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Direct Your Own Life: How to Be a Star in Any Field You Choose!

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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

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.

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.

It's hardly news -- those who don't know what they want rarely get anywhere, while those with singularity of vision often succeed. This collection of "bons mots" comes to us courtesy of Chris Barrett and Efren Ramirez. Barret and a friend became famous for underwriting their college educations by becoming walking billboards for a bank. Ramirez played the adorable Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite. The book combines common sense advice (that is admitedly but not commonly followed) about making your dreams come true, using the format of writing a screenplay. The duo provide tips on identifying your dream, selecting amongst competeing dreams, and working backward from the desired end state (e.g., becoming a heart doctor) through the necessary preliminaries (going to med school) needed to get there. Along the way, Barret and Ramirez provide snippets of their own stories to ilustrate their ideas.

There's nothing truly new about the ideas presented here, but those who adore one or both of the writers might make hearing and heeding their message palatable.

Well first off it is amazing to see Efren get to where he has from when I first met him and I could always tell he had amazing drive in him. I love to see him sharing it with everyone and Chris as well. I was very excited to read this book as I feel the same way they do about the topics in it. How no matter what you want in life, no matter how crazy and large it may seem YOU CAN DO IT!! Page after page it just motiavted me to be bigger than I am even now and do more. So I do not care how old you are and how successful you are, if you know what you want to do or are figuring it out(and this book really helps you figure it out!). This book is a helpful tool for everyone. For me it just keeps reminding me to push and push no matter what. I think even if you are somoene like Sir. Richard Branson you will get something out of this book. I will have this book for a very long time and when I need some motivation or encouragement or a great read this book will be the one to go to. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone that wants to make a change in their life or wants to boost what they are already doing in life. These two hit it right on the dot! I HIGHLY recommend that all teenagers pick this book up. I wish someone would have shown this to me back when I was a kid. So if your reading this wondering if its for you I am telling you if your already interested in the book then YES it is for you! One of my favorite quotes from it is "It's not the hours you put in. It's what you put into those hours." Thank you Chris and Efren!

-Matt

Bottom line: Direct Your Own Life is a useful book for those who are currently lacking in direction and motivation. It's undeniable that Efren Ramirez and Chris Barrett are probably above-average in their motivation levels. It is apparent from reading this book that they were highly-driven and passionate about becoming successful in their chosen paths. However, just because the authors are highly motivated and some of their readers may not be in the same situation does not mean that the book is inappropriate for them. On the contrary, the advice the authors impart in this book is highly applicable to people in various situations.

As a professor at a community college, I interact with young people everyday who are having difficulty organizing their thoughts and behaviors to help move them toward success. Some may have a vague idea about what they would like to do with their lives, but have little guidance on how to achieve it. This book is for them. Others have absolutely no clue what they are passionate about, and have no blueprint for how to achieve their future goals. This book could be for them as well. While the book is primarily written for a teenage audience, I even found myself taking mental notes on many of the points they illustrated in the book. I wish I had read something like this when I was younger.

Efren and Chris provide personal , specific examples from their own careers and lives that are meant to illustrate the active role that people should play in determining and forging their path. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in getting inspiration and practical advice to help move them toward their ideal life.

Advice books are nearly always a mixed bag. They're based on the principle that there are certain steps you can take in your life that will result in success and happiness. Unfortunately, things are seldom that simple. So it takes a lot of knowledge and expertise to give people the kind of advice that will actually enable them to improve their lives. This book is not that. Silly and flippant, this self-help guide co-written by the actor who played Pedro in "Napoleon Dynamite" (seen him in anything lately?) is unlikely to prove of much use to readers. That's not to say that the content is completely useless, but if you're looking for a guide to get your life in order, you should probably consider other ones.

I you're young, ambitious and attractive as the authors of the book are, you can learn from their successes and forge a new path for yourself. If you don't happen to be young, ambitious and attractive, however, there's not much here that's going to help you. These guys were born on third base and think they hit a triple. They think they got where they are through hard work, with no apparent awareness of the role that luck and privilege played in their careers. Recommended for high school and college kids with big dreams - a perfect book for a specific audience, not much to offer older readers.

I read SEDUCED BY SECRETS at the same time I read this. Of the two, DIRECT YOUR OWN LIFE is a faster read, but it also gets you thinking as much as, if not more than, SEDUCED BY SECRETS. DIRECT YOUR OWN LIFE reassured me that I'm not wasting my time reviewing books...I'm sharing my talents with other Amazon users. (At least I hope so!)

Two young entrepreneurs provide wisdom that Warren Buffett and Bill Gates can appreciate---in fact, Gates is one of the people they profile in their tough-love-cheerleading road map to success. This is not a book, however, that will tell you how to make a million like Buffett or Gates, because you won't be able to make money if you don't have the passion for business or money managing or computers. After all, Efren Ramirez of "Napoleon Dynamite" could have appeared in a major Hollywood film instead of inspiring T-shirts and catchphrase-repetition in a smaller independent film. Coauthor Chris Barrett could have decided he could drop out of college and become a Gates, but then he wouldn't have become the first college student sponsored by a major corporation. You have to be you and not a clone of someone else.

No question, Barrett and Ramirez are not clones of every business book/career guide author out there. I especially enjoyed the way they structured the book as the plan for a movie---chapter topics include writing the script and assembling your cast and crew. The movie metaphor is strong and tangible---we all jokingly say, "If I were making a movie of my life..." Although to a certain extent our lives are collaborative efforts, we are the directors and authors of our own lives. This book pulls no punches about the need to plan and put that plan into action, but it provides an uplifting encouraging message. I also liked the personal stories from both authors at the end of each chapter. Adults and teens alike can benefit from this book.

No matter where you are in your life--whether you're still in school, working your first, second, or tenth job, looking for a new career, happily in the midst of one, or recently retired--you can find a lot of valuable lessons and suggestions in Direct Your Own Life. It never hurts to take a step back and reevaluate yourself. Where have you been and who were you then? Where and who are you now? Where do you want to be and who do you want to become? These are questions that this book asks of you.

Direct Your Own Life helps you look back on what you have already accomplished, and how those experiences have shaped your interests and who you are today. It gives you great guidelines for identifying and pursuing the goals that you want to achieve. Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Barrett share with you how focus, dedication, hard work, initiative, and an open mind can pay off unimaginable dividends. They use examples from their own lives to help illustrate their points, often referencing the life stories of easily recognizable and highly regarded individuals as well. These brief biographies serve as humbling reminders that everyone starts somewhere, but the important part is to start and to keep in mind that no one can make your dreams a reality except you.

While there is something for everyone in this book, it is especially helpful for those who are still figuring out what they want out of life. Chris's entrepreneurial spirit and Efren's passion for acting definitely show throughout the book. Many of their examples play off of these distinct themes (as they should), but they also make it easy to see how their advice and experiences actually apply to a far broader range of aspirations. I hope you will enjoy and benefit from this book as much as I did.