Work with Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living [Paperback]

Nancy Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2004

In this perennial bestseller, Nancy Anderson shows readers how following their passion and finding that special niche in whatever realm they are truly passionate about is the most effective and rewarding approach to business and career success. Work with Passion follows the step-by-step program she initiates in her career counseling practice, carefully guiding readers through each stage. The program follows the ten "Passion Secrets" of successful people, and topics include clarifying goals, trusting instincts, doing research, and meeting others who are equally passionate about their work. This fully revised edition includes a new introduction by the author.
"I have found that we love to hear success stories," Anderson writes, and each chapter tells those powerful stories of people who have overcome adversity and realized their dreams. Work with Passion has a wealth of inspirational guidance, from the broadest kinds of visionary encouragement to very practical tips on networking, developing a resume, and writing a query letter that gets results. This comprehensive course in career consulting is for everyone who would rather brag about their career than complain about their job.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First published in 1984, and now reprinted in an anniversary edition, this book contains concepts as pertinent today as they were 20 years ago. The first chapter opens with the question, "Are you as happy on Monday morning as you are on Friday morning?" Anderson, a career counselor, believes that people who love their work will be. She sets out to help readers identify their passions and determine how those interests can translate into a career that pays the bills. More emotionally charged than most career books, this volume also delves into the meaning of personal history and childhood events, and carefully considers feelings, self-perception and motivation. Points are illustrated with detailed real-life stories of Anderson’s clients. It’s not all smooth sailing for the case study subjects, who experience "the normal anxiety and fear that are part of risk-taking" and have been hit by "the need for security that can draw us back into the familiar." To facilitate a realistic transition, Anderson’s thorough process goes beyond simply identifying what one wants to do and explains how to research, network and even strike out on one’s own in order to achieve a passion-worthy career.
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Review

Do what you love for a living: that's the advice of a revised, updated edition which continues to advise people on how to patch passions with work goals. From networking and writing resumes to achieving the perfect career and personal match, this gives solid advice. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: New World Library; 3rd edition (June 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577314441
• ISBN-13: 978-1577314448
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Anderson is a career and life consultant and the author of the best selling career guide, "Work with Passion, How To Do What You Love For a Living" (New World Library, 1984, 20th anniversary edition, 2004). She was a Regents Scholar at the University of California, Riverside where she graduated magna cum laude with an interdisciplinary degree in English and Political Science.

Following graduation in 1976, Nancy started a career consulting firm in San Francisco with two partners. Five years later (1981) she started her own career consulting business, at which time she wrote Work with Passion, based on her own and her clients' experiences.

In the years following publication, Nancy continued to refine the intuitive, practical process that helps her clients create the life they were born to live. The first step is to eliminate distractions like clutter, excessive socializing, and spending time with people who drain energy. With distractions out of the way, the next step is to write an autobiography beginning with the grandparents and parents' experiences with money, work and relationships and ending with what is going on now in present time, personally and professionally.

As clients write and talk with Nancy about their stories, they become aware of the self-defeating choices they make without realizing they are on automatic pilot. Then they can practice making better choices until they become the path of least resistance, which builds confidence and faith in the future. Studying the past with objectivity also reveals what clients do easily and well, strengths they may have taken for granted because they are so natural. In fact, once they have cleared away the obstacles to passion many clients say, "but this is so obvious, why didn't I see it before?" For more information, visit Nancy's website at www.workwithpassion.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing, May 14, 2006

By 

S. Paynter (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Work with Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living (Paperback)

This book was the foundation upon which I was able to change my life from that of an frustrated CEO to an independent business woman, wife, mother and friend. Nancy's process uncovered so many "ahh hahhhhh" moments that the dots connected themselves. I found myself breathing deeper, living lighter and seeing a brighter future. All of my relationships have improved -- including the one with myself! It has been three years since I started the my "Work With Passion" journey and my life is amazingly fulfilled. I thank Nancy and her guidance for showing me the way. I now recommend this book to all of my friends. An easy way to find a better life path.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Work at what you love!!, May 29, 2006

By 

B. Iantorno (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Work with Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living (Paperback)

Nancy Anderson's unique book, Work with Passion, is unlike anything I've ever read. It's a one-of-a-kind, hands-on, practical approach to getting paid to do what comes naturally to you. This is not a job hunt book. It's about the process that takes you to knowing your life's work, what's enjoyable for you, the job or business that uses all of your talents and skills. Doing this work gives you deep personal satisfaction, and all the money you need.

Work with Passion is different from other career books because it connects the emotional and psychological intricacies of early family life to the subconscious blocks that inhibit personal and financial success. I discovered this connection six years ago after I worked through the exercises in the book. I am still amazed by the transformation and changes that have occurred and are still occurring in my life since then. The process was slow and often painful, but it led me to freedom from the past. I've learned that the journey should be enjoyed because that's how you come to know yourself and what you love. The hardest part was letting go of what's familiar and trusting in the unknown. It's been a struggle to dissolve the myth that work should be drudgery, but three years ago I moved to Madrid, Spain and created my own business doing what I love most, language and communication coaching. The journey and process are still unfolding, but thanks to the work Nancy's book encouraged me to do, I'm at a place in my life that I had only dreamt of when I was younger.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Work passionately, live passionately!, May 10, 2006

By 

J. Renae "JRea" (Windsor, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Work with Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living (Paperback)

Nancy Anderson doesn't just show you how to find a career you're passionate about she shows you how to find a life you're passionate about!

As I worked my way through my autobiography, and the other enlightening excercises in the book, I watched the hardened exterior of my old life crack and fall away, exposing the shine of a new life as bright as freshly polished silver.

I recommend this book to anyone who is tired of being and working the way others think they "should" and to those who are tired of making excuses for not doing the work they love and living the life they deserve.

Life is precious, live it now. This book will show you how.