Comments on: What Color Is Your Parachute? The Flower Diagram

By: Jonathan Steele RN

Jonathan Steele RN — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:25:40 +0000

It has been a long time since reading one of the first editions of What Color is Your Parachute. It was a wonderful blessing.

There is a version for pessimists called What Color is the Hole in Your Parachute.

This book helped me find a mid life career course correction. It got me into college in my 30′s (the first of my family for several generations), got me into a profession I love (nursing).

Now, using the same principles of the book, I have parlayed all of my previous skills and am looking at yet another career course correction.

The book is many things to different people. For me, a life saver. For others, a decision matrix tool.

One of the most basic points was that we will make numerous career changes in our lives. Why not change into a career where we never go to work because we are doing what we love and what we love is not work.

To illustrate how powerful the philosophy is, one Sunday recently I was doing what I love (working on my websites). In the process, I sent a letter off to Seth Godin, one of my favorite authors (and my de facto mentor). It was a surprise that I got a response back. Even more, was that he responded Sunday Evening.

Seth Godin is doing what he loves to do. It is not work.

We can go through life thinking nobody should move our cheese. Or we can anticipate that it will be moved and be ready to find new and exciting, even tastier cheeses.

The guys who made horse drawn carriages had to change when cars started to be made.

The guys who made tube type TV’s had to change.

Doctors who did open heart surgery had to change when new techniques came in.

Plastic surgeons had to change when new procedures came into practice.

Even teaching in schools is changing as you read this.

Check out the book, Seeing What’s Next by Clayton Christenson.

Somewhere in all the change is something that everyone will love to do that they can change into. What Color is Your Parachute will help you find that change.

By: Walter Daniels

Walter Daniels — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:39:29 +0000

To commenter #1, you believe in yourself, and accept the hurts. Possibly, you may even find the one destined for you that will believe in you, in the process. In any case, you will know you have done what is right. BTDT.
I’m glad to see you reading WCIYP. :-) I’ve recommended it to so many, I should get a commission, from 10 Speed Press. I also tell people.”Read the book through, then go back and do the exercises. That way, you’ll understand what you’re doing.” It is absolutely the best job hunting book, I know of. If you don’t think it provides good advice, you did one of two things.
1) You did the processes wrong, and got bad results.
2) You don’t like being told what you are good at, and it not being what you wanted.

By: ChaKo

ChaKo — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:37:10 +0000

…then believe in yourself! Do what you think is best and don’t stop until it’s done. Good luck brother

By: Sidra

Sidra — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:06:32 +0000

hey if you’re going to be nitpicky at least be right :)

while ‘devout’ often has a religious connotation, it is not its ONLY meaning.

see:
1: devoted to religion or to religious duties or exercises
2: expressing devotion or piety
3 a: devoted to a pursuit, belief, or mode of behavior : serious , earnest b: warmly sincere

so looking at #3, ‘devout atheist’ is a good play on words and makes sense.

By: ok

ok — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:46:14 +0000

Sorry for being nitpicky, but..

>>This adjective means that someone has a strong belief in a religion

“Devout” : This adjective means that someone has a strong belief. Atheism is the -absence of belief- in deities.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:37:35 +0000

It’s been several years since I read “What Color is Your Parachute”. I remember enjoying the book, but I didn’t find much I could put into practice.

I think I need to go back and re-read it with a few years perspective. Thanks for bringing it back to my attention.

By: Stephan F-

Stephan F- — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:12:46 +0000

I hate this exercise.
The bad part of doing this exercise is realizing that the years and thousands of dollars put into my schooling are completely irrelevant to what want to be. And to top it off, my primary field is pretty much all outsourced anyway and my backup is going that way too.

The worst part is not getting any support from family or friends on making the changes needed. I can’t do it alone, my emotional reserves are too shallow. I am moving slowly, much too slowly, but each effort takes almost all my energy just to take a small step.

Lots of these kinds of books talk about mentors and mastermind groups and support but what do you do when no one believes in you?