Customer Reviews

Living Without a Goal

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

 

 

When I saw this book on the shelf of my local library, I knew that it was something I had been looking for. It has always struck me how, pyschologically, humans are always thinking towards some greater end in their future, and in the mean while miss being alive in the present moment of endless creative possibilities. James Ogilvy logically defines the life of Goalessness, and clearly specifies the philosophies that it is NOT and what it is confused with. It is a life of artfulness and without extremes, from the perspective of abandonment of politics and religion. Living without a Goal is like creating a work of art in the sense that artistic creativity serves no goal outside itself. Like the artist in his studio, the person in a life must create from the inside out rather than relying on some great blueprint in the sky to justify her actions here on earth. Better to take artistic creation as a metaphor: to see in the challenge of artistic creativity a model or a likeness for the challenge of living life without a Goal. It is not selfishness, it's not hedonism, but it is also not a life without desires (detachment, as in Buddhism) and yes it WILL be a patchwork of smaller goals lest you find this idea impossible or absurd. The difference is that they are not hinged on to any other greater goal besides themselves. There is a necessary balance between freedom and discipline. I highly enjoyed his philosophical and clear, honest style of composition. Recommended!

First of all, the editorial reviews for this book are mistaken on two points; the author's name is James, not Jay Ogilvy and this is NOT a business book. The principles could be applied to a business environment but the book hardly deals directly with this at all. James Ogilvy deserves credit for attempting to unravel a very complex and paradoxical (e.g. how can you have the goal of not having a goal?) issue. How can we, in a goal-oriented society, live without being driven and obsessed by an endless parade of grand goals? The simple answer, and one that is given in many other books, is to say that we should relax and "let go" of our desires in a Zen or Taoist manner. Ogilvy does advocate this, but he also attempts to deal with the question in a more thorough and philosophical manner. Unfortunately, his arguments sometimes seem like streams of consciousness that don't always accomplish their...goals. Still, the discussion is always interesting. Some of Ogilvy's best lines seem almost like incidental, throwaway phrases that don't always fit into the larger argument. I suppose that's consistent with his message. He does make a few quite valuable and coherent points. He differentiates "small g" goals and "large G" Goals. It is the latter he would have us relinquish. If we live entirely without goals, our lives will sink into nihilism. If we pursue large Goals, however, we will always be seeking gratifications in the future that will almost always disappoint us even if we do achieve them. Ogilvy illustrates his case by creating two fictional characters, Spike and Lila. Spike is a young slacker type who illustrates the pitfalls of goallessness; Lila is a Goal-driven baby-boomer who has been let down by one Goal after another. Spike and Lila could have been fleshed out more; they only appear as actual characters in one chapter, though Ogilvy refers to them elsewhere. Another quibble I had is that Ogilvy is prone to making broad generalizations. Like many authors and social scientists, he sums up entire decades with one or two words (e.g. the 70s were the "me" decade, the 80s were materialistic). In a book that tries to dig deeply in other ways, this kind of reductionism is a little annoying. I would also argue with some of his assumptions concerning language and postmodernism, but these are interesting to contemplate whether you agree with him or not. Plato, Freud and Nietzsche (along with Howard Hughes) are all invoked as representing different positions on the Goal quagmire. For good reasons, Ogilvy favors Nietzsche as the wisest on these issues. Overall, Living Without A Goal tackles some very important issues that are relevant to our personal lives as well as society.

I finished this book this afternoon and have just finished reading all the reviews. First I would like to remark on all the negative comments left by other reviewers. An excellent point was made that the book has a lot of seemingly unnecessary hard-to-undertsand philosophy, some of which I never could quite fully grasp myself. If you're someone who doesn't read a lot and/or is not familiar with the particular philosophies discussed, I would still recommend this book, but try not to get to caught up in following everything this guy is saying because you'll be re-reading entire paragraphs all day. I also agree with the contentions that this book was not exactly what most people would have expected based on the title. I have a cousin who tends to be lazy and is unemployed currently and seems to have little motivation when it comes to achieving long-term goals. He saw the book on my shelf and asked me how it was. This is when I finally decided to read it. THIS IS NOT A BOOK FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE TO SIT AROUND DO NOTHING! Its not about giving up the idea of setting goals altogether but about how to not get too caught up in your goals that you forget to enjoy the ride, which, according to the author, is what this book is really all about. Its about living like and artist. Even artists have goals, they just go about them differently and that is what this book explains how to do. I would also like to point out that the moment of understanding in this book will most likely not occur until the VERY END in the final pages of the last chapter. Its like the author spent the first 180 pages preparing your mind so that you can understand his ultimate point, which again, is summed up in as little as the last few pages. This is important to remember if you're one of those people who puts books down is they fail to provide immediate solace in the first few pages.

Overall this was a good book and I would recommend it to anyone. It wasn't exactly what I expected but I put it back on the shelf with a much nicer perspective on my life that I might not have found otherwise.

I like to go off and think deep thoughts probably a little more than average. I even enjoy philosophical rantings when they have a point. However, I found this text to have little to no substance. The thoughts were deep but seemed to be more self serving of the author than to have a point.

In today's pace driven world, I was looking forward to a little respite in James Ogilvy's book. Unfortunetely, it didn't deliver for me. What suggests to be a guide to finding creativity and fulfillment, ends up being nothing more than the author's sterile philosophical rantings. Actually, I don't know how it ended since I only made it through half the book. I would have liked less history and more "evidence" or anecdotes from the author's life that promote this way of living. Ogilvy wants to sell us on "goallessness", but doesn't offer any kind of convincing argument. Too bad, since I would tend to agree with this point of view!!

I like Ogilvy's premise that we should stop striving toward a distant Goal and be more artful about the small details of living. Unfortunately, though, most of the book goes off the deep end into unreadable philosophical abstractions ("Narcissism Degree Zero," "Semiotics and Sublimation"). Most readable are the stories about real lives -- the author's, Howard Hughes's, Lila's, Spike's. If you're interested in this topic, your time is better spent reading Julia Cameron's THE ARTIST'S WAY or Thomas More's THE SOUL OF SEX.

I was very excited when this book came out back twelve years ago. I purchased it with the expectation of finding a whole new perspective. Unfortunately, for me, it wasn't useful and I didn't finish reading it. I hope it is more helpful to others.

Excellent, provocative, thoughtful, and much needed reflection on life and work