Customer Reviews

Do What You Love, the Money Will Follow: Discovering Your Right Livelihood

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Why don't we do what we really love. Why do most of us choose 'the bird in the hand' over the 'many in the bush'. Sometimes, it has little or nothing to do with money. Maybe it has to do with something internal to ourselves- our fear of failure, or the unknown or rejection. In short, we need to question ourselves as to why we do what we do.

The simple and short answer for most people is money. Whatever it is that we currently do either pays the bills, pays the most, or is what we felt at some point in time was the most, if not the best, we could get. It has nothing to do with our likes, our desires or our talents. Many people fall into a situation one way or another, or are lured into something by hook or by crook. Ask yourself if something like this even remotely applies to you:

You spend your entire life judging your own worth based on the opinions of those you look up to, hold in high esteem/regard, and yet they have absolutely no respect for you, your ideas, your perspective, or even you as a human being. You spend a great deal of time doing things for the benefit of others, yet you yourself do not reap any of the benefits or rewards.

You do what others tell you to do, and get only what they think you deserve, and not what you want, or more importantly, need. They could care less about your wants, or your needs, and all that matters to them is that they get what they want from you.

You stay in toxic, hostile, life-draining situations out of fear, because you do not know what to do next, or because this is what you know, this is what is secure, and take the paycheck (always with a large serving of abuse), only to end up at the mercy of those who, quite literally, could not give two s---s about you.

If it does, then Do What You Love is required reading for you.

Marsha Sinetar's book, Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow seeks to answer the inter-related questions why we do what we do and why we do not do what we love by going deeper than the superficial reasons almost always given as answers to these questions. Too many people have missed the point of this book, which is unfortunate. Many readers and more than a few reviewers are too caught up on the money side of the proposition. Others see it as a choice between love with poverty and hate with plenty. Ms. Sinetar states right in the beginning that the money may not materialize immediately, and maybe not at all. For those of us who were not born with a strong character, it takes real courage to act on what we value. Those that are truly successful achieve not only because they love what they do and are good at what they do, they consistently achieve great things because they have the courage to act on their convictions.

Which in the end is what this book is really all about- having the courage to act on one's convictions. The true purpose of the book is to force those of us who know what we love to do to look inward, and ask some very tough questions of ourselves. Why are we doing this, and why aren't we doing what we love? Only we can answer these questions for ourselves, and no book is going to have the answers for us, for each one of us is unique in experience. This book helps the reader to uncover those hidden barriers, which may be psychological or spiritual or both, that prevent us from acting on our convictions and doing what we love.

The book assumes from the outset that you the reader know what your right livelihood is. This can be an important drawback for many readers that are still searching for their right livelihood. Essentially, the book delves into what prevents many of us from doing what we love. More often than not, the thing keeping us from doing the work we love is internal to ourselves, though in more than a few cases, very real physical and external barriers prevent us from pursuing our right livelihood. The book really stresses getting to know yourself before getting busy, or as was often said in 1970s, getting down. As an aside, it really helps if you are preferably young, single, used to a low overhead, not obligated to support one or more dependents, and finally and most important, not encumbered in some kind of co-dependent relationship. And the rest of you can still get something out of the book, though it will be much more difficult (but not impossible) to implement its lessons.

In short, this book forces us to think. It asks us to ponder some difficult issues- where we have been, where we are now, where we would like to be, and where we will end up if we continue our past and present behavior, and how best to determine what it will take to get us where we would like to be.

Those who read this book and are still concerned about the money issue should read 'Your Money Or Your Life' by Julie Dacyzyn and the late Joe Dominguez in conjunction with this book. In any case, please do not take this book to an extreme. Before you make the plunge, do a little planning. The more planning you do, before you take the plunge, the better.

A more appropriate title for this book is: Do What You Love and the Rewards Will Come. Money is but one of the rewards.

A few years ago I was in a working situation, whereby I lacked congruence. At the time personal congruence - i.e. mind, body, spirit enthusiastically moving toward the right fitting goal - meant nothing to me. I just thought I lacked success. Working hard showed no reward. Somewhere I got this book. At first, I found the beginning a bit lukewarm, however, when I began to highlight later quotes,I soon realized that this Sinetar gal was onto some hot liberating insights. I gathered no reward from my hard work, because I was working hard in the wrong livelihood- not using my innate talents and momentum. As Americans we blindly accept the creed of the work ethic. Working smarter is a better creed. As someone said,"If hard work makes wealth andhappiness, than ditch diggers should be happy millionaires." Doing what you love gets youworking eagerly and joyfully. People see me now in my propercareer and always comment on my high energy level.I'm complimented for "working hard." It's more like I'm having a ball. The book helped.

Anybody who recalls Joseph Campbell telling Bill Moyers "follow your bliss" has the gist of this self-help book. Sinetar throws in a few exercises for figuring WHAT you really love, but the basic idea is that old, old observation that you are likelier to be successful if you are working in a field you care about than if you are just punching a timecard.

