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Milk the Pigeon: A Field Guide For Anyone Lost in Their 20s
Have You Ever Wondered, "What The Hell Should I Do With My Life?" If you're like most people, your twenties have been messy as hell. After working one too many jobs you couldn't care less about, maybe you've wondered if there's something bigger out there for you - some larger purpose? This is it? Milk the Pigeon is about the three existential questions we often struggle with when we feel lost in life. "What should I do with my life?" "How do I find work I love?" "How do I create an awesome, meaningful life?" Based on a combination of stories and success habits for anyone in their 20s, Milk the Pigeon is a brutally honest look at the reality of going after your dreams. Inside Milk the Pigeon, you'll * The biggest life mistakes people make in their 20s (and how to figure out what to do) * The VIP back door how the best job are found (and filled) * The "Drunken Staircase" life how to act when you have no clue what direction to go in (and aren't sure what work you enjoy) * The Bruce Lee Rockstar theory of goal achievement - why "SMART" goals don't always work to be more successful in business and life * The messy process of finding your passion (and why "strengths tests" don't work) * How to go from confusion to clarity when you have too many ideas about careers, jobs, interests, passions, and hobbies If you're looking for a roadmap to surviving (and thriving) in your 20s (or 30s), if you want direction in life, and if you're struggling to figure out how to create a great life - Milk the Pigeon is a brutally honest look at the reality of going after your dreams.
276 pages, Paperback
Published December 7, 2016
24 people are currently reading
190 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 17, 2019
The writing style and chapter format are typical of books in this genre, like the liberal use of crude language in a vain attempt to sound "brutally honest" instead of relying on genuine insights to do so. Assumptions, generalisations, stereotyping, and sweeping statements are also liberally sprinkled throughout the book.
The tone is presumptuous and holier-than-thou. As you progress from chapter to chapter, you'll realise that the material is fucking repetitive. (See what I did there?)
After a while, you can't help but wonder if the author is trying to milk the pigeon or milk the audience, turning a blog into a book. Ok, maybe the book affords him to go on a self-congratulatory ego trip, not once, but repeatedly.
Newsflash: I hope the author realises the irony of his "the most important voice is your own" advice, given the number of screw-ups that has occurred in his life by sticking to his guns and ignoring others' "shitty advice". Or the fact that he is dishing out advice while telling his readers to "ignore everyone".
The tone is presumptuous and holier-than-thou. As you progress from chapter to chapter, you'll realise that the material is fucking repetitive. (See what I did there?)
After a while, you can't help but wonder if the author is trying to milk the pigeon or milk the audience, turning a blog into a book. Ok, maybe the book affords him to go on a self-congratulatory ego trip, not once, but repeatedly.
Newsflash: I hope the author realises the irony of his "the most important voice is your own" advice, given the number of screw-ups that has occurred in his life by sticking to his guns and ignoring others' "shitty advice". Or the fact that he is dishing out advice while telling his readers to "ignore everyone".
May 1, 2018
Like most self help books, it’s just masturbation unless you take action. If you follow the activities in the book, you’ll be better off. If you’re life is good though, don’t bother with this; you know what you’re getting.
It has some good stories that are relatable from a digital nomad life and does off the challenge of actually doing versus dreaming. Some parts felt self congratulatory and repetitive.
Pa: The audio book sounds like this guy read a few too many articles about how masculinity means speaking in a low voice.
It has some good stories that are relatable from a digital nomad life and does off the challenge of actually doing versus dreaming. Some parts felt self congratulatory and repetitive.
Pa: The audio book sounds like this guy read a few too many articles about how masculinity means speaking in a low voice.
December 11, 2018
Surprisingly satisfied with this book. I think, if the main character from "Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho wrote a book in the modern time, it could have been somewhat like this book.
July 27, 2018
This is a basic bitch carpe diem book but I ate it up. Life is about making decisions and I'm a passive mother lover so--healthy dose of motivation/reality here that I can make changes and nothing gets better if I do the same-o same-o. Mr. Heyne says if you don't know what you want, then just grab some stuff and try it. Every endeavor may lead you to the one you feel passionate about. Probably the most ambitious frat boy book I've read in a while but I appreciate its fervor.
