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Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Path in Life

Average customer rating:

Trying to figure out what to do with your life.... this is the book for you!
Get Out There and change your life.
Inspirational entrepreneurial stories
Insights from the fortunate few.
This book will inspire you.

Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Path in Life
Nathan Gebhard , Mike Marriner , and Joanne Gordon
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Guides | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0345496388
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Book Description

SO WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WITH YOUR LIFE?

“You should be a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant, a consultant, blah, blah, blah. Everywhere you turn people try to tell you who to be and what to do with your life. We call that the noise. Block it. Shed it. Leave it for the conformists. As a generation, we need to get back to focusing on individuality. Self-construction rather than mass production. Define your own road in life instead of traveling down someone else’s. Listen to yourself. Your road is the open road. Find it.”
—Mike and Nathan

*****
After college Mike Marriner and Nathan Gebhard had no idea what to do with their lives. All they’d been exposed to were standard career paths like doctor and consultant—roads that didn’t fit them at all.

To see what else was out there they took a roadtrip across the nation in a huge forty-foot RV to meet with people who had successfully defined their own paths in life—including the chairman of Starbucks; a lobsterman from Maine; the director of Saturday Night Live; the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic; the first female Supreme Court Justice of the United States; head stylist for Madonna; and the CEO of National Geographic Ventures. All told, one hundred and forty people candidly shared their stories about how they got from college to the present. Now in Roadtrip Nation, Mike and Nathan share the most compelling tales with you.

Along the way, they explain how you, too, can get out there and meet people on your own. From making cold calls to asking stimulating interview questions, Roadtrip Nation will give you the tools to create a life that you’ll look back on and say: “I was true to myself every step of the way.”

Customer Reviews:

Trying to figure out what to do with your life.... this is the book for you!.......2007-01-06

I picked up this book when I graduated from college and had absolutely no idea where I was headed. This book is a quick, easy and enjoyable read. It includes interviews of people from a wide variety of professions. If you have ever looked at something that was successful and wondered how they got to where they are today... this book is for you too!

Get Out There and change your life........2006-07-02

This is an entirely different kind of career book by two guys who decided that all the standard career paths just weren't for them. So what did they do about? They didn't just buckle down and give up - no, they set out on a roadtrip to find out what else was really out there. The good news? You don't have to do the same thing...you can just benefit from their research.

Included in the book are interviews with a diverse group of business people - you've got everything from the lawyer that gave Erin Brochovich her start to the manager of the Michael Jordan brand (yeah, there's a guy who's job it is to do just that - who knew?). Each section includes the road map of the interview, which shows just how many options/choices each of us have. Some went to college; some didn't. Some did the expected; some didn't.

Also included are tips on how to get in and talk to people you thought you'd never have a chance at interviewing. Mike & Nathan give the scoop on how they did what they did...after all, you didn't think just anybody could pick up the phone to talk to the Chairman of Starbucks, did you?

Perhaps the best advice in the book comes from Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Computers. He says "Don't be afraid to fail because that's usually when you learn." But, you'll find many other tidbits of information that can help you on your way. I know I learned a few things, though I guess I'm lucky enough to actually know what I want to do when I grow up. ;-)

Recommended for readers aged 14 and up or anyone questioning their current career path. Yep, that's right - anyone can find the right road if they're willing to just get out there and do a bit of traveling.

Kimberly Pauley, The Young Adult Books Goddess @ YABooksCentral.com

Inspirational entrepreneurial stories.......2005-01-22

While promoted as a guide for college graduates, this book is truly an entrepreneurial bible for every age. Rather than delivering stale status reports from founders of companies like Barnes & Noble, Starbucks and Dell, you'll learn what drove these visionaries to buck the system, overcome objections, and follow their passions. For anyone who has ever woken up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night and thought "what the heck am I doing with my life?" keep this book by your bedside and your dreams at the forefront.

Insights from the fortunate few........2004-09-24

Its hard to argue with the notion that life is more fulfilling if you do something you like. So, if you are just starting out in life and have wealthy, supportive parents or you don't mind starving, by all means, go for it.

But the bottom line is that these people are exceptions to the rule. And they were lucky. If all it took was hard work and a dream there wouldn't be a dentist or a tax preparer in America.

Honestly, I don't know what the answer is. But I have noticed that many people who end up with dream jobs are folks who came from the wrong side of the tracks and thus had nothing to lose. If this describes you, well, you have nothing to lose.

So 3 stars for the entertainment but as a wise man once said "If you think you can't, you can't. If you think you can, you might."

This book will inspire you........2004-07-27

What do you want to be when you grow up?

It doesn't matter whether you're four, fourteen, or twenty-four years old --- the question never goes away. People say that you should be a lawyer, or a doctor, or a stockbroker, but they don't always consider that the goals and aspirations they've laid out for you may not quite match your own.

Authors Mike Marriner and Nathan Gebhard graduated from Pepperdine University in California, and realized that they were unhappy with their chosen fields of study. The problem was that they weren't sure what other career paths existed. But then they had an idea. They decided to go on a nationwide road trip and interview everyone who had a job that sounded interesting, from the CEO of Starbucks to Manny the Lobsterman. Thousands of phone calls, miles and dollars later, they put all of the interviews and their experiences together in a fascinating and often hilarious account of their talks with people from all walks of life.

Many of the successful people they interviewed were discouraged from pursuing their interests as children. They were told, "You'll never make any money dressing up your friends" (said to the woman who later became Madonna's stylist) or "If you don't go to college, you'll never get a good job" (said to the man who is now a senior vice-president at the Cartoon Network). All the people who were interviewed believe that being happy and doing what you want is more important than making a ton of money. If you're not sure what you want to do with your life, or even if you are, this book will inspire you to pursue the career of your dreams.

--- Reviewed by Carlie Kraft

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