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Be A Free Range Human: Escape the 9-5, Create a Life You Love and Still Pay the Bills
DISTINGUISHED NYC Big Book Award 2020 - Career
Trapped in a job or business that's "just not you"? Always dreaming of your next vacation or living for the weekend? Marianne Cantwell 's straight-talking bestseller will help you break out of that career cage and Be A Free Range Human . It's about much more than just quitting your job and becoming your own boss. It's about life on your terms, working when, where and how you want - so you don't have to fit yourself into someone else's box to make a great income. This second edition won't just inspire you, it will give you unconventional and practical steps
- Discover what you really want to do with your life (even if no answer has ever fully fit)
- Get started in 90 days, with what you have
- Create a free range career, tailor-made for you and the life you want (be it travelling the world or hanging out in your favourite café)
- Stand out from the crowd and get paid well to be you
Be A Free Range Human was one of the first and most popular guides to creating a custom career (without an office or a boss). Updated with new advice on how to make free range work for your personality (you don't need to be a constantly-networking extrovert. have an MBA, or get funding), this smart, energizing guide will help you cut through the noise, see your options in a new way, and get the freedom and fulfilment you crave.
Trapped in a job or business that's "just not you"? Always dreaming of your next vacation or living for the weekend? Marianne Cantwell 's straight-talking bestseller will help you break out of that career cage and Be A Free Range Human . It's about much more than just quitting your job and becoming your own boss. It's about life on your terms, working when, where and how you want - so you don't have to fit yourself into someone else's box to make a great income. This second edition won't just inspire you, it will give you unconventional and practical steps
- Discover what you really want to do with your life (even if no answer has ever fully fit)
- Get started in 90 days, with what you have
- Create a free range career, tailor-made for you and the life you want (be it travelling the world or hanging out in your favourite café)
- Stand out from the crowd and get paid well to be you
Be A Free Range Human was one of the first and most popular guides to creating a custom career (without an office or a boss). Updated with new advice on how to make free range work for your personality (you don't need to be a constantly-networking extrovert. have an MBA, or get funding), this smart, energizing guide will help you cut through the noise, see your options in a new way, and get the freedom and fulfilment you crave.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 3, 2013
92 people are currently reading
996 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
April 30, 2013
This is a well written, nicely presented book with plenty of exercises for the reader to do to help clarify their own aspirations and goals. There are numerous examples of people who have done just what it says on the cover.
That said, I have marked it down compared to other reviewers for the following reasons
- focuses largely on professional, well educated people who have some degree of financial stability behind them. People who have manual jobs and little education can dream of changing their lives too, and may be more driven to do so.
- lack of variety in the types of work shown in the case studies - I enjoyed the story of the 'Cakepreneur' but thought there was an over-emphasis on digital product.
- I would have appreciated more depth - being told that someone else makes a living from their blog is one thing, working out how to do so yourself is another.
- and I didn't think that calling everyone who isn't enthusiastic about your dream 'beige' was very helpful - most people will not be trying to hold you back but may just be concerned that you are having a 'Mosquito Coast' moment.
That said, I have marked it down compared to other reviewers for the following reasons
- focuses largely on professional, well educated people who have some degree of financial stability behind them. People who have manual jobs and little education can dream of changing their lives too, and may be more driven to do so.
- lack of variety in the types of work shown in the case studies - I enjoyed the story of the 'Cakepreneur' but thought there was an over-emphasis on digital product.
- I would have appreciated more depth - being told that someone else makes a living from their blog is one thing, working out how to do so yourself is another.
- and I didn't think that calling everyone who isn't enthusiastic about your dream 'beige' was very helpful - most people will not be trying to hold you back but may just be concerned that you are having a 'Mosquito Coast' moment.
January 5, 2013
(I'm already a free-range human so this is preaching to the converted, but I still enjoyed it!)
This book is a great primer for people who are considering stepping out of the corporate world, the traditional career ladder and aiming to make a living doing something they love. You can still earn good money but the focus is more on life wealth, on how you spend your short time on the planet. Marianne walks the talk, living the free-range life, so she is the perfect guide to this way of life. I particularly think the section on "creating your free range life" is important for people to consider when deciding on a business. Do you really know what you want? Or are you using the metrics that you have been taught to use? Being the person you "should" be or who you really are?
Inspirational and useful as a way to consider your next steps towards your future.
