My Reality Check Bounced! The Twentysomething's Guide to Cashing in on Your Real-World Dreams [Paperback]

Jason Ryan Dorsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2007

It’s time to cash your reality check and re-create your life on your own terms.

In your twenties you expect to finally live life on your own terms. But it can seem like the world won’t cooperate. Roommates drive you crazy (but you can’t afford to lose them), entry-level jobs frustrate you (“Four hundred double-sided copies before lunch,”), and even a dream job can take over your nights and weekends, leaving you feeling like you are running hard but going nowhere.

Jason Ryan Dorsey helps you turn this coming-of-age crisis into opportunity. He shows you the big secret of the real world—that you don’t realize how much control you have over your life until you use it. In My Reality Check Bounced! Jason shows you how to:

Find the courage to climb out of your real-world rut
Create a Future Picture that gets you off your “buts”
Uncover opportunity and build a tag team to make the most of it
Live like you mean it, and finally cash your reality check.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dorsey's follow-up to Graduate to Your Perfect Job is a how-to guide for struggling young adults seeking to kick off a career or achieve a long-term goal. Through real-world examples and prescient lessons-including instruction in making human connections and facing fears of failure-Dorsey underscores the importance taking responsibility for one's own success, pursuing dreams without hesitation and turning obstacles into advantages. Drawing on his own experience as an 18-year-old who left college to self-publish a book, racking up substantial debt before making a name for himself as a motivational speaker, Dorsey's lived-in examples demonstrate the importance of everything from finding a mentor to experiencing failure. Speaking mainly to the collegiate and post-collegiate crowd, Dorsey cites examples that are both profession-specific and widely applicable. With short, easy-to-follow anecdotes and analyses, plus numerous guided exercises, this is a useful, practical guide for anyone sick of their own excuses.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“My Reality Check Bounced! reveals exactly how to break free of your real-world rut to find your authentic, meaningful path. This book should be required reading for all Twentysomethings!”
—Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Success Principles

“I’ve known Jason for six years, and in all six years I’ve seen him help people our age make life-changing decisions for the better. He is a real inspiration for our generation.”
—Kenan Thompson, actor and comedian, Saturday Night Live, Kenan & Kel

“Jason Dorsey offers irresistable inspiration for quarterlifers in crisis. His step-by-step strategies will get you moving in the right direction.” 
—Abby Miller, co-author, Quarterlife Crisis

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; Ex-Library edition (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767921836
• ISBN-13: 978-0767921831
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get a reality adjustment., January 5, 2007

By 

C. S. Clarke "C.S. Clarke, Ph.D., Psychologist" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Reality Check Bounced! The Twentysomething's Guide to Cashing in on Your Real-World Dreams (Paperback)

My Reality Check Bounced is a practical, workable book of advice, written by a twenty-something for other twenty-somethings who are trying to develop a career and a life. The advice is given with all the contagious enthusiasm of the youth of the author, but its content is more in keeping with the writing of a seasoned, professional forty-something. Mr. Dorsey may have dropped out of college to pursue his dream, but he's still doing his homework. Like any good self-improvement text, his book appears to be a solid combination of reading, research and experience. I tend to be brief in reviewing, so I'll just say that if I used more words to describe his book, they would mostly be synonyms for "excellent." And I recommend it to anyone of any age who is still developing a career or business.

Using numerous interesting and compelling stories as a starting point, he applies critical analyses to the issues typically facing young careerists. He then models problem-solving skills and provides clear how-to's for dealing with those issues. The essentials he covers include self-motivation, self-confidence, networking, relationship-building, critical thinking, work-life balance, effective communication, freedom of choice and overcoming excuses, fear and indecisiveness -- and more.

Dorsey's style is bright and upbeat; the book is easy and fun to read, inspiring, and the stories are so real and engaging that you won't want to put the book down until you're finished.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book is a great way to kick start 2007, January 17, 2007

By 

Travis Doss "Travis D." (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Reality Check Bounced! The Twentysomething's Guide to Cashing in on Your Real-World Dreams (Paperback)

My mother bought My Reality Check Bounced for me. I was initially apprehensive at first - But boy did some of the stories hit a little too close to home!!!!!

I nearly devoured the book in one sitting.

I am definitely glad that my mom bought this book for me. -Timing couldn't have been better as I map out my goals for 2007.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Real Deal, January 31, 2007

By 

Jude Galligan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Reality Check Bounced! The Twentysomething's Guide to Cashing in on Your Real-World Dreams (Paperback)

Dorsey includes practical and powerful action steps that anyone can take towards achieving their goals. Buy this book if only to discover the simple and sincere methods of finding your mentors. Use it like a handbook - follow the instructions and troubleshoot when necessary. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for the "secrets" of building a rewarding life.