Customer Reviews

Finding Your True Calling: The Handbook for People Who Still Don't Know What They Want to be When They Grow Up But Can't Wait to Find Out

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have parted with perfectly good coin to read the wisdom of many different authors concerning what I should do with my life and career. They all offer platitudes, exercises, and encouragement to the seeker. Some have complex diagrams, case studies, whatever. Chicken Soup for the aimless. Let me assure you, this book is different. It is clearly written, extremely useful, and the surprise is that it is inspirational! Not only will you (probably) get some great ideas to help you break out of that rut, but you'll enjoy the process, and almost certainly be in a better mood just from reading the book! I didn't get that from any of the 'what color is my jumpsuit' books, which gather dust on my shelf. Believe it or not, I carry this book around in my briefcase! I show it to friends, suggest they buy it, loan it to them if they won't buy it. You should buy it--try it, and you'll probably love it. If you read it and don't think it's a life-changer, give it to a close friend and they will thank you for it. Loved the book, by the way!

After many years, many tests, and many registration fees to obtain my Professinal License, I found myself in a great job that I just hated. I did not "fit" into their social culture and I found my brain just worked differently than others in my Profession. What to do? I had reached the big 50 age bracket and was feeling despondent over making any kind of a job change. After all, I had invested a great deal of time and effort into this career. Was it time to quit or to work part-time?

Keeping an open mind, I started reading Valerie Young's book. This book offers wise advice and the contributions of several experts in the field, but it was the worksheets that made the difference. Once I opened up the wordprocessor, followed her directives and poured my heart out into black & white text, well, it all made sense. I was able to analyze and understand myself, from the child through adult, including my dreams, creativity and rewarding experiences. Valerie has provided a forum to allow you to quiet the beast of negative voices in your head and to design the next phase of your life. Be sure to do the worksheets! Thank you, Valerie, for the tools that inspire me into my next phase of life. I now have a clear insight into how to phase-out of my full-time profession and to phase-into work that is more suited to my natural talents.

For most of my life adult life I have tried to work a "real job", but I never felt comfortable in the corporate world and I never fit in. Valerie Young's book "Finding Your True Calling ..." has inspire me to follow my dreams and believe in my ideas AND it has reminded me that it's okay NOT to fit in and there is more to life then the corporate world. The book is an interesting read with contributions from many authors who followed their dreams. It also incorporates career counseling/lifestyle activities that focus on what you love to do OR what you love in life and then helps you transform these loves into alternative job ideas. This is a great book for individuals looking for alternative professions and I highly recommend it.

I have been trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up for many years now, and have gone through several 'traditional' career counseling processes and indeed several 'traditional' careers, but nothing seemed to fit. Finally, I went through Finding Your True Calling by Valerie Young and realized why nothing had fit, that I needed to look beyond the 'traditional' and that I could find a way/ways to make a living that fit with what I want out of life. Going through the exercises, reading the information, and especially reading about the experiences of others who have searched and have found/are finding their callings, has helped me find focus and solidify my resolve. I am now well on my way to living the life I was meant to live.

There are many resources for those who do fit the 'traditional' career mold, but for all of us who think/know there must be more, resources are much harder to find. Finding Your True Calling provides just such a resource, and I am truly thankful I found it. If you think/know there is something more, that life has more to offer, you owe it to yourself to go through Finding Your True Calling.

Most of us want more than a career. We want to know "What is the purpose of my life?" Purely by accident I stumbled across Valerie Young and Finding Your True Calling. I purchased the book as part of a personal consultation with the author, but the book is effective in its own right. Add in a consult with Valerie and you may find yourself discovering your life purpose.

My background is in facilitating change in groups. It was fascinating, fun, and powerful to take similar steps through this workbook with the focus on my self and my own life. Use the workbook as an amazingly rich resource. Or, open it up and step into the often unexplored territory of your past, your potential, and your future life. It may take your breath away.

"Finding your true calling". In most cases, this term is simply a cliche. But this book is quite a gem: a collection of thought-provoking and inspiring articles, anecdotes, and excercises that leave you (literally!) no excuses for not taking 'action' on behalf of the life (Yes,the LIFE,and not just career) you've "craved, imagined, desired, but...". A PRACTICAL manual for realizing the life and work that is yours and nobody else's.

This book has proven very useful in focusing my thoughts on what I really love to do and how I might redefine my future career to incorporate those skills/desires. However, as the book states clearly, it does not provide any easy answers and the reader's committed involvement is critical. There are numerous exercises throughout the book which, if you take your time to action fully, will help you to identify what you want to do with your working life and how you might do it. This will take time but in my case has been very beneficial in helping to decide my future plans. Although those plans are are not yet defined the options that I will consider have been broadened significantly. A very useful book.

I just had the pleasure of working with Valerie's excellent book and a private telephone session with her and all I can say is WOW! I've been grappling for years it seems on how take all of my varied interests and turn them into a viable business/job. The work I did with Valerie helped me to clarify what I want to do and offered me FRESH perspective on how transform a boring job into one that I may actually enjoy. I'm still working all the details out but I feel her valuable assistance got me on the road to living a life full of travel and creative opportunities. Don't hesitate if you're tired of trying to figure it all out on your own, buy her excellent book and hire her for a private session it will help more than I can say..... P.S. Do yourself a favor and the 'Job Idea Generator' chapter of the book, it will certainly help you gain fresh perspective and come up tons of new work ideas. Good Luck

I do find this book helpful in that there is a lot of information by different authors in it. That being said, it really isn't in a "workbook" type format. If you are looking for a "workbook" to help you work through personal issues, such as interests, fears, doubts, etc. to help you make decisions, this one isn't as "fluid" as some of the other works out there. However, this book can introduce you to some of the personalities of the best of the best motivators out there, and you can then buy one of their sole works that is more "fluid". I probably would have only given it 3 stars, but it is very interesting, and the author has done a very good job of assimilating what she presents.

I can't say enough about "Finding Your True Calling", it opened my mind as well as my eyes. You begin to see a path as you go through the exercises. You know that you have a talent, a wish or a drive to excell or achieve your long lost goals. It helps you to look at all of the dreams and wishes and puts them in a different light. A light for which you now want to reach for and succeed. When your done you know Valerie Young will find your Ture Calling. She is so professional yet so easy to work with, that you will be in awe of how she comes up with the greatest jobs for you. From her talented knowledge and creative ideas she finds something that you will be the one to end up being happy at what you do....I guarantee it will be something you would have never thought of, but yet you dreamed of it!

I am 55 and Valerie found my dream job for me and I am on my way to achieve and succeed at my dream job, Thank you Valerie Young.