Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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!

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!

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.

The people who think Smye is encouraging people to "run away" and ignore problems apparently didn't read much more than the title of the book. It's a metaphor, and in fact to be able to "run away" from something that is affecting you requires being able to recognize what that thing is in the first place. That is Smye's first message in this book. The second is how to accomplish that. Just "toughing it out" in the face of evidence that things aren't right isn't always the best solution. Sometimes leaving things behind is the right choice... and the hardest choice you'll ever make. This is true even if the changes might seem superficial at first glance.

As someone who is currently in the midst of a drastic career change, Syme's book is one of several that I've found helpful. Not all of it is great, and Smye's somewhat brusque and occasionally sarcastic tone might put some people off. But there is enough substance that most folks seriously considering a big change will find food for thought. Don't expect one book to change your life -- that part is still up to you! But Smye might give you some insight into what's eating you, and some ideas and tools to help you figure out how to fix things... even if you don't want to become a clown or a trapeze artist.

The back cover of the book touts Smye as an important "thought leader," whatever that is, but it sounded impressive, so I had high expectations for this book.

After reading the book, however, I found most of the advice is basically common sense. Anyone who has spent five years or more in the corporate world will already know much or most of it, but there is some value in bringing this sort of practical information under one cover. Perhaps I would have found it more impressive if I hadn't been expecting so much. Still, there is much good advice here and Smye's style is quite readable and certainly not dry or boring.

The book's message, however, is pretty basic and hard to argue with: change is inevitable, so you either get in sync or learn to adapt to it or get run over. And if you can follow your own mantra and opt out of the corporation, even better. That I can certainly agree with. However, I also appreciate the fact that most people, as in the example of the book, can't became a Yoga instructor and sacrifice the better paying corporate job to do that.

I wanted to say one more thing about American business's fascination with continuous change. Of course, the goal of change is "improvement." It is difficult to disagree with this idea in theory. And I agree with Smye that people need books and info like this in order to better deal with change. However, to my mind, that's not the main problem.

Especially in the corporate world, there is too much change just for the sake of change that is not particularly well thought out or original and therefore not likely to produce anything positive in the way of results. Or, the changes are based on a good idea that had real potential but the execution is so poor that it has little effect or ends up causing more harm than good. There are even times it is obvious to everybody (except management) that the new changes are completely wrong-headed but get executed anyway, and then they're surprised when they have a disaster on their hands.

That having been said, given that changes are quickly and inexorably coming your way, Smye's book contains, as I said, much good advice on how to deal with change that most people will find helpful.

Finally, and not to sound too cynical about it, but it's just the reality of the situation--management loves it when employees really get behind the new, proposed changes--so you can probably win points that way with your boss if you do. Again, at the risk of sounding too Machiavellian, you do have a choice in terms of how you handle change that will put you in management's good graces or not--and may even influence your future career or not--irrespective of the validity of the changes themselves.

The principle lesson here is that it is better to be an agent for change rather than just remaining passive and having it forced on you anyway. The choice is up to you.

It's an OK book. Haven't read it cover to cover yet, but so far I'm kinda neutral.

I couldn't disagree more with the two reviewers how didn't like this book one bit. I read it last summer, thought it excellent, and was delighted to find the updated version newly in print. Lots of great ideas here. This lady knows her stuff! And it's a great concept -- change your life like a corporation would. And preferebly with a corporation nowhere in sight.

I TOTALLY disagree with John Glenn, this is poorly written and reads like a grade school "how to book". Those with basic common sense and an IQ over 10 would spend their time more productively watching paint dry.

I could barely finish reading it....

Found the book to be encouraging people to run away from the issues that we all deal with on a daily basis. Instead of helping people to pull it together and make their relationships, jobs, family situation, etc better, this book tells you to run away. Wouldn't the world be a chaotic and insane place if we all ran away from our responsibilities and joined a circus.

Also, I can't believe that 6 people even read this dumb book!

This book is poorly written for the immature, those unable to commit or take responsibility for their lives. Rather than work on a relationship or issue, according to Smye, just run away..leave your job, your family and all responsibilities and drop your self into a different place...and when that gets tough, just do it again, and again. When does it stop? When is it time to stop running away from your problems?

Immature, weak in content and message.

DO NOT recommend!!!