Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for the Rest of Your Life (Paperback)

by Richard J. Leider (Author), David A. Shapiro (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Career development counselor Leider (Life Skills) and freelance writer Shapiro here contend that many "mid-life inventurers" (those undergoing a mid-life crisis) lose their sense of what they want from their personal and professional lives. This simplistic guide is intended to help readers redefine their own version of the "good life" and offers a formula to achieve it. The authors advise readers to discard excess "baggage" such as possessions, responsibilities and relationships in order to reintegrate "work, love, place, and purpose." Citing thinkers from Alfred Adler to Dante and Norman Cousins, they couch their suggestions in metaphorical, slogan-like terms and use sometimes arbitrary-sounding "Postcard exercises" to be exchanged with a "Dialogue Partner." Having "fully unpacked your relationship bags" and chosen only things "you can't live without," you are presumably ready to select a new purpose, way of life and environment. 30,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
The authors describe "repacking"' as the ongoing process of reevaluating and reinventing our lives. Throughout the book's five sections, training consultant Leider (The Power of Purpose, Fawcett, 1985) and coauthor Shapiro argue that there are four elements (work, love, place, and purpose) critical to a successful life and that we must live "passionately for today and purposefully for tomorrow." All of this has been said before, but some authors are able to take familiar concepts and give them new meaning or appeal. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. A major marketing campaign and interest from attendees of Leider's workshops will bring requests from some patrons. Otherwise, only the largest public libraries needing to fill their self-help shelves should consider this derivative work.
January Adams, ODSI Research Lib., Raritan, N.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1st PAPERBACK edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881052877
• ISBN-13: 978-1881052876
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,369,466 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Another cutesy, light-weight, pop-psychology, feel good book, July 20, 1998

By A Customer

I put this book on the top of my list of books that needn't be read. A four page pamphlet would have been a more appropriate forum.

In fact, four lines would do it:

1. Simplify--you don't need everything you've accumulated, including material goods, attitudes, beliefs, and relationships.

2. Learn to enjoy the process, and quit focusing on the ultimate goal.

3. Humor is a basic food group: make sure you have some every day.

4. At the end of each day you should be able to say "this was a day well lived."

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars old news, March 7, 1999

By A Customer

For those wishing guidelines and inspiration for a new direction in life, there are a number of better titles. The advice here is mostly recycled from other sources. The author uses the metaphor of "re-packing your bags" for discarding whatever's worn out or excessive or redundant in your life to facilitate moving on. The material is fairly low-key and soft-focus, not that useful. The book design and production was done on the cheap too, it seems.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What does success mean to you now?, November 8, 2001

By	contentgrrl - See all my reviews

Lots of us are now facing career and life changes whether through layoffs or a sense of "It's time." This book can help you crystallize your own goals, your own vision for what you want to be and do. It's different for everyone.

But what do you say when you get that interview question, or one like it? A successful answer is one that differentiates you from other candidates while striking a chord in the interviewer that speaks to the employer's own goals and values.

I've had similar questions--"Where do you want to be in 10 years?" Twelve years ago I had the answer, and I've done most of it and more in my career, and was proud of it. Lots of my achievements have furthered the business of the companies that employed me.

An interviewer may look for an answer that reflected the kind of job you do. If it's sales or production, then your answer may be "Consistently beating my daily, weekly, quarterly and annual forecasts." If it's design, "Consistently stretching the boundaries of what is possible while keeping my feet firm in what we can plausibly implement with high quality standards." If it's customer service, you might be mentioning similar high quality standards while keeping people happy. And so on. And you elaborate.

But that's not all there is, is there? Right now I'm ready to follow the advice in the book:

"Living in the Place you Belong,
with the People you Love,
doing the Right Work,
on Purpose."

Defining and elaborating each of the four is up to you, but it's a good starting point for those kinds of questions. Periodically reviewing your vision of success is also supposed to be a good way to avoid mid-life crises. Because you will grow in your work and life, you will change your mind about certain things. The idea is to define your life for yourself.

I recommend this book to get you to ask yourself the right questions, identify unnecessary baggage, and embark on your journey.