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Book Review: Reclaim Your Dreams
by James Schipper · 15 comments
If you aren’t yet familiar with Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind, now is a good time to start. Jonathan is a Life Coach and popular Personal Development Blogger who quit his “regular job” to live on his own terms.
I originally became aware of him about a year ago after seeing his contributing posts over on Leo Babauta’s popular blog, Zen Habits. I immediately subscribed to his blog Illuminated Mind, and have since talked a bit with Jonathan on his blog, Twitter, and over on the Black Sheep Project forums that he started. He asked me if I wanted to read his book one day and I was happy to get a copy to give a quick read through.
I realized when he sent it over that this was no sloppy ebook thrown together as a quick collection of past blog posts or regurgitated self-help platitudes.
“Reclaim Your Dreams: An Uncommon Guide To Living On Your Own Terms” is written in Mead’s typically eloquent yet blunt style. It only starts by laying out a step-by-step process for accomplishing the goals set out for the reader. But part two leads us through the process of stripping away any limiting beliefs about what we can or should do with the short life we are given, then it gives us the tools to figure out how get to what we want out of life.
“If you’re not enjoying life, you’re failing. It doesn’t matter if you have a yacht, a BMW, or a six-figure income. If you don’t wake up happy on a daily basis, you’re losing at the game of life.”
As I said, it does not just give you a smattering of tips and hints to change your life. It is no easy task to overcome years of the programming we get from the mainstream. Mead doesn’t snap his magic author fingers and heal your woes or tell you how you need to live your life. That’s for you to figure out. You’re the only one living your life, so make sure you are living your best way.
As Jonathan says, the main purpose of the book is to align your heart and mind. Too often we are in conflict. We don’t do what our heart wants for the sake of practicality or safety, leaving us in a constant state of conflict with ourselves.
There are plenty of exercises and tasks to help guide you to work through each section of the process. You aren’t getting through this one by just a quick browse in your dentist’s waiting room. You could just breeze right through it, but you’d only be short-changing yourself. For it to truly be of any benefit to you, you really need to take some action and complete the exercises.
If you are looking for a quick read or are just going to buy it and leave it sitting unread on your hard drive, then save the few bucks. I am a voracious reader and am always looking for quality information to learn. This is one you need to study.
If you are unhappy with the way your life is heading, even if you’ve always done what you were told was the right thing (quite often it really isn’t, you may be figuring out by now), this book will open your eyes to the possibilities.
Disclosure: Jonathan did give me a copy of the book to read and review. If you buy it, I don’t make affiliate commissions or anything else. He gave it to me a couple of months before this blog was even online. Jonathan gave me a copy for free because he knows I’m awesome. He knows that if I thought his book sucked, I would say so. So don’t buy it for me, go buy it for yourself here.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the recommendation. I’m going to get it!
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Please let me know how you like it.
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Sounds like a fantastic book – thanks for the review and recommendation. I’m going to buy it.
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I hope you do, Tammy! It’s worth the few bucks. A lot of the things in it seem like they would be common-sensical. But as with everything “we know” it’s of little use without actually doing it.
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Hilarious… After the first paragraph I was literally thinking…. oh grrrrr-eat another sloppy ebook thrown together as a quick collection of past blog posts and regurgitated self-help platitudes.
Come to find out, “this was no sloppy ebook thrown together as a quick collection of past blog posts or regurgitated self-help platitudes.”
Now… I am forced to deduct two points (on my patented 3,477,931 point scale) for the crack about yacht ownership not mattering.
I think I’ve seen Jonathan’s blog before, but it’s only on the periphery of my radar. Clicking over there now to give this all another look….
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I have to write these things with you in mind, of course.
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How can anyone NOT be happy if they own a yacht!
To dip your toes in the water, there’s also a really good eBook on illuminated mind, the Zero Hour Workweek, as a free download. That’s a good read too.
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You ever look into yacht maintenance?
Yes, I have read the Zero-Hour Workweek as well. I will do a more in-depth review on that one at some point. I’m just trying to figure out how to space things out here.
He’s got a lot of good stuff to say.
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This is not just another self-help, self-actualization Ebook. I found many of the ideas presented in Reclaim Your Dreams to be truly unique. This weekend I had the good fortune of camping out with Clay Collins, Jonathan Mead and other PM members and I can tell you Jonathan is a real, genuine, down to earth guy. I highly recommend his book and his site.
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Thank you for stopping by. I used to live out there, and would have loved to go on that camping trip. I agree with you about the book and Jonathan.
I am not looking to have this site be a personal development site, at least in the traditional sense. But this is a good read that anyone can use to apply to their life to directly improve the planning aspects of working for a living or living for a living.
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Ah, the BMW. Growing up in a small (emphasis on small) town in rural Pennsylvania, I never even heard of Infiniti until I moved to Philadelphia. I couldn’t figure out how what seemed to be 75% of the population zoomed around in Beamers & Benzs. They’re so prevalent around here, they’ve become as commonplace as the red Chevy Cavalier was back where I grew up. And I admit, at first I was a bit jealous that everyone besides me had a freaking back up camera, some sexy British accent giving them a play-by-play and luscious heated leather so hot it burned your ass. But as I examined the situation more closely, these are also the same people who are putting in 60 hour work weeks and never get to do anything fun. So, as far as I’m concerned, they can keep their stupid little Simon Colwell wannabe cars. I’d rather work, oh, say, 4 hours and go cliff diving every week!
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