The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Once, I was in the same situation you are facing today..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Author Nicholas Lore uses the techniques of his career-guidance network, the Rockport Institute, to make The Pathfinder a substitute for a great job counselor. Through goal setting, list making, and other techniques, the book leads readers though the process of deciding exactly what they want to do for a living and finding a way to make it happen. Lore realizes that people have different temperaments and decision-making methods, so he provides individualized advice to suit each one. He also understands that creating a new career requires courage as well as desire, so The Pathfinder devotes plenty of space to motivation and overcoming fears. While anyone looking for a new career will find direction with this guide, people who didn't know they were looking may decide to start once they go through Lore's probing self-examination process.

Review

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (January 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684823993
• ISBN-13: 978-0684823997
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,564 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Compass, February 6, 2009

By	teambldr23 - See all my reviews

You spend about a third of your life (or so) working, so it's a hefty chunk of your time. Therefore, it would be nice if your job was truly satisfying. That's why this is a such an important book for a lot of people- job satisfaction can definitely equal greater happiness in life.

At over 300 pages, the book is a bit on the long side. It also is quite detailed, so don't expect to pick it up and have all the answers in an hour or two- there are exercises and "things to do", so be prepared to put some elbow grease into it. But remember, if it was that easy to figure out how to have a satisfying career, we wouldn't need career counselors or books like these. In the end, you will get what you put into it. Besides, the book isn't just about having a great career, it's about having a great life. Also recommend "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World" for more on setting specific goals that can bring one long-term happiness.

130 of 141 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK DESERVES TEN STARS, August 1, 2000

By A Customer

I am a career coach with eight years of experience working with people wanting a new career - a better fit with their talents, more meaningful, a better work environment. I have to admit that, at times, I have felt that there was something important I didn't learn in my master's program in counseling. I have used books such as Parachute, Zen and the art of... and many others. They are o.k. but not great. I read a review here where a career counselor highly recommended The Pathfinder. I got it and it has changed my life completely. This is by far the best book for you if you are deciding on a career or thinking of changing, if you want a very fulfilling life and are willing to go for it. This book is about having not just a great job. It is much more than that, a book about having a great life. The author is a genius. Besides that, he has the wisdom of a real Zen master, but unlike most wise men, he has no pretensions about it. He is just a regular person, and very cool at the same time. Most importantly, The Pathfinder is the only book I have ever found that can actually take you through to the point where you have actually decided what you will do with your life. Get it. You won't regret it. I now use it with all of my clients. Not only is this THE book for people making their own choices, it is also the best book for people who want to be more skillful at helping their clients do so - coaches, therapists and so forth.

321 of 357 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pathfinder . . . A Rare Find., September 25, 2000

By	Achilles "careerwriter" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

The Pathfinder is light-years ahead; Nick Lore has literally reinvented career counseling. If you want more than a job, this book is loaded with tools that really work . . .

As a career columnist and coach I've spent the last decade researching to find innovative career development tools. Most of what has been around for the last 25 years is job finding focused. If you need help with choosing your career direction, traditional tools will fail you miserably. All my mid-career clients who've been through the high school and college systems say, "There really isn't much "life direction" counseling going on!" The more recent career books on the shelf have made attempts to fill this gap, but most of them make only small improvements to traditional tools that never really worked. Nick Lore has upped the ante . . . raising the bar of the career counseling profession to a whole new level.

The Pathfinder is brilliant. Nick Lore's insights into human nature had me bursting into laughter, laughing at myself, and completely rethinking what a "career" is. Much like how transformational movies stick with you; Lore tugs on your heart and soul; you'll never see your career in the same way. Despite your fears, he inspires you and gives you powerful tools to do something with your life. Nick Lore is a witty storyteller and social scientist who has invented a way to get you moving in the right direction. Intuitively, you get that the depth of Lore's tools and inquiries can only come from someone who has committed himself to a life's work. Rockport Institute's approach to measuring innate talent and aptitudes is pure genius. Lore exudes a genuine-ness rarely seen, and you can tell the he has lived and breathed this stuff. On top of all that, The Pathfinder is wonderfully written and even has cool illustrations.

I've been using this program in my private practice, my clients all say they wished they had this before they went off to college and majored in the wrong field. They are getting results, and changing their lives . . . simply amazing. Once you've "done" this book you'll wonder why it hasn't yet become a key component of our educational system. In this regard, I highly recommend The Pathfinder to successful, but unhappy professionals, hard to please dreamers, and anyone who knows something is missing in their work but can't put their finger on it.

To better guide future high school grads from the frustrations of spending lots of time and money on a degree that doesn't fit, I also recommend this book to the US Secretary of Education, high school counselors, college career centers, and parents. Dear fellow career professionals, you are going to love this book. As a writer I quote from this book constantly, recommended it to my mother at 59, and use it exclusively with my career change clients. If you're between the ages of 16 and 102, The Pathfinder just may well become your pocket guide for living an extraordinary life, or just keep hoping the answer will come someday . . .