And what do you do?

“Within a few years the very phrase ‘going to work’ will be meaningless: work will be what we do, not a place we go to” – Anne Lise Kjaer

                                                                                                   

 “And what do you do? – 10 steps to creating a portfolio career”, a new book by Barrie Hopson and Katie Ledger, is full of such pithy insights. It should be made compulsory reading for everyone over 50 and strongly recommended to anyone at any age who’s struggling to achieve an interesting, challenging and rewarding working life.

For the uninitiated a portfolio career is one where you do two or more jobs for different employers. It’s a way of ensuring that you utilise your skills and passions in your working life, a means of working flexibly to accommodate your other commitments and interests, and a medium through which older people in particular can sustain a working life that brings happiness, health and fulfilment for as long as they want it to.

As with Barrie’s previous books this one is a great read – an inspiring blend of perceptive information and practical advice supplemented by thought-provoking exercises to help you discover whether a portfolio career might be for you. Best of all it doesn’t concentrate solely on the positive aspects of portfolio working making everything appear deceptively easy.  As anyone who has a portfolio career will confirm, it is a risky and insecure way to work and can be difficult to sustain in financial terms when, as now, times are hard. In the book, Chapter 2: Can I afford a portfolio career? deals with the downside particularly well and, by causing you to consider some of the challenges, actually leaves you more motivated.

For more information about the book and portfolio working go to: www.portfoliocareers.net

Celebrating wisdom

One of the most uplifting experiences of the week was revelling in the sensory feast of words and images melded in award-winning photographer and film maker Andrew Zuckerman’s book, Wisdom. A record of the thoughts and ideas of over 50 of the world’s most prominent and celebrated over 65 year olds, it is illustrated with superb, honest and revealing images of these familiar and well-loved icons as they are today.

Inspired by Desmond Tutu’s words: “One of the greatest gifts we can give to another generation is our experience, our wisdom” this is a book to dip in to, ponder on, be inspired by. Buy one as a Christmas gift, or better still treat yourself and leave it on the coffee table for family and friends of all generations to read (available on Amazon – I’ve checked).

Scant regard is given these days to the role of wisdom and its value to society. We all need reminding of what it means and certainly we could do with more of it – let this set the standard.

See more at http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1848104,00.html or http://www.wisdombook.org/

Book of the month

The Book of Rubbish ideas

by Tracey Smith, published by Alastair Sawday Publishing.

Billed as “an interactive room-by-room guide to reducing household waste” this interesting, informative and highly motivational little book couldn’t be timelier in terms of giving you all the information you need to start cutting back. Author and sustainable living expert Tracey Smith (the founder of International Downshifting Week) wants to normalise sustainable living and “take the freaky out of eco” and here she does so most admirably in an extremely readable and accessible tour through each and every room in your house – and outdoor spaces – all in the name of reducing household waste.

From bedroom to bathroom and study to shed, she has a host of tried, tested and inexpensive ideas for cutting through the clutter to reveal a greener and simpler way of life. From thrifty ideas to help you through to credit crunch to combating that shopping addiction The Book of Rubbish Ideas is a positive guide to slowing down and greening up, and saving money along the way.

To order this and other similar books click here.

Book of the month

If not now, when – living the baby boomer adventure

by Esther Rantzen, published in hardback by Headline Springboard (July 2008).

(paperback version to follow early 2009)

In her typical style, Esther Rantzen exhorts her fellow baby boomers not to go gently into old age and provides practical advice on how to do it. It’s never too late to take up hang-gliding, swim with dolphins and a host of other things.

Rather like Marmite, you either like or loathe the somewhat opinionated, Esther-knows-best approach but her heart’s always in the right place.

To order this and other similar books click here.

Book of the month

‘Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home’,

by Emma Jones, published by Harriman House.

If you’ve ever dreamed of starting your own business this is definitely the book for you. Working from home has myriad attractions: a ten second commute, the flexibility to work when you want to and the sheer joy and satisfaction of being your own boss, accountable to no one but yourself. It’s no wonder that so many in my primers decide that this is the time to make their dream a reality.

However, evidence shows that successful businesses rely on more than luck and serendipity, those that survive and flourish have spent time researching, planning and sizing up alternatives. This handy book is a great place to start. Written by Emma Jones, founder of home business website, enterprisenation.com, it is organized by three key themes – business, lifestyle and technology – it provides you with simple solutions and demonstrates the ease and low cost with which a home business can be started. Advice and suggestions are interspersed with quick tips, illustrations and invaluable real life case studies from successful home business owners.

The book is on special offer to inmyprime visitors with a 35% discount and is available for purchase at www.enterprisenation.com.