This book is a great primer for people who are considering stepping out of the corporate world, the traditional career ladder and aiming to make a living doing something they love. You can still earn good money but the focus is more on life wealth, on how you spend your short time on the planet. Marianne walks the talk, living the free-range life, so she is the perfect guide to this way of life. I particularly think the section on "creating your free range life" is important for people to consider when deciding on a business. Do you really know what you want? Or are you using the metrics that you have been taught to use? Being the person you "should" be or who you really are?
Inspirational and useful as a way to consider your next steps towards your future.
January 28, 2013
I was expecting it to be good as I am familiar with the author's work (we were budding writers together as teenagers) but what I wasn't exactly expecting was to be THIS excited and inspired by the book! I feel empowered to rearrange my life and to encourage others in rearranging theirs. I will be recommending this book to lots of people. It is good reading, flows easily and is full of real life examples. I like the links and all the stories and tips. Fantastic! Love your work Marianne!
July 31, 2014
Marketing digital products and living anywhere.
I would suggest instead Tim Ferris or Chris Guillebeau.
Some good ideas from the book:
Do it.
Start small but start.
Do all the things you like.
Carpe Diem.
I would suggest instead Tim Ferris or Chris Guillebeau.
Some good ideas from the book:
Do it.
Start small but start.
Do all the things you like.
Carpe Diem.
Read
May 11, 2022Going it alone and doing what you really want is often regarded as a risk that’s incompatible with paying the bills. But that idea only makes sense if your nine-to-five job gives you real security. In today’s economy, that’s rarely the case. This is why it makes sense to become a free-range human and run your own business. To do that, however, you first need to find out what you really want to do in life, uncover your hidden talents, and dispel some common myths about originality. The next step? Skip unnecessary planning, don’t be afraid to be unpopular, and jump right in!
Actionable advice:
Don’t fall into the perfectionism trap.
“What if something goes wrong?” Striking out on your own can be scary, and you’re likely to be plagued by questions like this one. So look at it from a different angle. Consider how you feel right now, devoting the best years of your life to something that doesn’t feel right. Then ask yourself what the cost is of not trying something different. The only thing that involves absolutely no risk is doing nothing. That’s why it’s important not to get hung up on mistakes. Remember, this is an experiment, and you’re not putting any income on the line. From here on in, mistakes are just a way of learning about what works and what doesn’t.
---
Your weaknesses are often your strengths, you just need to be in the right environment.
Figuring out a free-range alternative to the nine-to-five grind is a puzzle with a lot of pieces. The most important piece, however, is always the same – you. How can you hope to enjoy an above-average – no, scrap that – a fantastic life if you believe that you’re average? The answer is: you can’t. This means that we’ll need to unlock your hidden strengths, or superpowers, before we look at your free-range career.
To do that, we need to understand the key message, which is: Your weaknesses are often your strengths, you just need to be in the right environment.
Ever since your youngest years, you’ve been sold a lie. This lie says that you have to be good at everything to be good enough. Think back to school. When you got your report card, where was the emphasis – on the subjects you were brilliant at, or the ones you struggled with? Your parents and teachers encouraged you to improve your poorer subjects rather than to excel in your best. This is just one of the ways children are taught to strive for the average rather than build on their strengths.
Free-range humans take a different approach – and that’s just what you’ll be doing as well. So here’s the all-important question: How do you identify your superpowers?
Ironically, the best place to start is to look at your so-called weaknesses. Take it from the author. Before she switched careers, her boss was always scolding her for trying to change how things were done rather than concentrating on the task at hand. Whatever she was working on, she was always coming up with ways to improve the status quo.
When she became an independent consultant, she realized that this was pretty much her job description: clients were paying her to identify problems and suggest improvements. What had looked like a weakness in one setting was actually a strength in another. The problem wasn’t the author, but the fact that she was in the wrong environment.
Think about your own “weaknesses” and you’ll quickly identify similar hidden strengths. Say you’re having trouble focusing on one thing and keep bouncing among different projects. That’s obviously a problem if your job is all about doing one thing at a time, but this quality could be a massive asset in a different environment.
Being able to move quickly among options without getting bogged down in details is exactly what’s needed in brainstorming sessions, for example. What looks like a lack of focus in your current job might just be your superpower – the ability to be a fast-moving, adaptable, big-picture thinker with lots of ideas!
---
There are four main types of free-range business.
So far, we’ve looked at the basics of the free-range mindset. That brings us to the next question – what do free-rangers actually do for a living? The most common idea the author hears from people who want to quit their jobs is “start a café/bookshop/B&B.” There’s nothing wrong with that if it really is your dream, but there are easier ways to make money as a free-range human.