February 17, 2019
I've bought this book based on Alex's much smaller, more compact blog posts on his website, which I encountered one day by pure random. I'm the perfect target for this book, seeing as I'm also in my twenties, and boy, mine aren't turning out the way I envisioned when I was a teenager. I suspect anybody who thinks consciously about their lives also has an episode like this, and for some, this episode could last their entire lives. The smaller articles, the blog posts on the now defunct Milk The Pigeon website, were well written, to the point and actually contained sage advice that you could do something with. It was realistic advice that didn't just rely on old, tired tricks.
And then Alex released the Milk The Pigeon book. It's 260-something pages long, relying on old, tired tricks. It's filled to the brim with repetitive advice, advice that contradicts itself one page later and has an cringe-inducing amount of a very American "just do it!" mindset.
The book starts off beautifully by easing you in with very, very relatable stories and personal anecdotes of Alex' life, and then the book's entire philosophy collapses in on itself on the 35th page and slowly but surely devolves into actual nonsense. It took me two full weeks to read the book, not because I'm a slow reader but because I had to put it down multiple times a day due to the frustration it caused. I kept on reading just to see how deep the rabbit hole went. The feeling that Alex loads 80% of his book with arrogant, self-congratulating, intense douchebaggery never left me. It feels like advice written by somebody who only knows about life from books, articles and biographies, never having experienced anything or accomplished something themselves. He consistently redirects the reader to other, (probably) better books which is basically Alex indirectly saying that his own book isn't good enough to stand on it's own and that it needs other, seperate works to complete his own.
If you're not wincing at 90's words like "yeah", "awesome" or "dude", then this book will feel like Christmas has come early. I've honestly lost count how many times he uses those. Speaking of dumb ways to gain the interest of your audience, Alex seeds his book with all-American tropes like putting in "brutal honesty" which always translates to swearing and making readers feel like buffoons for not following his perfect way of life. He tells people what lazy idiots they are for ending up in the place they are now, but then tells people to follow their gut (approx. 10,000 times) not realizing the irony that "their gut" led them to a feeling of being lost, which led them to read his stupid book in the first place. He tells people never to listen to advice, even though you'd have to read a book full of advice to read how bad it is to read advice. The author's lack of self-awareness or irony is astounding to the point where I was thinking Alex wrote his book as an Andy Kaufmanesque goof. For somebody who supposedly has tried so many things in life he should know better. He should have more solid advice to give to those less experienced.
Occasionally, the book has flashes where it actually has something of value to say, but the advice that's actually unhelpful or even dangerous far outweighs the advice that I would consider to be helpful - which makes it unusable as a self-help book. Even if it can excellently describe how lost and frustrated one can feel in their twenties - emotions I myself have often felt these past years - the barrage of contradictions almost beg you not to read further. It's maddening.
And then Alex released the Milk The Pigeon book. It's 260-something pages long, relying on old, tired tricks. It's filled to the brim with repetitive advice, advice that contradicts itself one page later and has an cringe-inducing amount of a very American "just do it!" mindset.
The book starts off beautifully by easing you in with very, very relatable stories and personal anecdotes of Alex' life, and then the book's entire philosophy collapses in on itself on the 35th page and slowly but surely devolves into actual nonsense. It took me two full weeks to read the book, not because I'm a slow reader but because I had to put it down multiple times a day due to the frustration it caused. I kept on reading just to see how deep the rabbit hole went. The feeling that Alex loads 80% of his book with arrogant, self-congratulating, intense douchebaggery never left me. It feels like advice written by somebody who only knows about life from books, articles and biographies, never having experienced anything or accomplished something themselves. He consistently redirects the reader to other, (probably) better books which is basically Alex indirectly saying that his own book isn't good enough to stand on it's own and that it needs other, seperate works to complete his own.