'Likelier to be' is not, however, a word that comes easily to Sinetar and some folks will find the blind optimism of 'The Money Will Follow' a bit hard to swallow. Needless to say 'Trust in Allah but tie up your camel' is an adage always to be borne in mind when following this sort of advice, and everyone knows people who've done what they've loved and the money never appeared, let alone followed. It's to challenge this kind of pessimism that Sinetar has written her book, and she makes an engaging cheerleader.

There are lots of similar works and personally I think Napoleon Hill presents a better case, but Sinetar is a bit more up to date. Worth reading as an adjunct to other job-search books (like 'What Color is My Parachute'.)

I gave this book two stars not because of the writing, but because the title is misleading. If you're looking for courage to quit your high-paying but soulless job for more soulful work--and maintain your standard of living--this book won't deliver.

Perhaps a better title would be DO WHAT YOU LOVE, THE MONEY WON'T MATTER. That would set a reader's expectations more in line with the book's message. The cases in the book were not monetarily successful. However, they show that if you follow your heart, the money won't matter. The things that money can buy when working a soulless career, such as vacations, clothes, cars, and so on lose their appeal as a reward, because what you DO is the reward. You no longer need what money can buy because you have what money can't buy: love.

This is a good book when you're trying to get the inspiration or courage to change. It's very spiritual and "pick me up" which is something everyone needs before they take action.

That said, this book won't really help you in developing a plan of action towards that goal. If you want that, try Barbara Sher
or Zig Ziglar or Tony Robbins.

So wrote Henry David Thoreau in the classic "Walden." After reading Marsha Sinetar's book, you will understand why.

Most people, for a variety of reasons, have been schooled away from listening to their "inner voice," which is there to guide us in the discovery of our inate talents and interests. This is the basis upon which we should be engaging in our "Right Livlihood," a Buddhist term to describe the work that we were destined to do, which is more than just earning a paycheck, but is fulfilling in a Maslow "self-actualization sense," and is in service to humankind.

Ms. Sinetar's masterpiece is written from the perspective of someone who has looked within themselves and has asked themselves the tough questions about the quality of life they are living. She posits that to ignore that inner longing is to basically live in denial, and untrue to yourself. This incongruity, she argues, is the root of a great deal of dissatisfaction that people have with their lives. Hence the admonition, "to thine own self be true," which is the antithesis of the quote from Thoreau.

This book was instrumental for me during a period of major depression that I was experiencing, that I credit it completely in helping me "find my way back," onto my unique path. Space prohibits me from sharing any details, but I will happily correspond anyone who feels that they are in the middle of a midlife, or carerr crisis.

But first, buy this book, heed its admonitions, and prepare for a major change in your life!

I have also read 'I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was' which I found to be much more practical and easier to read than this one. Both of these books were similar but found this book missed the mark for a few reasons. Too much reference to the spirituality and theology side of doing what you love which I do not feel is of much use. I felt like I was reading a college textbook on psychology packed with quotes from various philosophers and psychologists. If I wanted to read quotes I would have gone to Hallmark. Give me substance containing a method of finding what it is that I love and a simple no-nonsense plan to get there. I would highly recommend the book mentioned above because of it's simpler approach to finding what it is that you love, which this book failed to do, and it helps you develop a simple plan toward achieving your desired life, which again, I feel this book does not do.

The title of this book could be "Why Some People Do What They Love And Others Don't." It's not a guide to actually moving towards the state of bliss she describes, it's just a kind of descriptive summary of the fact that there are two kinds of people, those with high self-esteem, who, unsurprisingly, live really great lives including ones with careers that are rewarding and satisfying, and those with low self-esteem, who are afraid to take risks and pursue their dreams. Thank you, but isn't that already evident? And she doesn't explain what to do about that. If you read the book with low self-esteem, this isn't going to help you become someone with high self-esteem, nor will it help you find the career of your dreams. Her subtitle "Discovering Your Right Livelihood" is also inappropriate because she doesn't have any exercises or tips or advice. Most of the book is anecdotal: people she has talked to who have changed their lives by changing their careers. But she still doesn't tell readers how to do that. It's ok to skim through the book and take what you like, sort of like "Chicken Soup for the Soul" if you're looking for inspiration as to WHY doing this is good for you; but it's no how-to guide nor even a psychology or spiritual affirmation book to comfort or help stimulate you.

An outstanding guide to tuning into your inner world and unique talents. Dr. Sinetar is an organizational psychologist, mediator and writer. She advises us to identify the things that light us from within. "It takes courage to act on what we value and to willingly accept the consequences of our choices." Ten chapters chock full of new ideas, great advice and soul searching that satisfies.

I have also read 'I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was' which I found to be much more practical and easier to read than this one. Both of these books were similar but found this book missed the mark for a few reasons. Too much reference to the spirituality and theology side of doing what you love which I do not feel is of much use. I felt like I was reading a college textbook on psychology packed with quotes from various philosophers and psychologists. If I wanted to read quotes I would have gone to Hallmark. Give me substance containing a method of finding what it is that I love and a simple no-nonsense plan to get there. I would highly recommend the book mentioned above because of it's simpler approach to finding what it is that you love, which this book failed to do, and it helps you develop a simple plan toward achieving your desired life, which again, I feel this book does not do.