Born for This

How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do

By: Chris Guillebeau

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

Have you ever met someone with the perfect job? To the outside observer, it seems like they've won the career lottery - that by some stroke of luck or circumstance, they've found the one thing they love so much that it doesn't even feel like work, and yet they're getting paid well to do it.

In reality, their good fortune has nothing to do with chance. There's a method for finding your perfect job, and Chris Guillebeau, the best-selling author of The $100 Start Up, has created a practical, actionable guide that can help you turn your passion into paychecks - whether within a traditional company or business, or by striking out on your own.

But finding the work you were "born to do" isn't just about finding your passion. Doing what you love is great, but if you aren't earning a pay check, it's a hobby, not a career. Those who jump out of bed excited to go to work every morning don't just have jobs that tap into their passions. They have jobs where they can lose themselves in the flow of meaningful work for hours at a time.

This intersection of joy, money, and flow is key to what Guillebeau will help you find in this book: work perfectly suited to your unique interests, skills, and experiences. Whether by launching a side hustle that turns into a profitable business, "hacking" your dream position within a traditional job or organization, becoming a "DIY rock star" by fashioning an entirely new profession around your varied interests, or building your own mini empire as an entrepreneur, this book will show you how to find that one job or career that feels so right, it's like you were born to do it.

©2016 Chris Guillebeau (P)2016 Chris Guillebeau

Great book, terrible narrator

The content of this book is really great but the narrator sounds like Squidward's annoying know it all brother. It bothered me a lot but I'm glad I pushed through it because I definitely learned some good stuff.

Nice Concepts That Might Be Difficult To Do

I wasn't sure if "Born for This" was going to be helpful to me--50 years old, doing a job I love but which has little room for advancement and isn't highly paid (Human Services, what can you do?).
If you haven't read many books on doing what you'd like to do for a living, this book might be good for you. But if you have, you'll recognize a lot of it. What's covered: Make yourself indispensable; Have income always coming in before you do something (rash?) life shattering; Sure, follow your joy, flow, the money; Look through all areas of your life and see what is or can become a more fully-developed and marketable skill. And, yes, there's quite a bit on setting yourself up as your own brand/business.
The greatest weakness of the book, I believe, is that there are in-depth case studies, but they go on and on until you're wondering how on earth Guillebeau is going to get back to his outlined point. They're enlightening; but my do they ramble!
I guess what I came away with, what will help me, is to develop my loves and skills, but I'm not ready to break with my job (nor does he advise you to go off willy-nilly and do that; he's done that in another book). Still, I've heard it from other books.
This is a good little book if you haven't been around the My-Job-Is-Killing-Me Block. Worth the time, as it's fairly short, but I wouldn't spend a whole credit on it

Listen to his podcast Side Hustle School first

The information in the book isn't terribly insightful but it contains a lot of good stories about people finding meaningful work. I recommend that you first listen to his podcast "Side Hustle School." If you enjoy that, you'll enjoy this book.

Title does not reflect content

It is not terrible book but not super great either. It's all over the place. It pretty much proposing that you should do something you were passion about in childhood or by trying different things and eventually finding your 'thing'. This book is superficial. It tries to tell you how to improve the company you work for and become a super music star (really???). The best part of the book is the last hour. I do not regret I listened to it but I'm not going to recommend it to anyone else

Inspirational and Actionable

I enjoyed listening to this book. I finished it in one day. And while reading it you'll find that there is something for everyone to take away.

The most enjoyable parts were the many examples of people's lives and work situations that were essentially the main support for this book.

Still my favorite topic had to be the resumes. I have never considered writing a resume of the future. I thought it was a very unique idea.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to for an answer to "What kind of work can I do that gives me joy and pays?"

#jobhacks for the Millenial Generation

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I'd give this a solid 3.5 stars. The book had a strong start but started to wander at the end. In his defense, Chris Guillebeau warns that it's not a 'cover to cover' type book but can be read a la carte. It started off with some strong insights and practical advice but then began to drift at the 60% mark.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Successfully reframing the default perspective of gainful employment

Have you listened to any of Mike Chamberlain’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The voice takes a little while to get used to -- I listened to his narration of 'Re:Work'. I wouldn't say he's easy to listen to but I didn't mind it.

Was Born for This worth the listening time?

Yes'ish -- could have said the same with 30% less words.

Any additional comments?

This is a good read for those feeling in a rut, looking to start a side-gig or figure out how to hack their existing life scenario in terms of employment. There are some good ideas and exercises in here. This felt like an updated version of Po Bronson's "What Should I Do With My Life?" but for the Millenial generation.

Nice book with a lot of real life examples

It's a long book, my personal suggestion is to listen at twice the original speed. At this speed comprehension is good and interest is maintained. Overall with a lot of good examples author tried to convey a lot of thoughts. Worth listening.

Fun and easy read

An easy read so suitable for audio format. Good for anyone looking for an inspiration of a part-time job idea.

Just a bunch of surface scratching

I didn't like any of Chris's other books, but I was hoping that since he's more seasoned, this would be the one. I guess it's just the style that I don't like. I wish it would pick a topic and go into a LOT of detail, with this being a book, but it's basically just a listicle. I also don't like interviews. It's easy to tell someone else's story. I wish he'd tell his own.

Pretty Forgettable

Would you try another book from Chris Guillebeau and/or Mike Chamberlain?

Sure

What could Chris Guillebeau have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

If it contained information pertinent to my life.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The narrator has a good voice but it sounds like he should be narrating 60 minutes, not inspirational books.

Any additional comments?

Not particularly inspiring, but in the end, the material didn't particularly pertain to my life, I haven't fallen into the trappings of conventional thought.

Good read, but not his best book!

I enjoyed this book, preferred his other books. Wasn't a big fan of the narrator, found his voice a little irritating in the beginning. Still though, an inspiring read!

excellent for those wanting more

excellent book for helping you get direction on your future work endeavours. make money and BE HAPPY

Really useful and practical advice

I really enjoyed listening to this book. It shared a lot of positive and good practical advice. It's perfect for anyone wanting a change. I wish that I read of this many years ago.

Great book

Great book that will make you question what knew before. Very interesting, I listen to it in two sittings 😮 I'm definitely going to check authors another books.

The push I needed

I have listened to a few books that intends to help you work for yourself or earn more. This book really helped me focus on an idea and to then put that idea into action.

It's a short book, but I think that helps to highlight the key points.