If you're not wincing at 90's words like "yeah", "awesome" or "dude", then this book will feel like Christmas has come early. I've honestly lost count how many times he uses those. Speaking of dumb ways to gain the interest of your audience, Alex seeds his book with all-American tropes like putting in "brutal honesty" which always translates to swearing and making readers feel like buffoons for not following his perfect way of life. He tells people what lazy idiots they are for ending up in the place they are now, but then tells people to follow their gut (approx. 10,000 times) not realizing the irony that "their gut" led them to a feeling of being lost, which led them to read his stupid book in the first place. He tells people never to listen to advice, even though you'd have to read a book full of advice to read how bad it is to read advice. The author's lack of self-awareness or irony is astounding to the point where I was thinking Alex wrote his book as an Andy Kaufmanesque goof. For somebody who supposedly has tried so many things in life he should know better. He should have more solid advice to give to those less experienced.
Occasionally, the book has flashes where it actually has something of value to say, but the advice that's actually unhelpful or even dangerous far outweighs the advice that I would consider to be helpful - which makes it unusable as a self-help book. Even if it can excellently describe how lost and frustrated one can feel in their twenties - emotions I myself have often felt these past years - the barrage of contradictions almost beg you not to read further. It's maddening.
March 3, 2023
I'm 16 minutes into the audiobook and already put off by it. As other reviewers have stated (accurately), Heyne comes across as a pompous frat boy. No sense in belaboring the point.
Instead, I'd like to point you to the ebook "Killing Your Old Life and Living the Dream." Heyne published this 54-page PDF on his now-defunct blog Milk the Pigeon back in 2011. It reads briskly and you will get way more out of it in less time and with less aggravation than with this so-called "field guide."
I remember reading "Living the Dream" when I was 27, working a job I hated, and feeling trapped by student loans. It actually had a profound impact on me and inspired me to start traveling again. I've carried a lot of its tenets in my heart and soul ever since. I'd mentally flip through it to check in with myself at certain points in my life, as I would with passages from The Alchemist or The Prophet.
Suffice it to say, I felt let down by this sophomoric and self-gratifying newer work from Heyne. "Field Guide" will quickly fade from memory; "Living the Dream" will remain.
Instead, I'd like to point you to the ebook "Killing Your Old Life and Living the Dream." Heyne published this 54-page PDF on his now-defunct blog Milk the Pigeon back in 2011. It reads briskly and you will get way more out of it in less time and with less aggravation than with this so-called "field guide."
I remember reading "Living the Dream" when I was 27, working a job I hated, and feeling trapped by student loans. It actually had a profound impact on me and inspired me to start traveling again. I've carried a lot of its tenets in my heart and soul ever since. I'd mentally flip through it to check in with myself at certain points in my life, as I would with passages from The Alchemist or The Prophet.
Suffice it to say, I felt let down by this sophomoric and self-gratifying newer work from Heyne. "Field Guide" will quickly fade from memory; "Living the Dream" will remain.
August 25, 2025
Milk the Pigeon: A Field Guide For Anyone Lost in Their 20s is a comforting and relatable read for anyone feeling adrift in early adulthood. It feels less like a preachy self-help book and more like a honest conversation with a friend who gets it. The author uses simple stories and gentle humor to reassure you that being confused and making mistakes is a normal part of the process.
The most useful idea I took away was the concept of "milking the pigeon" itself. It's a funny metaphor for the futile effort we spend trying to get advice or validation from the wrong sources—just like you can't get milk from a pigeon. The book encourages you to stop looking for external answers and to start trusting your own instincts and defining success on your own terms. This one shift in perspective felt incredibly freeing.
The most useful idea I took away was the concept of "milking the pigeon" itself. It's a funny metaphor for the futile effort we spend trying to get advice or validation from the wrong sources—just like you can't get milk from a pigeon. The book encourages you to stop looking for external answers and to start trusting your own instincts and defining success on your own terms. This one shift in perspective felt incredibly freeing.
