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Harriet Rubin

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Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambition Hardcover – November 3, 1999

by Harriet Rubin (Author)

4.0 29 ratings

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Soloing has two meanings: "going it alone" and being "complete in yourself." . . . But you don't just leave--a company/a career/a paycheck--and cross over to a more satisfying life. There's more to it. There is a mysterious passage to be negotiated, a delicate transition required to go from alone-in-the-desert to complete-in-yourself.

Harriet Rubin, bestselling author of The Princessa: Machiavelli for Women, returns with inspiring advice for professionals dreaming of crossing over from a corporate world of prescribed boundaries to the limitless opportunities of soloing. She describes how people can do great things--things they would never be able to accomplish inside the corporate structure--when they manage or lead no one.

As one successfully navigates the passage toward a truer sense of self that Rubin describes, four invaluable freedoms await:

The first freedom is regaining your sense of identity.
Walk out of any big company and who are you, stripped of that mighty identity? Potentially bigger and better than before. Who were you before the corporate you? To get back one's sense of self is why people go solo.

The second freedom is independence.
Why is working alone so important in doing great work, given that it's also the scariest part? Imagine having complete command and control over your time and the work you do. This is how soloists realize their great strengths: They are reduced to themselves.

The third freedom is income.
You can earn in one year what you earned in two before. Do you work harder to do this? Yes. Do you enjoy it more? Yes. Solo money is alive. Unlike a salary doled out like an allowance from parents, the money earned by soloing is a true emblem of a person's worth.

The fourth freedom is illumination.
A professional builds a career, but a soloist builds a portfolio and a life free of boredom, full of challenge. Direct contact with work itself is direct contact with life.

With insights as diverse as Henry David Thoreau's "I want to be sure the world doesn't change," and Michael Jordan's response to the statement: "There's no 'I' in team,"--"That's right, but there is an 'I' in win,"--Rubin gives readers the chance to bring their dreams into alignment with reality.

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Business
Publication date

November 3, 1999
Dimensions

5.25 x 1.25 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0066620147
ISBN-13

978-0066620145
See all details

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

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Business; First Edition (November 3, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0066620147
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0066620145
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.25 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,902,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10,171 in Motivational Management & Leadership
- #10,781 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Books)
- #17,136 in Entrepreneurship (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 29 ratings

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David Mitchell

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2015

Verified Purchase

A useful manual for anyone considering a nonjob life. Fun to read as a memoir as well!

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Nanette Gage

Must-read if you are a solo business person - or planning to become one

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2013

Verified Purchase

Harriet Rubin understands, supports, enlightens and inspires those who work for themselves. This is a valuable handbook for solo business people.

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Carol M Barker

A Great Antidote to Stage Fright

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 1999

This is a generous book. Harriet Rubin shares the excitement and the terror of leaving a successful corporate career to go it alone. For anyone contemplating such a move, this book is a must. For those who prefer to live vicariously, this book is fun. I found inspiration and strategy for my own, more conventional, career change, especially the chapter, "Brand-New You." Whether you seek to attract clients or market yourself to an employer or to take charge of your life in some other way, thinking through "what kind of promise you want to make to the world" is a tough and necessary step. When I need a little more courage or confidence to take the next step, I will turn to this book.

6 people found this helpful

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OwenE

headed in the right direction

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2002

I loved the beginning where Rubin describes her experience and the stages necessary to leave the corporate world. Because she mentions some Buddhist principles concerning detaching from identity, I thought the whole book was going to be about how to get beyond the sense of identity that jobs provide to many of us. It didn't continue in that vein to my disappointment. I thought the practical insights at the end of the book concerning disability insurance, methods of payment, etc. were worthwhile. I don't think she had the connection with other soloists' stories as she did with her own. And when Rubin misspelled Ken Wilber's name, it made me question much of the middle section. Wilber is as big a name in his field as Peter Drucker is in his. The parts of the her journey that were personal were strongly written but the parts about others not so useful to someone making a transition from employee to self-employed. However, I've recommended it to my friends. I hope someone clues her into who Ken Wilber is!

9 people found this helpful

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Tina T.

Great insights

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2006

Verified Purchase

While this is not a step-by-step book, it offers insights into what one person went through to go "solo". Not only the emotional investements, but some of the legal issues that you may need to consider.

Easy to read, thoughtful, motivational.

A great book!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Penny Zuckerwise

Worth Reading

Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 1999

Having recently made the transition from a major corporate/Wall Street role to becoming an advisor to Internet companies, I was delighted to find Ms. Rubin's book-an unabashedly self-revealing description of her own very real transition process that provided an open, honest viewpoint unlike many books written about this topic today.Ms. Rubin's unique perspective on the importance of the role of work in our lives, the psychological and social impact of workplace transitions, and her own recipe for becoming a successful soloist is worth reading.She aptly titles her book SOLOING, but Ms. Rubin has now provided a companion for other soloists to take on the journey.

One person found this helpful

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John E. Dinger

You can't handle the truth.

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2012

It took me two years to read this book. Every time I picked it up, I realized that if I didn't start to make the changes I intended to, I had no business continuing with the book. It was really the kick I needed. After reading some of the reviews, there is a significant divide between the people it worked for and those who could not stomach it. It worked for me, and 7 years after reading it, I've changed careers, and started a successful custom cabinet and furniture business. For the first time in my life, I have full-time employees and all of the challenges that come with running my own business. My only advice is remember the title: It's Soloing, not partnering. Stay the hell away from the false safety net that partnerships would seem to offer. Make all of your own decisions, own them, and learn from them. One other thing, if you don't think that you've been particularly lucky in life (because perceived luck is more about optimism that material goods), or that you have repeatedly been a victim of circumstances, Soloing may not be the right choice for you. In any event, it's only ten bucks, so if you on the fence, give it a shot.

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2016

This book was written 17 years ago. Although I am in a different profession, I find Ms. Rubin's insights similar to my own life experience. I have 22 tabs worth coming back to and applying to my life now - away from the corporate matrix. Read this book with an open mind.

One person found this helpful

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