Dream Year: Make the Leap from a Job You Hate to a Life You Love

by Ben Arment

Somewhere along the road to adulthood, dreams get pushed aside - for bills, for fear, for ease. And so you settle into an unfulfilling, perhaps even unpleasant career. But what if someone could guide you, step-by-step, as you identify, plan, and launch your dream career-in just one year. That's what Ben Arment does in his transformative coaching class, where hundreds of people have reinvented their lives to enjoy greater enthusiasm and fulfilment whilst still making a living. Now he's sharing his best insights, advice, and inspiring true stories in Dream Year. He'll help you rediscover what you were born to do, and give you the steps to make it happen.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Leadership, Personal Development, Entrepreneurship

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 31, 2014

Reviews

[Utkarsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, currently you are a loser and frustrated with your life. If not, then stop reading. Ok for all the fellow losers, here is a step by step plan.

1. Use your frustration with your current job/situation as fuel to pursue your dreams.

2. Don’t let fear stop you from following your dream – harness it for motivation.

3. Discover your dream at the intersection of your passion and your gifts. (For now, It's advertising copywriting for me.)

4. To pursue your dream, you need a business idea that solves a problem and is unconventional.
How does it solves the problem people face?
It must be unconventional ie. break the rules of the industry.
So work out what everyone else is doing and subvert it.

5. Your dream has to be financially viable.

6. Make a plan and get started on your dream – no excuses!
*MY ORIGINAL INPUT
How to plan?
The big picture. Specific what I want to achieve.
Half life Goal
Second Half life Goal
Third Half life Goal
Fourth Half life Goal

7. Entrepreneurs can’t be afraid of asking for what they want.
Ask, like the steve Jobs said.

8. Create a unique brand experience for your product and build a loyal fanbase to spread the word.

You need atleast 1000 true fans to make a living from what you love.

The end. Now take some action you lazy ass.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is geared toward the person who is ready to make their dream a reality. A great step by step process with plenty of items to think about; probably even things that they didn't consider. But I also found it helpful for me: a person who is trying to figure out the dream in the first place. What do I want to do with my life?!?

[Nihar Suthar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book! Like some of the other reviewers, I think I was expecting it to be more about the actual process of starting a business while also working a full-time job. To me, it seemed more like a book that just motivates readers to take the first step towards doing what they love. Even if you put in 20-30 minutes of work towards your dream each day, you will still be ahead of everybody else who puts in nothing.

Again, it's not a bad book, just a bit different from what I was expecting. I definitely still enjoyed reading it and the messages that it put forward.

-Nihar
www.niharsuthar.com

[Loup Meunier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is well written and brings interesting points about making your dream business become reality. The title is a bit misleading in my personal opinion: i thaught there would be more details around the actual leap between having a full-time job and running a business 24/7 (finding a timeframe, how to gradually cut hours, budget tips for surviving the transition, etc). It came to me more as a motivational book to give you the courage to make the leap, rather than a book giving you tools to help you make it. Still a good read overall.

[Raygun ∆ Gothic · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the kind of motivational nonsense written by a white male with no one depending on him. DNF'd when he started describing one of his heroes: some unknown garbage human who killed a bunch of animals in the Amazon or some shit. Do not read under any circumstances.

[hazelwillow · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author's tone is irritatingly smug. Plus, he gives at least one anecdote in which he's sexist to his wife (volunteering her/speaking for her when someone asks her if she wants to go onstage).

Too obnoxious to finish.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreamers do. Dreamers test. Dreamers track. Dreamers regroup. Dreamers don't give up...unless they find another dream.

I loved this kick in my @$$.

Sometimes you don't need a detailed handbook on how to get $h*t done.

Sometimes, you need to hear the same message you've been getting about chasing after your dreams in a broad way.

This book is succinct in it's presentation of ideas to try to pursue your dreams. These are all steps we may intuitively know we need to follow, but maybe haven't.

One of the last chapters covers when to give up. That is something that has passively crossed my mind, but I've never really considered. I am definitely going to sit down and answer that question for my self - what circumstances do I have to face in order to give up?

[Fyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is more a "motivational" book than a how to. It's FILLED with soooo many examples of big brand companies and where they started or how.
It definitely is motivational for someone who has a HUGE idea of a company they are creating, but it doesn't actually cover the process of that first year of starting out other than a couple of quick points.
A LOT of name dropping

[Juliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this, definitely some straight forward ideas to approach starting your own business or idea and moving through the segments of the book quickly. I listened to the audiobook, but would totally be useful to have a print copy and highlight impactful stuff to come back to.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book pushed me to take steps and started me on my writing journey.

[Kerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Appreciated the examples of "finding value in your current job" and the earlier questions to determining your "dream job" were interesting enough. Execution sections were fluffy and not engaging.

[Marwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

ءإ
إلا

هديً
حسن ظن لا إله (إلا) الله

[Matt Gambill · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Not great, not bad.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is trying very hard to convince it's audience to get up and do something. At first, I thought it was just a motivational talk at the start. However, the 'call to action' came through the entire book. If you are looking for lots of examples and good motivational speech, this is for you.

I actually love my job, and I get to bring my dreams to reality in many aspects of my work. There were a few ideas in this book that will help me. I specifically liked the concept of deciding stopping conditions (my words, not the authors) at the start of a project. I rarely consider cost/benefit at the very early stages of a project when I am experimenting with ideas to see what works. However, when a project starts to gain traction, I quickly conduct a risk analysis to evaluate cost and benefit. I will start incorporating a more rigorous definition of stopping conditions to see if that helps my productivity.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid entry in the genre. Ben's strength is his his 'voice' which is inspirational, yet accesible and feels achievable.

I particularly enjoyed chapters 6, 7 and 11 which are focused on "the big ask", branding and sustaining your dream. Secondarily, daring to dream (Chapter 1) and defining the dream (Chapter 2) are also worth a skim as they provide a number of thought starters and launch points for you. He is occasionally light on some of the particulars (which allows for a range of "dreams") or they weren't relevant to my business - but that is ok, as then I skimmed and took what worked and any inspiration found there.

Glad I spent time with this one...

[Todd Luallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book with tons of practical steps to transition into starting your own business. You can tell that Ben Arment is a business coach because he has very specific steps for accomplishing the tasks that he presents. He is very much a list person and the book is filled with lists. There are so many good ideas in here that it is really helpful just as a reference. The first 2 chapters are a bit dry if you already have an idea that you want to pursue. It takes a while to get into the meat of what I think is really helpful, but when he does, it really is good.

[Serenity Bohon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jam-packed with stories of start-ups and re-starts and successful marketing plans. It's full of innovative ideas and [eventual] success stories. I am inspired to start things, to finish things, to look at them a new way, to deconstruct the model for anything I'm trying to do and figure out how to make it work. Powerful ideas, tons of motivation, and an author absolutely gifted at helping others accomplish what they dream.

[Michael Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was dreaming of a book that would contain the magic ingredients. The recipe in this book left me dreaming about what book I would read next. So many two sentence thoughts will a two paragraph reciting of some special person that had already made it without any real meat and potatoes. Even though I dream about jumping from the job I hate, this book did give me enough to make any leap but the one to put this book away.

[Nancy Escarzaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro en un momento en mi vida en que me encuentraba triste y desmotivada en mi trabajo, como siempre lo he estado en cualquier trabajo. El libro te habla de dejar atras las excusas, a decir this is my year, the year i finally do it. I would say is a practical guide on how to, with exversises visualize your dream, find a way to monetize it. Pretty much it tells you to stop making excuses and go for it. Of course that what you do is up to you and not the book. Good read.

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is pretty good. I flew through it in two days. Very easy read. Very inspirational. Great start up examples with ample failures before their success. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a bit of encouragement as they delve into the ideas and dreams of pursuing their passion. This book can help make that happen.

[Adriano · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives some good examples of how others run their businesses and breaks it down into some actionable steps. The only problem is it really doesn't provide anything new. If you've read any self-help books, you know what's going to be in here. "Do it. Work hard. Don't be afraid." It's decent, but didn't make me feel like I should jump out of my chair and quit my job today.

[Michael Mckenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with a lot of helpful insight for those kicking about the idea of setting out on their own. He poses a lot of questions that I hadn't necessarily thought of, but would be quite an advantage to have answered before venturing out. I'll definitely reference this book along the way and can see it serving as a helpful guidance tool in the future.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm bias - I work for the author's agent - but I really liked this booked. Arment has written a book that is accessible and useful. Dream Year will inspire and motivate you to pursue the career you've always wanted. If you want help fulfilling your dreams, read Dream Year.

[Suneel Dhand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought this book was excellent. An inspiring and motivational read, encouraging the reader all the way through to make the big leap! After reading this book and the 4-Hour Workweek--- I feel ready to go :)

[Tod Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really got my creative ideas flowing, which wasn't exactly what I expected, but was well worth the time to read.

See my full review at http://www.todhilton.com/bookreviews/....

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of actionable advice.

[BLACK CAT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marketing, entrepreneurship, carpe diem, just do it, be resilient...

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have a solid idea for a dream life, then this book can take you through to the next level. It is very practical and sage, offering lots of real life examples.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.

[retnolaras · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a great book, easy to follow with a lot of nice tips and motivational quotes inside. but I don't have a dream to make some business so this is hard to relate