Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus?: Finding the Life YouReally Want

Offers individuals dissatisfied with their current job quizzes and checklists for determining their skills and interests, and tells how to invest in oneself

Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? is a book about reinventing yourself: the necessity of doing so, and how to go about it. It's about recognizing that personal needs change, and that when your current version of life begins to squeeze the soul out of you, there are alternatives.

Smye spent years talking to corporate moguls, but instead of hearing success stories and the pride born of accomplishment, she heard such comments as "another week on the gerbil wheel"--this from a man whose job perks included a Turbo Bentley and use of the company jet. And when she asked people how they felt, she got this reply: "First of all, I want to scream. Then I want to kick someone. Then I'd like a bottle of bourbon and a quiet dark room." And this one: "I'm tired and I've been tired forever and I'm tired of it." And this one: "What do you have to do to be allowed to be in a rage? My kids are allowed to be in a rage sometimes. My wife is allowed to be in a rage sometimes. Why can't I? When do I get my midlife crisis?"

In response to this widespread angst, Smye suggests ways to "organize your work around your satisfaction, serenity, and self-esteem." She discusses job and personal dissatisfaction, and how to recognize the signs. She leads you skillfully through the steps of reflecting on who you once were, who you have become, and what you actually want your life to look like. Along with helpful worksheets, the book includes many case studies illustrating how people became so unhappy, and what they did to remedy their situations. Smye says there's always a chance for a new life, that it's never too late to join the circus. But "you'd better do your planning now," she advises, "because the future is going to happen to you whether you're ready or not." In Circus, Smye takes the shame out of dissatisfaction and the fear out of contemplating a different life. --Stephanie Gold