14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't stop your career clock -- rewind it with this book, June 15, 2004
This review is from: Don't Stop the Career Clock: Rejecting the Myths of Aging for a New Way to Work in the 21st Century (Paperback)
While surfing the Internet, I discovered a site where for $2.00 you can purchase excerpts from books on their list. Because of my interest in anti-aging issues, I purchased three excerpts from a book titled Don't Stop the Career Clock: Rejecting the Myths of Aging for a New Way to Work in the 21st Century by Helen Harkness, Ph.D. I was so impressed by what I read in the excerpts that I immediately purchased the book.
If the excerpts were impressive, the book blew me away. I finally found someone who understands how to successfully manage the aging process.
Dr. Helen Harkness is well past retirement age but wisely refrains from revealing her chronological age. However, I can tell you that after meeting her at her office in Garland, TX, she functions as a dynamic, fifty-year old. She maintains an active professional schedule as president of Career Design Associates, Inc., which specializes in individual and organizational renewal through career and management training programs. She has been an English professor, department chair, director of adult education, acting dean of business development, and academic dean and provost at the University of Plano in the 1970s. When I last corresponded with her, she was off to Australia to deliver a keynote address.
Don't Stop the Career Clock is filled with meticulous research to support the author's thinking and beliefs about aging and working. There is something on every page worth highlighting. Particularly helpful for those vacillating between retirement and continuing to be productive in one capacity or another, is the chapter "Seven Steps for Resetting Your Career Clock." In this chapter, Dr. Harkness provides numerous exercises to help you think about what you are good at, and what you might really want to do with the rest of your life. The exercises alone are worth ten times the cost of the book.
What I personally found most helpful is the chapter "Learning a New Way to Tell Time." In it, Dr. Harkness says, ". . . because of our social and cultural expectations, we program ourselves to begin to fall apart at a certain designated age, and we oblige.". She then gives her "live long, die fast" contemporary model for aging which should give hope to anyone over age 65 who has bought into the myth that "it's too late for me".
If you are "middle aged" or older, this is a "must read" book. If you are younger, get a head start on designing a fabulous future for yourself. Don't Stop the Career Clock will show you how to do it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Find your true authentic self, January 18, 2006
This review is from: Don't Stop the Career Clock: Rejecting the Myths of Aging for a New Way to Work in the 21st Century (Paperback)
I found out about Helen Harkness from a business colleague who has a graduate degree in business from Harvard University. He highly recommended her books and career counseling. Having taught in public schools for 5 years and then worked in commercial real estate for more than 20 years, I came to a place where I needed a change and a new challenge. I purchased this book and could not put it down! It helped me so much that I purchased her other books. I found all of them helpful.
If you are dissatisfied with your present career and looking for a career change, finding a career for the first time or retiring and wanting to start something new, this is the book for you. Helen helps you sort through and begin to see there are no obstacles (certainly not age)to becoming true to yourself in your work. Helen will help you get in touch with your "true authentic self" and help you see your natural gifts and interests in a way you may never have seen yourself before. Her research is timely and the information will give you insight for your future career. I applaud her work and highly recommend this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Creating a Mindset for Thriving in Senior Life, December 8, 2008
This review is from: Don't Stop the Career Clock: Rejecting the Myths of Aging for a New Way to Work in the 21st Century (Paperback)
The Joy of Retirement: Finding Happiness, Freedom, and the Life You've Always Wanted
This book by Dr. Harkness is a little treasure, filled with wisdom insights for thriving in the senior years. It's filled with knowledge acquired from Helen's professional practice, from her research on the aging process and her own life experience as a senior. If you are in the 50 plus years this is one of those books you will want to keep handy as a reference for frequent review and reminders on ways to shape your thinking and living in the 50 plus years. There are so many tidbits of wisdom on pages to keep tabbed with your favorite quotes, such as, "The greatest threat to life and health in our midlife is having nothing to live for that matters to us." (page 31). In my work as a professional counselor and life coach I encourage my 50-plus clients to get the book, mark it up and keep it handy.
David C. Borchard, Ed.D
Career/executive Coach
www.VisionTrac.com
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
