Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambition (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Solo" for me conjures up images of adventure who never hyperventilate: Charles Lindbergh, who risked his life flying across the Atlantic in a tin plane..." (more)
Key Phrases: solo money, solo life, infinite game, Jim Moore, Walden Pond, Jim Henson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Like legions of corporate foot soldiers who have grown dissatisfied with their safe but stifling careers, publishing executive Harriet Rubin decided to flee the massive organization in which she had become enmeshed and start over on her own. The life of a "soloist," as she came to describe this new professional direction, turned out to be both challenging and exhilarating--and one, Rubin immediately realized, that she would never trade for a return to big business. Soloing is a thought-provoking account of Rubin's career transition with helpful information for others who similarly hope to break free.

Drawing upon the wisdom of disparate authorities ranging from Peter Drucker and Tom Peters to Joseph Campbell and John Steinbeck, Rubin explores the various attractions, distractions, commitments, and opportunities that face those who drop out of the corporate ranks to go solo. She explains how to know when you're really ready (dreams were a major indicator for her and others, including Nickelodeon founder Geraldine Laybourne), how to handle the inevitable fears (in her case, by working harder than ever while savoring her new-found freedom), and how to get this new career up and running (including suggestions for building a personal "brand," maintaining visibility among clients, and creating effective proposals). The result is a truly unique look at a growing workforce segment that will prove inspiring to anyone contemplating going it alone. --Howard Rothman

Review

"A wonderful read and a great road map for discovering that you are who you are--not what you do." -- Frederic D. Rosen, founder and builder of Ticketmaster and current Soloist

"As the environment of most large institutions becomes more and more toxic to human values and health, we all have to wonder if the 'end of the job' isn't just around the corner. But what will replace this icon of the Industrial Age? Self employment? Free lancing? Harriet Rubin suggests a very different image, soloing. In so doing, she may have hit upon the workplace metaphor for the post-Industrial world. As she explains, soloing is less about being alone than it is about approaching one's life as if you were creating it, as an ongoing composition. While soloing can be done as a single act or with collaborators, what it cannot be done without is the soul of the artist, the very thing that large institutions are making extinct." -- Peter Senge, MIT, author of The Fifth Discipline

"Harriet Rubin has clicked into the trend we call Cashing Out: The essence of the American dream today: no boss, no red tapeworking the hours you want, working with the clients you choose' If you have a dream so strong that the thought of not doing it makes you really unhappy, then have the courage of your convictions: Read this book." -- Faith Popcorn, Faith Popcorn's Brain Reserve

"The number of Americans leaving the corporate world to go it alone is swelling to a huge wave. This wise and supremely instructive book is all you will need to make the transition." -- John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends

"Where was this book when I needed it? A practical, pragmatic plan for the wanna-be "Soloist" in all of us. Everyone from masquerading managers to meditating monkscan move towards the self-actualization we all seek. Chopra move over . . . as here comes Rubin. Not foreveryone . . . only those ready to grow." -- Gerard R. Roche, Chairman, Heidrick & Struggles

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness; 1st edition (November 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0066620147
• ISBN-13: 978-0066620145
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #935,148 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Autobiography of an Editor Changing Careers, December 11, 1999

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Be sure you know what kind of book Soloing is before you read it. If you are looking for a business book with lots of how-to advice on how to go from being an employee to having your own one-person organization, you will probably be disappointed in this book. On the other hand, if you are interested in what life is like for the most successful business editor of all time as she strikes out on her own as an author, personality and consultant, you are in for a wonderful treat. Harriet Rubin has an effective, spare writing style that makes for easy reading, making the pleasure even greater. The best part of this book is when she describes the many psychological stalls that kept her from making this move sooner, and delay her progress after she makes the move. If you enjoy learning more about a person's psychology in making a change than practical advice on what you should do, this is a superb book and one you will enjoy. If you dislike psychological perspective, avoid this book at any cost. Ms. Rubin's advice is quite good on several fronts. She clearly understands the techniques of networking at a high level, and if you will be doing the same, you will find her advice to be excellent. In fact, if you are about to follow her exact career path, leaving publishing for a writing, etc. career, the book is probably a good best practice study for you. Having established my own consulting firm 22 years ago after having been a corporate executive, I was attracted to the book because Peter Drucker had recommended Ms. Rubin to me as a good thinker. I also read her book, The Princessa, and found her perspective be somewhat unusual and interesting in both cases. As her experience expands as a problem-solver and her skills grow for analysis, her future books will become even more valuable. I look forward to reading them as they are published. Finally, if you just like an entertaining story of how we can all be more than we are and achieving that can bring meaning and joy, I recommend this book as well.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A few insights; a lot of attitude, February 14, 2000

By A Customer

This book did offer some interesting psychological insights about breaking away from the corporation to work on your own. Unfortunately, the book was marred by repetition, uneven writing and most notably, the arrogant tone of the author. It seems as if first and foremost, the author is concerned with letting the reader know what a special human being she is. She tells us that people in the middle to upper range of experience shouldn't offer their services for less than $5,000-10,000 a day, and inserts an unnecessary chart showing us all the money she made. While she does this with an outward tone of "you can do this too," she is intelligent enough to know that most of us won't be commanding this money. I was offended by her condescention. Nonetheless, I admire her shrewd self-marketing. I just wish I hadn't bought the book.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time or money, January 3, 2000

By	S. Brandon (Arlington VA) - See all my reviews

This book is a hodge-podge of muddled thinking with little practical application. My advice to Harriet Rubin: Editor, edit thyself -- or be quiet. I'm glad I didn't buy the book. I would have been even more annoyed than I am now.

For anyone, male or female, who wants a great read about starting a business on a shoestring: Get a copy of 'MothersWork,' by Rebecca Matthias. A truly funny, insightful, honest, inspirational, smart and, yes, useful book about entrepreneurship. I read Matthias' book once, then did something I've never done before. I turned back to the first page and reread it. It was that good!

I'm not sure who all these people are who are saying Rubins' book is so fabulous and giving it five stars (possibly people she knows who are trying to help her protect her "brand"?) But if you want to read what others think about the dreadful 'Soloing,' go to the next page on this site and read all of the reviews. You'll be amazed at the number of readers who say 'Soloing' is perfectly awful.