Work With What You Have: Ways to Creative and Meaningful Livelihood [Paperback]

Deborahann Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 1999

Deborahann Smith takes up where she left off in her well-received Temp: How to Survive and Thrive in the World of Temporary Employment, this time providing the same sound and entertaining advice to the broader audience of everyone who works for a living. Her book shows how to make all the work we do meaningful and rewarding: from finding the job in the first place, to flourishing in it, to—eventually—moving on. She shows how to cultivate a positive attitude no matter what the task at hand, how to generate satisfaction for one's work from deep within, and how to continue to learn and grow throughout your working life. Also included is wisdom drawn from the author's own Zen practice and personal experiences, as well as from spiritual teachers, such as the Dalai Lama and Krishnamurti, on how to turn work into the spiritual path it is meant to be.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Smith (Temp) offers broad ruminations about work, its meaning in our lives and possibilities for "alternative workstyles." Drawing insight and opinion from her own 20 years of working experience, she addresses such issues as creativity, identity, leadership, difficult bosses, ornery co-workers, temping, freelancing, quitting a job and losing a job. She offers some practical advice for "keeping your sanity" on the job and for overcoming something she calls "worker's block," which is akin to writer's block but applicable to any job or career. While she encourages readers to "take small steps toward your goal," she's not very clear about how they can determine what their goals are, what they want from their work. Although she frequently mentions her Zen practice, she avoids any serious discussion of how people can integrate their moral values into their work. Smith also seems oblivious to many of the personal and financial realities her readers may face, including family and debt. Rather than tell readers how to find work that suits their personalities, she assumes that everyone can simply adopt particular personality traits in order to make the most of a given situation. Overall, Smith provides a lot of motivational-speaker truisms so vaguely couched as to be of only limited use to work-weary clock punchers.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Work with What You Have abounds with anecdotes, personal insights, and advice from sources as diverse as a woman who cleans out stables for a living to Albert Einstein. . . . If Work with What You Have fails to inspire readers to a new sense of fulfillment in even the most stressful job or mundane task, it's time to give notice and reread that chapter entitled "Chaaaaaaange."—Independent Publisher

"This book tells you what you need to know to get going—and Deborahann Smith's style is so delightful you'll want to get going soon. It may even be your path to financial freedom."—Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, authors of Your Money or Your Life



"Work with What You Have is a book that encourages us to approach each day with willingness and enthusiasm. Most important, it reminds us that happiness is a choice."—Laurence G. Boldt, author of Zen and the Art of Making a Living and How to Find the Work You Love

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala Publications; First Edition first Printing edition (March 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570621144
• ISBN-13: 978-1570621147
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,581,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, April 7, 2005

By 

Jonathan Arias (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Work With What You Have: Ways to Creative and Meaningful Livelihood (Paperback)

As a career and livelihood coach, I find WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE to be a valuable resource -- especially for my clients in the arts or those who are seeking situations beyond the typical 9-5. Plenty of books address issues of money and personality traits in the workplace. This book, rather, presents an inspiring compendium of experiences shared by people (Deborahann and others) who have found creative ways around the daily grind. Chapters of special interest include Unusual Ways to the Top, A Job With a View, Working Meditation, Alternate Workstyles, Predicting the Past, and Avocation. Highly recommended.