In 1997, I turned 40. My father had just lost his final battle with cancer, and I was questioning my career direction. I'd read Kathy Peel's "Do Plastic Surgeons Take Visa?" and loved how she combined humor with practical suggestions for coping with everyday life--and I especially loved her story about how she went from being a housewife to a woman with a speaking and writing ministry. That story is repeated in "Discover Your Destiny" and it alone would be worth the price of the book. But there's MUCH more. Chapter by chapter, they talk about everything from discovering your dreams and passions, to preparing yourself physically, spiritually, and practically to embark on your next step. There are three great lists that I used not only with myself, but now with my students: "Spotting a Dream from God," "Preparing for Your Dream (this one is great--very practical and powerful at the same time) and the Growth Op for discovering what you're passionate about (For example, what issues make you pound the table and say, "Someone's got to do something about this?")
It was through doing the work in this book that I realized what was missing in my own everyday work--the career counseling component. These last five years I've attended professional meetings, bought books, gone out of my way to work on things related to what I wanted to do. And. . .oh, yes. . .I prayed. OFTEN. It took time. . .but when I finally helped create a position last year that combined academic advising with career counseling, it was the RIGHT time. I was truly ready to do the work. Even a year ago, I wouldn't have been ready.
This WORKS. Though I cannot proselytize on the job, I can certainly use the principles outlined by the Peels as the foundation for how I live and how I help others do what their book did for me.
This one is another one of my desert island books. Five stars are NOT enough!