How to Avoid Work

by William J. Reilly

"Most [people] have the ridiculous notion that anything they do which produces an income is work — and that anything they do outside ‘working’ hours is play. There is no logic to that.[…]Your life is too short and too valuable to fritter away in work.If you don’t get out now, you may end up like the frog that is placed in a pot of fresh water on the stove. As the temperature is gradually increased, the frog feels restless and uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to jump out. Without being aware that a chance is taking place, he is gradually lulled into unconsciousness.Much the same thing happens when you take a person and put him in a job which he does not like. He gets irritable in his groove. His duties soon become a monotonous routine that slowly dulls his senses. As I walk into offices, through factories and stores, I often find myself looking into the expressionless faces of people going through mechanical motions. They are people whose minds are stunned and slowly dying".

Genres: Philosophy, Self Help, Nonfiction, How To, Education

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1949

Reviews

[Gold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly insightful look at our methods of identifying "work". It rightfully points out that "work" has become a system through which we endure hardship in order to get payment... and that was in the 40s, imagine the author's opinions on the naughties!!??! Everyone should read this book and realise that we all have incredible potential in our own little way and that we ought not be mere worker bees but stand up to our duty to contribute that special talent to the world however we can! :D *LOVE* - great overview: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.ph...

[Matte Resist · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn’t about giving up work. It’s about giving up one kind of work for another, which is fine. The idea is that if you’re doing something that you’re interested in, it’s not really work. What’s work to one person is leisure to another. The problem I find with this book is that it seems like most of it is about going from one “office” (paper shuffling) job to another. He talks about how your skills should be able to transfer from one place to another if you work it correctly. There are very few examples of someone going from a paper shuffling job to more hands on “work.” And in fact, he discourages you from taking that kind of leap. He seems especially to have something against farming.

He does make some very good points in here though. For example, stating that time is great equalizer. Everybody gets the same amount of time, and those that tend to really make things happen are those that don’t waste their “free” time. At one point he talks about the fact that he’s writing this book while waiting for a delayed train which I thought was funny because I was reading the book while waiting in line at the IRS. So there’s some pretty great ideas on using the time that you have.

He also talks about not letting people influence you too much. He takes some time telling you that you need to make plans, and how to go about that… but he also says that you just have to start. Sometimes you have to figure out the next step and just take it while you’re figuring out the rest.
This book is from 1949 and as such some of the ideas are pretty dated, especially as relates to what’s expected of women. It’s not the most inspiring book that I’ve ever read, but I think it was worth reading.

“When we consider that each of us has only one life to live, isn’t it rather tragic to find men and women, with brains capable of comprehending the stars and planets, talking about the weather; men and women, with hands capable of creating works of art, using those hands only for routine tasks; men and women, capable of independent thought, using their minds as a bowling-alley for popular ideas; men and women capable of greatness, wallowing in mediocrity; men and women capable of self-expression, slowing dying a mental death while they babble the confused monotone of the mob?”

[Mohamed Halim El-Gendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short guide to finding your purpose and doing what you love. Despite the occasional vintage self-helpism of the tone, the book is remarkable for many reasons — written at the dawn of the American corporate era and the golden age of the housewife, it not only encouraged people of all ages to pursue their passions over conventional, safe occupations, but it also spoke to both men and women with equal regard.

[Edward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. I ended up skimming large portions of it, as most of it was more or less about how to go about finding a career doing something that you like, something that won't feel like work. I'm less interested in that than I am in learning about ways to improve my current perspective re what I do. Still, a few good insights to be had.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small book, written in 1948, is an insightful and well presented gem revolving around the primary theme; The greatest satisfaction you can obtain from life is your pleasure in producing, in your own individual way, something of value for your fellowman. Concentrating on this, William J. Reilly goes on to present sage and sound insights into finding a job you want to do, how to promote yourself, and how to improve yourself.

Before I began this book, I read a lot of reviews about this book being outdated. What I found was not so much the processes and ideas were outdated, but means and ways of seeking fulfillment and success. I confess in our society today, a lot could be accomplished with Google, or one can use social media, or Link-in, or a myriad of other electronic resources. Yes, there are tools which one can use today, as opposed to going to the library, visiting companies, or trade groups, etc. But I would argue, there was something to the in person methods practiced in late 40's and 50's that have been overshadowed by todays technology. I am in no means advocating the abandonment of technology, but I am advocating that person to person, face to face discussion, research, discussion, etc., is far more informative and meaningful. You learn and absorb so much more in those personal contacts. Besides, future bonds are formed which could have meaning and use further down the road of life. Technology has its place and purpose, but the real substance in anything is the bond formed in process of investigating, learning, and expanding your horizons.

I saw so many people who were unhappy in their work. Working in jobs because it provided them the means to have the money to support a lifestyle, not a fulfillment or meaning of something they enjoyed. In this day and age of consumerism, where we need things, houses, cars, etc., as signs of or status and advancement. Instead, if these same individuals had pursued and obtained a job which fulfilled a deeper calling within themselves, and not worried about money, or possessions, or advancement as a partner in a law firm, etc., their lives would be far more rewarding, far less complicated, and they would far happier in life.

This book should be a primer and compulsory reading in high school, as those young men and women get their first jobs at fast food establishments, etc., and are first starting out. This book would benefit them in so many ways as to planning out what one should pursue, how to achieve, and examine what is necessary to get where you want to be at.

Well written, easily comprehended, and most of all practical. How to Avoid Work is a gem of a book which needs to be resurrected from being out of print to use today.

[Joel Cuthbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun oddity for sure... I think this was another discovery down that strange alleyway I'm always wandering. Here's essentially a career counselling book from the 50s. So it's dated in all the right ways... essentially Reilly's thesis is that if you are doing what you love it isn't work. And if what you're doing just feels like work maybe you should do something else. It's utopian, it's full of post-war optimism... but he's not totally wrong? I do love any book that essentially invites one to question oneself, spend some time on that interior life and work on some self-discovery. It's powerful stuff. Some of his conclusions are a bit unrealistic, but it has such cup-half-full optimism that you can't help but find it all a bit infectious!

I also want to note a hilarious chunk where he writes something to the effect of "Once you could get a good job and save enough money so as to retire and live off your savings, but not so anymore!"... and this was in the 50s? 75ish years later and... that's still what we're saying? It's a sad truth.

Very fun, at times inspirational, career-finding self-help!

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is crazy how everything Reilly writes is still relevant to today's business world...even though this book is over 60 years old. A must read for anyone who breathes or thinks. It's the perfect guide to help you get excited about your future.

[Renee]

Recommended by Maria Popova's Brain Pickings: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.ph...

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical advice on many different areas related to understanding one's vocation/ calling and how to best identify it.

[User1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came to this book from brain pickings. Very surprised in a way.

I don't think I've finished a lot of books in one day. And this is not quite very small as well imo. But I was able to do that because it's written so simply and in such easy language. And if I may the ideas presented are also very simple, verging and sometimes falling into simplistic. For example the author says in one part that nervous wrecks are negative people. Well that's just not true.

So umm I read it in a day. But that's it.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the book I hoped for but it was interesting to read as someone working in career services. I don't know what led me to read it but I am guessing this could have been the first text to promote the whole "if you love what you're doing you'll never work a day in your life!" thought that so many billionaires and influences promote nowadays

[George Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One does not graduate from adolescent existence unless they read this book.