The key message here is: There are four main types of free-range business.
When people dream about opening a cute little café, they’re usually not thinking about the reality of operating a small business, but rather the life they imagine comes with it. Put differently, what they want is independence and the ability to work at their own pace and set their own priorities.
But here’s the issue: cafés, shops, and B&Bs aren’t great free-range businesses. They all require large amounts of start-up capital and are hard to experiment with on the side. More importantly, it’s hard to make money with them. This is because you have to cover fixed costs like rent and utilities – and not being able to keep up with those is the number one reason new businesses go under. So here’s the first rule of free-ranging: keep costs to a minimum!
This leaves plenty of other options. Consider services. This is any job in which you get paid for your time – think web designers, therapists, and freelance writers. Services have one big advantage: you can often start right away if you already have the skills, and you may not have to invest much. On the negative side, they’re time-bound. Because you can only take so many clients in a month, there’s a hard limit on your earnings.
Another option is to sell virtual products – these include information contained in, say, e-books, guides, or online courses. Unlike services, there’s no hard limit on your earning power – once you’ve created your product, you can sell it again and again. The downside? You’ll need a lot of market knowledge to create a product that will sell in the first place.
You could also create physical products like hand-woven dog baskets or market stall food. This, however, is both time- and resource-intensive, so it’s an option you’ll probably want to avoid unless you’re truly passionate about your craft.
Finally, there’s advertising – a way to create revenue by placing ads on sites like YouTube or your personal blog. This is an easy option, but unless you’re regularly creating viral content, it’s best thought of as a supplement to your main income.
---
You don’t need a complex business plan to get a new company off the ground.
Has all this given you the urge to quit your job and strike out on your own? Great! Now all you need to do is craft that killer business plan, right? Not quite – in fact, detailed planning isn’t necessary at all when you’re just starting out.
The key message here is: You don’t need a complex business plan to get a new company off the ground.
Take it from business experts Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. As they point out in their 2010 book Rework, long-term business planning is often little more than a “fantasy.” With so many factors in play, plans are more like guesses than forecasts – strategic guesses, perhaps, but guesses nonetheless.
The problem here is that you usually gather the most information about something while you’re doing it, not before you’ve begun it. But plans are, by design, written before anything has happened – the very worst time to make decisions!
In any case, business plans aren’t meant to be a reliable guide to the future – they’re designed to convince investors to put money into a new venture. But remember the first rule of free-range businesses is to keep costs low. If you don’t need investment, you don’t need a detailed business plan.
This does mean you’ll be going into things unprepared, of course, but that’s kind of the point. By spending less time on planning, you’re freeing up more time for doing. So why is that important? Well, let’s ask Andrew Mason, the founder of Groupon, one of the most successful businesses of the twenty-first century.
Mason’s first business was a total flop because he was obsessed with planning. Rather than launching his product and letting actual customers tell him if it was any good, he spent a year making adjustments based on what he assumed people wanted. Groupon was different. Rather than getting caught up in planning, he decided to “get it out there” as soon as possible.
That’s an approach you should also take. Don’t spend too much time theorizing about people’s needs and desires – instead, run a micro prototype project with, say, ten people. Use your friends as guinea pigs, or find strangers on sites like meetup.com. Once you’ve done this, you’re no longer someone who’ll open a business “one day” – you’ll actually be in business!
Actionable advice:
Don’t fall into the perfectionism trap.
“What if something goes wrong?” Striking out on your own can be scary, and you’re likely to be plagued by questions like this one. So look at it from a different angle. Consider how you feel right now, devoting the best years of your life to something that doesn’t feel right. Then ask yourself what the cost is of not trying something different. The only thing that involves absolutely no risk is doing nothing. That’s why it’s important not to get hung up on mistakes. Remember, this is an experiment, and you’re not putting any income on the line. From here on in, mistakes are just a way of learning about what works and what doesn’t.
---
Your weaknesses are often your strengths, you just need to be in the right environment.
Figuring out a free-range alternative to the nine-to-five grind is a puzzle with a lot of pieces. The most important piece, however, is always the same – you. How can you hope to enjoy an above-average – no, scrap that – a fantastic life if you believe that you’re average? The answer is: you can’t. This means that we’ll need to unlock your hidden strengths, or superpowers, before we look at your free-range career.
To do that, we need to understand the key message, which is: Your weaknesses are often your strengths, you just need to be in the right environment.
