Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? An Updated Guide to Your Second Life [Paperback]

Marti Smye (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

Downsized? Fed up? Don't worry -- there's still time to start over! Part nspiration, part toolkit, this book answers the question What am I going to dowith my next life?" -- showing career changers how to embrace new professional lives as well as the "new you" that emerges.

From corporate upheaval to personal discontent, Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? explores multiple reasons for considering a career change andprovides the most effective tools for taking charge of a career transition. Quizzes and checklists help identify individual strengths and desires -- both personal and professional -- to help you invest in your personal growth and develop a realistic and flexible plan of action.This book is filled with uplifting, real-life stories from people who have found the confidence and self-management savvy to reach out and grab their dream -- from a biology professor turned jungle guide to a communications exec turned charter boatoperator."

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Through her valuable advice and insight, Marti enables readers to achieve their goals by mining their own strengths and those of the people around them. In these challenging times, we are all well served by Marti's engaging advice and counsel." —Zoë Baird, CEO, Markle Foundation Laid Off? Burned Out? Find Out How to Switch Careers—And Live Happily Ever After Do you suspect a downsizing outbreak at your company? Do you feel trapped in your current position? Whatever the catalyst, you will likely face a hard fact at some point in your life: the need for a career change. In this unique guide, now updated, Marti Smye, Ph.D., gives you targeted tools to take charge of that change—and match your strengths, your beliefs, and life's realities to your dreams. A corporate change management specialist, Smye shows you how to apply the secrets of cutting-edge organizations to your own career and life. With quizzes and checklists at every step, you'll learn how to take inventory, invest in yourself, create your own "board of directors," develop a realistic, flexible business plan—and soar to new heights as the CEO of "You, Inc." Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? is filled with uplifting, real-life stories. You'll meet Paul, a professor of biology who now guides tours of the Amazon jungle, as well as many others who found the confidence and self-management savvy to go for their dreams. "Change is not an option; it is going to happen to you," Smye firmly believes. With this guide, you too can make change less daunting and continually rewarding—on the job and beyond.

About the Author

Dr. Smye is a world-renowned thought leader, organizational behaviorist, and executive consultant in the fields of individual and organizational change. She is also a Founding Principal of Maddox Smye, LLC, an international consulting firm. She is the author of You Don't Change a Company by Memo and the coauthor of Corporate Abuse.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; Updated Edition edition (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764566431
• ISBN-13: 978-0764566431
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You can't just read it - you have to work through it., March 27, 2002

By 

Douglas A. Storbeck (Savage, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? An Updated Guide to Your Second Life (Paperback)

If you've ever thought, "man, I know there's more to life than what I'm doing, but I don't know what it is," this is the book for you. However, don't just read it and think that "it" will come to you. It takes time, thought, and introspection to WORK through this book. I left the position I was formerly in which resulted in an 8% pay cut, however my life it much more balanced, I'm incrementally happier, and I can't believe the difference (nor can my wife or in-laws!). A powerful book with a great message - if you're willing to work for it!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Not Just a Circus, It's An Adventure!, January 29, 2002

By 

Laura J. Gaither (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? An Updated Guide to Your Second Life (Paperback)

I love the title of the book! It's mainly the reason why I bought it. However, I almost didn't read beyond the introduction. I began to think, "This isn't for me!" Among the folks who decided to "run away" included a stockbroker (yoga instructor), a lawyer (blacksmith) and a company vice president (winery owner), people who could most likely afford to leave the corporate world behind and yet still be financially secure when they started up their new ventures.

I would have preferred an introduction that included what an everyday office worker or a laborer dreams about doing. They want to run away too, but can't afford to hop aboard the circus train. Whose success story can they read and really relate to for inspiration?

Running away and joining the circus is a grand idea if you're looking for something new, exciting, and fun! The adventure lies in getting there. Just make sure you don't end up with the same bunch of clowns! And watch where you step!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good info, but could be shorter, December 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? An Updated Guide to Your Second Life (Paperback)

I think the author presents an intersting theory about managing midlife career changes.
She asks the reader to think of themselves as a small business and she then maps out her theory of how a person can sucessfully run away to the "circus". She does so by using an organizational approach to managing change. 1)The organization as a whole 2)Groups and 3) the individual. All of these "rings" need to facilitate the change so the transition can set in. Each of these is then divided up into 3 subcategories for a more individual, internal approach to making a change. This is where it gets dense and I do think some of chapters could be pared down.
I don't think the author is encouraging people to "run away" she is asking the reader to confront your environment. Sometimes it is not you, it is your environment. She is encouraging the reader to dream, evaluate, design and find your new "circus" before one is assigned to you.