Customer Reviews

Thinking for a Living: Creating Ideas That Revitalize Your Business, Career, and Life

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is one of the most entertaining books I have read in recent years. Reiman is widely (and justly) renowned for his creative mind. Literally, he thinks for a living. And is paid handsomely for his creative talent. This is an immensely personal book. He reviews his career, a career during which he prospered as the head of his own advertising agency and then sold it to his associates inorder to "solo" (as Harriet Rubin would describe it), freeing himself from organizational limits to concentrate on what he does best. "My occupation is thinker and that's who I am, employed at that. Frankly, I can't wait until I get my new passport application. I'll get a kick out of writing `Thinker' in the occupation section. After all, if I'm right, thinkers will be going places in the next century."

If you think about it, think carefully about it, this is an intriguing idea: Come up with terrific ideas and sell them for enormous sums of money. (That in itself is a terrific idea.) In reality, obviously, there are very few people who have the talent to "think for a living" as Reiman does. However, and this is the single greatest value of the book, literally everyone CAN learn from Reiman how to think more creatively in his or her career situation...and to think more creatively about how to improve that situation. Moreover, Reiman has some excellent insights into how to improve one's mental and spiritual health. His values are unashamedly old-fashioned. He seems totally committed to his marriage and parenthood. He seems to have a deep and abiding faith in God. He clearly agrees with Joseph Campbell who once said that "The privilege of a lifetime is to be who you are."

For the sake of discussion, let's assume that you are unwilling and/or unable to make a total commitment to thinking as an occupation. I mean full-time occupation. Nevertheless, Reiman explains how his own experiences can help you to increase and enhance your creative (as opposed to analytical) skills, how to apply them more effectively to the personal as well as professional responsibilities entrusted to your care. Reiman observes, "As intellectual capital becomes of greater value to humankind than concrete capital, the world will experience dramatic changes....The measurement of success will be based on one's ability to create from within one's mind rather than outside. Idea rich will take the place of asset rich." I presume to add that ideas are now (or will soon become) the most valuable of assets. That is what "I-commerce" is really all about and it has only begun to have an impact.

Here is a brief, revealing excerpt from the final chapter: "I hope this book, in some small way, plays a role in helping to create the environment in which compassion and prayer, wisdom and kindness, humility and grace become the most powerful, unstoppable big ideas for the next century. If they do, thinking for a living, in the broadest sense of thinking for a rich life, will enrich us all."

Where's the editor when you need one?

This book could have been organized better. Like... major transitions buried deep in paragraphs. Were the sub-heads put there for decoration? The egotistical patty-pat-pat's could have been edited out more. And, where's the meat?

The concept of the book is great, the author is experienced, but the book falls somewhat flat.

This book is like Doug Hall's "Jump Start Your Brain" but minus a lot of its content.

Still, there are some great ideas here. You should buy this book for its references and a few of its ideas. It's an easy read -- and that reflects it's lightness on detail.

One thing I thought was important is the concept of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the 3 areas of creativity: the expert, the domain, the judges.

Most books discuss how to improve the individual -- the expert. But there are 2 other important areas. The domain is the marketplace... with its competitors, etc. This would be the source of ideas and demand for ideas. The judges are the rewarders of new ideas. In some cases this might be the users who will purchase your product. In other cases it might be the companies that purchase your ideas. They provide value and rewards to the idea generator. We must evaluate and improve all three of these areas. Or, select those areas were there's a good match of all three.

Thankfully, Csikszentmihalyi's books are referenced and discussed. This book also discusses other references as well.

After reading the book I believe the author is a sincere and knowledgeable person. But I believe the purpose of this book was to sell his idea-generating company. Given that off-the-mark main direction, it is no wonder there were so many self-congradulatory anecdotes. The purpose of the book should be to explain his major techniques, and the by-product, or secondary objective, should be to sell his company.

Overall recommendation: buy it to fill out your creativity library. Otherwise, there are better books on this subject.

John Dunbar

Those seeking initial inspiration may find this work satisfying and informative. Others, readily aware that knowledge=power, will find this book extremely disappointing. While I don't doubt the author's sincerety and beliefs, the book reads as a self-congraulatory dialogue of HIS realization that ideas are the currency of economic and social success - at a time when he wasn't in a business that compensated him for it. He could also include more examples of the true masters of innovation (inventors) receiving equal or greater credit than those who bring other peoples ideas to market (i.e. Jobs, Gates, etc.). Maybe he can write his next book on how idea people can successfully bring their products to market or how they can structure partnerships that compensate innovators fairly and continually, like great shows are syndicated.

All in all, "Thinking for a Living" was an inspirational and motivational read. Mr. Reiman sights some excellent examples of Big Thinkers throughout the ages. It's a little heavy on ego, as Joey pats himself on the back many times... but overall it's an interesting book

What a surprise! I stumbled across this one and devoured it. Reiman closed his ad agency and opened the first ideation, where his only product his ideas---which he sells for $450,000 each! This is truly a mind expanding work. I particularly loved the concept of being sure I get paid--and paid well---for what I create. I've helped several people become millionaires, but lost money in the process because I didn't honor my own ideas. Reiman doesn't make that mistake. His excitement for living, his boldness for thinking out of the box, is contagious and refreshing. This is a guy who is truly a creative genius. Had I known about him when I wrote my book on P.T. Barnum, "There's a Customer Born Every Minute," I would have included Joey Reiman in it. That's a high compliment and this book is terrific. It's one of the few I'll re-read.

When read with Michael Michalko's "Cracking Creativity," this book is superlative. It shows creativity in action while Michalko's excellent book explains how to be creative.

I ordered this book from Amazon last week and couldn't wait to jump into it, but first I had to finish the other two books I was in the middle of. Having done that, I eagerly started on "Thinking for a Living" around 8:30pm one night last week. Armed with a highlighter, I got to chaper 5 by 1:00 am and was so excited with ideas that I couldn't sleep. I then finished the book the following day around 3:00pm.

I simply LOVED this book! I cannot say enough about it. If I had to rate this book based on the number of stars in the sky, I'd still be about half shy.

I cannot tell you how many times I laughed out loud at the brillance of his ideas and was also touched by them. I cannot tell you how many quotes he has in the the book that have shaped me along the way, and of the people that he admires, I have also admired. This book has helped me to look at what I do and what is MY most valuable asset (my brain) in a refreshing way. AND the fact that God was the ribbon that tied it all together makes a very powerful and bold statement and it's one that I relate to very deeply.

Furthermore, this book has helped me to realize all over again something I already knew: that my ideas DO have value. It has demonstrated that ideas + determination + God = success. It has inspired me to go beyond the beyond in my thinking and get in touch with the 8 year old me (that Picasso talked about). He has put some FUN back into the art of thinking and this book has reaffirmed what I have always thought: I am on the right track with my thinking and believe in it.

I have already recommended this book to my graphic designer friends, and currently, one of my designer friends has this book on his desk and has read the first chapter. I INSISTED that he read it.

"Thinking for a Living" is extremely well researched and it comes directly from the heart. It's easy to read and just makes sense. We can all learn from this man's experience. Isn't that what it's all about anyway? Invest in yourself, invest in this book.

Bought this book on a Friday night, finished it Saturday afternoon, and was hungry for more Saturday night! I agree with the other person who wrote in their review that "the only complaint was that it's too short!" What's next Mr. Reiman? --We're waiting....!

Reiman is a terrific visionary, but this is an absolutely mediocre book with little in terms of substance. The material is indeed scattered. The earlier review by John Dunbar is spot on with charges that a) the book is badly organized; b) the book is edited very poorly.

The mismash arises from the fact that the book draws on unrelated areas as wide as organizational psychology in a creative firm, patent law(?), vignettes of the author's experiences, references to other people's ideas, and even (literally) food that is good for your brain(?)

The problem is that insight is lacking in the book. All the vignettes lack the 'so what' factor. He basically writes: this happens, and then it was a success. But he omits the thinking why it was a success. A typical example follows: "...Young and Tender chicken TV commercial... client wants to drive home brand-name ... idea that came up was - take a dozen 11 mth old babies and make them dance to funky chicken. Nothing is more young and tender than adorable babies". Sure I agree, but there is never an attempt to bridge that extra gap to the insightful stuff...

The only decent themes (and noted by other reviewers too) that this book actually carries through are:
1) That ideas are valuable, and one should charge as much as possible. Interestingly, this is a self-justifying comment, and the tone of the whole book is certainly very 'self-congratulatory'.
2) His reference to Csikszentmihalyi's triangle and that "C showed us that creativity is inseparable from domain."

At the end of the day, why not just read "Flow" and "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". Save the pennies and engage Brighthouse instead.

While on the light side, this is the kind of "career" book I like to read. Easy, quick, but thought provoking. It's great for a meditative afternoon, a plane ride, or a quick break here and there when you need to be reminded how easy it is to be creative--at home and work.