Ever since your youngest years, you’ve been sold a lie. This lie says that you have to be good at everything to be good enough. Think back to school. When you got your report card, where was the emphasis – on the subjects you were brilliant at, or the ones you struggled with? Your parents and teachers encouraged you to improve your poorer subjects rather than to excel in your best. This is just one of the ways children are taught to strive for the average rather than build on their strengths.
Free-range humans take a different approach – and that’s just what you’ll be doing as well. So here’s the all-important question: How do you identify your superpowers?
Ironically, the best place to start is to look at your so-called weaknesses. Take it from the author. Before she switched careers, her boss was always scolding her for trying to change how things were done rather than concentrating on the task at hand. Whatever she was working on, she was always coming up with ways to improve the status quo.
When she became an independent consultant, she realized that this was pretty much her job description: clients were paying her to identify problems and suggest improvements. What had looked like a weakness in one setting was actually a strength in another. The problem wasn’t the author, but the fact that she was in the wrong environment.
Think about your own “weaknesses” and you’ll quickly identify similar hidden strengths. Say you’re having trouble focusing on one thing and keep bouncing among different projects. That’s obviously a problem if your job is all about doing one thing at a time, but this quality could be a massive asset in a different environment.
Being able to move quickly among options without getting bogged down in details is exactly what’s needed in brainstorming sessions, for example. What looks like a lack of focus in your current job might just be your superpower – the ability to be a fast-moving, adaptable, big-picture thinker with lots of ideas!
---
There are four main types of free-range business.
So far, we’ve looked at the basics of the free-range mindset. That brings us to the next question – what do free-rangers actually do for a living? The most common idea the author hears from people who want to quit their jobs is “start a café/bookshop/B&B.” There’s nothing wrong with that if it really is your dream, but there are easier ways to make money as a free-range human.
The key message here is: There are four main types of free-range business.
When people dream about opening a cute little café, they’re usually not thinking about the reality of operating a small business, but rather the life they imagine comes with it. Put differently, what they want is independence and the ability to work at their own pace and set their own priorities.
But here’s the issue: cafés, shops, and B&Bs aren’t great free-range businesses. They all require large amounts of start-up capital and are hard to experiment with on the side. More importantly, it’s hard to make money with them. This is because you have to cover fixed costs like rent and utilities – and not being able to keep up with those is the number one reason new businesses go under. So here’s the first rule of free-ranging: keep costs to a minimum!
This leaves plenty of other options. Consider services. This is any job in which you get paid for your time – think web designers, therapists, and freelance writers. Services have one big advantage: you can often start right away if you already have the skills, and you may not have to invest much. On the negative side, they’re time-bound. Because you can only take so many clients in a month, there’s a hard limit on your earnings.
Another option is to sell virtual products – these include information contained in, say, e-books, guides, or online courses. Unlike services, there’s no hard limit on your earning power – once you’ve created your product, you can sell it again and again. The downside? You’ll need a lot of market knowledge to create a product that will sell in the first place.
You could also create physical products like hand-woven dog baskets or market stall food. This, however, is both time- and resource-intensive, so it’s an option you’ll probably want to avoid unless you’re truly passionate about your craft.
Finally, there’s advertising – a way to create revenue by placing ads on sites like YouTube or your personal blog. This is an easy option, but unless you’re regularly creating viral content, it’s best thought of as a supplement to your main income.
---
You don’t need a complex business plan to get a new company off the ground.
Has all this given you the urge to quit your job and strike out on your own? Great! Now all you need to do is craft that killer business plan, right? Not quite – in fact, detailed planning isn’t necessary at all when you’re just starting out.
The key message here is: You don’t need a complex business plan to get a new company off the ground.
Take it from business experts Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. As they point out in their 2010 book Rework, long-term business planning is often little more than a “fantasy.” With so many factors in play, plans are more like guesses than forecasts – strategic guesses, perhaps, but guesses nonetheless.
The problem here is that you usually gather the most information about something while you’re doing it, not before you’ve begun it. But plans are, by design, written before anything has happened – the very worst time to make decisions!
In any case, business plans aren’t meant to be a reliable guide to the future – they’re designed to convince investors to put money into a new venture. But remember the first rule of free-range businesses is to keep costs low. If you don’t need investment, you don’t need a detailed business plan.
This does mean you’ll be going into things unprepared, of course, but that’s kind of the point. By spending less time on planning, you’re freeing up more time for doing. So why is that important? Well, let’s ask Andrew Mason, the founder of Groupon, one of the most successful businesses of the twenty-first century.
