Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? [Paperback]

Marti Smye (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

Do you suspect a downsizing outbreak at your company? Do you wonder why you ever made the choices you're stuck with? Whether the culprit is corporate upheaval or gnawing discontent, you will likely face a hard fact at some point in your life: the need for career change. Marti Smye, Ph.D., gives you targeted tools to take charge of change - and match your strengths, your beliefs, and life's realities to your dreams.

A corporate change management specialist, Smye shows how to apply the secrets of cutting-edge organizations to your own career and life. With quizzes and checklists at every step, you'll learn how to take inventory, invest in yourself, create your own "board of directors," develop a realistic, flexible business plan - and soar to new heights as the CEO of "You, Inc."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? is a book about reinventing yourself: the necessity of doing so, and how to go about it. It's about recognizing that personal needs change, and that when your current version of life begins to squeeze the soul out of you, there are alternatives.

Smye spent years talking to corporate moguls, but instead of hearing success stories and the pride born of accomplishment, she heard such comments as "another week on the gerbil wheel"--this from a man whose job perks included a Turbo Bentley and use of the company jet. And when she asked people how they felt, she got this reply: "First of all, I want to scream. Then I want to kick someone. Then I'd like a bottle of bourbon and a quiet dark room." And this one: "I'm tired and I've been tired forever and I'm tired of it." And this one: "What do you have to do to be allowed to be in a rage? My kids are allowed to be in a rage sometimes. My wife is allowed to be in a rage sometimes. Why can't I? When do I get my midlife crisis?"

In response to this widespread angst, Smye suggests ways to "organize your work around your satisfaction, serenity, and self-esteem." She discusses job and personal dissatisfaction, and how to recognize the signs. She leads you skillfully through the steps of reflecting on who you once were, who you have become, and what you actually want your life to look like. Along with helpful worksheets, the book includes many case studies illustrating how people became so unhappy, and what they did to remedy their situations. Smye says there's always a chance for a new life, that it's never too late to join the circus. But "you'd better do your planning now," she advises, "because the future is going to happen to you whether you're ready or not." In Circus, Smye takes the shame out of dissatisfaction and the fear out of contemplating a different life. --Stephanie Gold --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Marti D. Smye, Ph.D., is president of PeopleTech, a division of Right Management Consultants, specializing in planning and implementing organizational change for Fortune 500 companies. She is the author of You Don't Change a Company by Memo and the co-author of Civilizing the Workplace.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Key Porter Books (September 1, 1998)
• ISBN-10: 1550139770
• ISBN-13: 978-1550139778
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,869,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting perspective about redirecting one's life, December 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus?: Finding the Life You Really Want (Paperback)

Marti Smye has written a book for all of those 40 somethings and 50 somethings who are re-thinking how they want to spend the rest of their lives. Included are a number of very good exercises that provoke thought and are realistic in the application of the results and conclusions that are drawn. All in all, excellent and practical.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful guide for people who feel they need change, December 2, 1999

By 

"vese" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus?: Finding the Life You Really Want (Paperback)

What I liked in this book is that it focuses on many different areas people usually don't think about when they want to make the change. It is a good analysis and it is flowing very easy, without too many stupid overestimations that are common in other self-help books.

I would recommend it to everybody to read.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Run Away and Circus Collection--What a Joke, June 14, 2002

By 

Roger Van Zanderly (Canada and US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus?: Finding the Life You Really Want (Paperback)

This is a ridiculous book and the title reflects it. Poorly written, elementary and yet another attempt by an incompetent author to write.

A must NOT read. Other than perhaps being theraputic to the author this book offers little.

As circuses are becoming a thing of the past, so should this book, the author should just give it up. Her previous book was a big waste and so is this one. It says nothing but the obvious. Written for clowns

Don't waste your time or money on this one.

Its an embarassment--the Run Away and Circus collection--what a joke. AKA the clown collection