I was a senior recruitment consultant for 9 years. I came across lots of books that told you how to write a good CV, how to do well at interview, how to be effective and so on. If that's the sort of book you are after STOP RIGHT THERE and don't buy this book. This book will not give you answers, it will not tell you what to do or even how to do it.

However, I found the book extremely useful - in fact, unlike the other reviewers, I did find it life changing when I read it a number of years ago. The thing is, this book can't be just 'read through' it is a book that has to be worked through. You have to get your pen and paper out and write down your reactions and thoughts to the questions posed. I did this and years later found the notes I had made - it really was amazing how it had helped shaped my new career - and remember, I was a very successful 'professional' in the area of careers !

If you do this, it really makes you think about what is important to you, the way that you have been conditioned to think about work and money and pay etc. It helps you to break through preconceptions that are perhaps holding you back and helps you to take more initiative and change the way you see work.

As I said it doesn't tell you what to do, you are a unique individual - how could any book tell you that? You will find that you already have the answers, but they are locked away behind misconceptions and unhelpful conditioning. This book helps you to liberate them - it can be life changing if you let it.

Errr, no, it didn’t. Yes, I am in need of change, but that book wasn’t any real help.

The best that can be said about it is that it is trying to teach you the right attitude to find the work you love, but if you want to come up with any solid plans and ideas as to what this is going to be you are better off checking out the likes of CHANGING CAREERS FOR DUMMIES or John Lees’ HOW TO GET A JOB YOU LOVE.

The trouble with Nick Williams’ book is that it is a continuously making career change a “spiritual” journey. On pretty much every page you find references to God, a creator, a Spirit, miracles or quotes from Christian, Buddhist, New Age or other sources. He even mentions in his introduction that his intention is not “to start another religion or create another doctrine”…. which of course can only be written by someone who is obsessed with “spiritual enlightenment”. (A contradiction in terms.)

Well, call me materialist, but I like my career change books filled with exercises that help me discover what I am good at and interested in and exploring ways in how to make money out of these interests.

I gave it 2 stars just because every 20 or so pages I did find the odd nugget to think about.

However, it is spoiled by quoting myths as if they were facts. For example, he says that there is enough money in the world that, shared out equally, we could have one million dollars each. World Bank data show that there is between $79,000 and $86,000 dollars per capita, generating an annual income of just $7,200.

He also misquotes and selectively quotes authors to prove his points. A passage by Calvin on original sin is quoted as evidence that he believed that you have to earn favour from God. This is the exact opposite of what Christians believe: no-one is good enough to earn favour from God, it is a free gift to anybody who wants it. If he misquotes familiar authors in this way, how has he mistreated less well known ones?

For these reasons, I consider the book itself to be shallow and ill-informed. Any value you get out of it will be the value you put into it. A far better read is Steve Covey's 7 Habits.

Thought provoking, practical and searching - a MUST !!