Mason’s first business was a total flop because he was obsessed with planning. Rather than launching his product and letting actual customers tell him if it was any good, he spent a year making adjustments based on what he assumed people wanted. Groupon was different. Rather than getting caught up in planning, he decided to “get it out there” as soon as possible.
That’s an approach you should also take. Don’t spend too much time theorizing about people’s needs and desires – instead, run a micro prototype project with, say, ten people. Use your friends as guinea pigs, or find strangers on sites like meetup.com. Once you’ve done this, you’re no longer someone who’ll open a business “one day” – you’ll actually be in business!
January 9, 2017
Smoothly, informally written book by Marianne. I came in contact with Marianne’s blog back in 2012 when I just got out of an office job. I got a copy of the book when it came out in 2013 but only got to read it diagonally back then. Four years later, as a free range human, it was great to read Marianne’s approach again.
The main message in this book should be that when you want to have a fulfilling life, you must build on your unique personality. Leave behind expectations others have about you (managers in careers) and learn to live your full potential.
Marianne knows herself very well and did great work in doing what she is best at. From her own experiences she knows what works best for her, she discovered something and has a strong idea of the world she wants to make part of. By creating a “free range” term or a movement, she brings her idealism to a big group of people. In this book, she opens op tonnes of opportunities within her framework for others to be inspired by.
This book is for people who want to live and work to their full potential, to be at service to others and the world. If your motivations are to work to a minimum and maximise enjoyment from other pleasures in life like travelling the world, I would recommend you to read Tim Ferris or Chris Guillebeau instead.
Sometimes the book glides towards something that is too good to be true. Especially the shiny cases, they are often about a simple but clever idea that in a very short time made more revenue than you could make in a regular job. In reality, the process will be messier, take longer and not so profitable.
Maybe what I miss in this book is a deeper elaboration on the benefits on what this lifestyle brings: positive relationships with friends and family, better health, more happiness and life satisfaction… Also, free ranging is not for everyone, but I think the opportunities are wider than becoming a digital nomad or starting a home kitchen. And lastly, this book should not be seen as an excuse to rashly step into a new lifestyle. These things take time, more than 90 days. What I missed in this book is a call to be disciplined, patience and persistence.
This book is a titbit of what working with Marianne could bring you.
The main message in this book should be that when you want to have a fulfilling life, you must build on your unique personality. Leave behind expectations others have about you (managers in careers) and learn to live your full potential.
Marianne knows herself very well and did great work in doing what she is best at. From her own experiences she knows what works best for her, she discovered something and has a strong idea of the world she wants to make part of. By creating a “free range” term or a movement, she brings her idealism to a big group of people. In this book, she opens op tonnes of opportunities within her framework for others to be inspired by.
This book is for people who want to live and work to their full potential, to be at service to others and the world. If your motivations are to work to a minimum and maximise enjoyment from other pleasures in life like travelling the world, I would recommend you to read Tim Ferris or Chris Guillebeau instead.
Sometimes the book glides towards something that is too good to be true. Especially the shiny cases, they are often about a simple but clever idea that in a very short time made more revenue than you could make in a regular job. In reality, the process will be messier, take longer and not so profitable.
Maybe what I miss in this book is a deeper elaboration on the benefits on what this lifestyle brings: positive relationships with friends and family, better health, more happiness and life satisfaction… Also, free ranging is not for everyone, but I think the opportunities are wider than becoming a digital nomad or starting a home kitchen. And lastly, this book should not be seen as an excuse to rashly step into a new lifestyle. These things take time, more than 90 days. What I missed in this book is a call to be disciplined, patience and persistence.
This book is a titbit of what working with Marianne could bring you.
November 30, 2019
This book came along at just the right time in my life. I heard Marianne on Joanna Penn's Creative Penn Podcast and immediately went to download the audiobook. A lot of what she has to say and her approaches resonated with me so much more than any of the business-y or entrepreneurial books out there. This was a great collection of stories, exercises, and practical advice on different ways to have a free-range lifestyle.
One downside of the audiobook was that I was often driving when the exercises came along and I'm not adept at bookmarking in Audible, so sometimes I'd miss them. I really wish there had been a PDF with the exercises and links included.
I ended up buying the ebook as well as I intend to reread this to really absorb the information.
One downside of the audiobook was that I was often driving when the exercises came along and I'm not adept at bookmarking in Audible, so sometimes I'd miss them. I really wish there had been a PDF with the exercises and links included.