February 16, 2017
This was an okay kind of book. There were some interesting things mostly in the first third of the book, but after that there was a lot of repetition. The last two or three chapters were kind of interesting as well.
There are some things that really got me thinking in this book, but there really are better ones out there.
All in all it was just meh, but not bad, just kind of meh...
There are some things that really got me thinking in this book, but there really are better ones out there.
All in all it was just meh, but not bad, just kind of meh...
July 22, 2019
Aunque es cierto que dice muchas obviedades, hay veces no nos damos cuenta de ellas y las pasamos por alto. Sin embargo, tiene muchos tips que te pueden ayudar a alcanzar tu objetivo sea cual sea.
Muy recomendable para cualquiera que lleve tiempo dando vueltas a buscarle un significado/objetivo a su vida o como bien dice el título pqra alguien que se encuentra perdido.
Muy recomendable para cualquiera que lleve tiempo dando vueltas a buscarle un significado/objetivo a su vida o como bien dice el título pqra alguien que se encuentra perdido.
January 6, 2022
To be honest, I only finished the book because I started it and it was an easy read. It contained some valuable messages, but I didn't learn anything new. I was not a fan of the way in which the author expressed himself; It could easily be that I was not a part of the his target reading audience. The good news is that it made me realize that I am not as lost as I think I am.
January 16, 2022
The book came to me at a juncture in my life when I was lost and seeking for direction. The author does a phenomenal work of showing his personal experience, being introspective and changing them as take away for other twenty year olds. This is a must read for anyone who is looking for a purpose or is bored or their life and wants a change.
June 25, 2024
Even though this book is written for 20-somethings, I found it incredibly helpful in getting clarity on my purpose and meaning.
It was this book I was reading when I had crystal clarity, after decades of searching, of what it is I’m here on the planet to do.
It was this book I was reading when I had crystal clarity, after decades of searching, of what it is I’m here on the planet to do.
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August 22, 2025DNF - I can’t remember why I stopped reading this but I’m not in my 20s anymore. I sure I could still get something insights from it. I might go back to it someday if I can ever find it hanging around the house somewhere.
February 20, 2018
Everyone should read this book. Inspires me to live an awesome life
August 28, 2021
one of the best books i've ever read! I highly recommend it to all the twenty-somethings!
December 5, 2016
An interesting blend of common sense, personal history and guidance for life!! 4.5 stars
While the title indicates it is aimed at those in their 20’s I think many in their 30’s or even 40’s could find some actionable suggestions and/or entertainment from this book. Alexander Heyne has certainly not trod on a traditional path, and regales us with his early trials and travels. This is also not “just” a personal dialogue as his research includes two of my personal favorites: Seth Godin and Jim Collins.
Anyone who has found some roadblock in their path can find some actionable items to resolve their dilemma. While he counsels us to live life intentionally, he also wants us to be rocky road in a vanilla world.
**I am voluntarily leaving my honest review of this book**
While the title indicates it is aimed at those in their 20’s I think many in their 30’s or even 40’s could find some actionable suggestions and/or entertainment from this book. Alexander Heyne has certainly not trod on a traditional path, and regales us with his early trials and travels. This is also not “just” a personal dialogue as his research includes two of my personal favorites: Seth Godin and Jim Collins.
Anyone who has found some roadblock in their path can find some actionable items to resolve their dilemma. While he counsels us to live life intentionally, he also wants us to be rocky road in a vanilla world.
**I am voluntarily leaving my honest review of this book**
January 24, 2017
I really like the author's writing style and how he incorporates humor and real life experience into his advice. Unfortunately, I found the book to be a little too repetitive, especially when it came to his "humble bragging" of all of his accomplishments. It's reassuring to know we are not alone in the whole "what the h*ll to do with our lives" dilemma and think the author's advice is great for the 20 year olds. Sadly, I'm past that stage in my life so a lot of his advice would be extremely difficult for me to apply to my current situation.
May 29, 2021
Awesome book and straight to the point. 100% worth reading!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews