlikely anyone else will be able to pull off what they did - getting sponsored by a company to go to college, they give some insight into how not only something completely off the wall can work, but also how following your dreams is the most important thing you can do to fulfill your life.
They point out reality - that if it's not your passion, the paycheck matters little. It puts things in the proper perspective, despite the crazy success these guys got so early on. Everyone has the potential to succeed in amazing ways, as long as they look beyond the pigeon holes we are either thrust into or dive into on our own. Whether it's being an actor or an astronaut, a painter or a philosopher, the authors give the reader a different way of thinking than what they may be accustomed to - it's a breath of fresh air.
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