I ended up buying the ebook as well as I intend to reread this to really absorb the information.
June 19, 2015
Few books brought tears...
Few books brought tears to my eyes and now "Free Range" joins that list. It's an entirely different way of living your life from the professional perspective. I have always had trouble following orders and holding jobs (my longest JUST ended after a year), but this book puts into perspective, "why?". If travel and/or being your own boss is your aim, this is a must read.
Few books brought tears to my eyes and now "Free Range" joins that list. It's an entirely different way of living your life from the professional perspective. I have always had trouble following orders and holding jobs (my longest JUST ended after a year), but this book puts into perspective, "why?". If travel and/or being your own boss is your aim, this is a must read.
March 3, 2017
In the vein of career books for nonconformists, this is more useful on a practical level and less inspirational than others.
This book is more aimed at the corporate job type who is looking to leave and do something more fulfilling or flexible.
If you are already a scanner/multipod/renaissance soul, you may want to look elsewhere.
This book is more aimed at the corporate job type who is looking to leave and do something more fulfilling or flexible.
If you are already a scanner/multipod/renaissance soul, you may want to look elsewhere.
May 1, 2020
Wow. Well one thing's for sure, Cantwell talks a big freaking talk.
But does her book teach you how to walk the walk? I'm not sure. To be fair, I've been listening to the audiobook at my (basically) 9-5 job and am writing this review on my lunch break, so have only been doing the exercises mentally, and I have not experienced the process to the depth with which the author intended.
But I still look at her personal story, and the profiles of overachieving, people-oriented self starters and wonder where introverted, socially awkward misanthropes like myself fit in.
I was also stressed out by the fact that the fact that personal finance becoming exponentially more complicated when being self employed/freelancing wasn't addressed.
On top of all of that, though, I do suspect that much of my skepticism is rooted in my current mental state, and there were definitely a lot of good ideas in the book.
I think I'll go back and reread when I have the chance and actually write down the answers to the exercises and go from there.
But does her book teach you how to walk the walk? I'm not sure. To be fair, I've been listening to the audiobook at my (basically) 9-5 job and am writing this review on my lunch break, so have only been doing the exercises mentally, and I have not experienced the process to the depth with which the author intended.
But I still look at her personal story, and the profiles of overachieving, people-oriented self starters and wonder where introverted, socially awkward misanthropes like myself fit in.
I was also stressed out by the fact that the fact that personal finance becoming exponentially more complicated when being self employed/freelancing wasn't addressed.
On top of all of that, though, I do suspect that much of my skepticism is rooted in my current mental state, and there were definitely a lot of good ideas in the book.
I think I'll go back and reread when I have the chance and actually write down the answers to the exercises and go from there.
April 1, 2025
"‘Can I afford to escape the 9−5?’ This time also ask yourself: ‘Can I afford not to?’"
I ended up with 36 highlights which is easily a record for me. There were lots of great passages and stories of people breaking out of the corporate world and trying something different. This concept has been something that's been weighing heavily on my mind, so it was validating and encouraging to read a whole book about this topic. It's a scary idea to break out of the career cage and try something different when you have a stable job. But I've also been dreaming of taking a break from the corporate world for years to relax, do the camino, maybe start a business, and pursue hobbies and interest. It's even scarier for me to go through the motions, take a couple weeks off each year, and then retire with a body and mind that probably aren't what they used to be without realizing this dream.
I ended up with 36 highlights which is easily a record for me. There were lots of great passages and stories of people breaking out of the corporate world and trying something different. This concept has been something that's been weighing heavily on my mind, so it was validating and encouraging to read a whole book about this topic. It's a scary idea to break out of the career cage and try something different when you have a stable job. But I've also been dreaming of taking a break from the corporate world for years to relax, do the camino, maybe start a business, and pursue hobbies and interest. It's even scarier for me to go through the motions, take a couple weeks off each year, and then retire with a body and mind that probably aren't what they used to be without realizing this dream.
May 31, 2018
Feeling caged in your cubicle? Got a creative streak, a rebellious streak, and marketable skills? This book might be for you. Equal parts spunky and blunt, Marianne Cantwell breaks down the mental and practical steps you need to break free and make your own indie career. The written exercises are super-helpful, first getting you to articulate what you really want (but haven't dared to hope for), and then gradually fleshing out the practicalities so that you begin to see your path from A to B. Lots of ideas, resources, wisdom, and straight-talk here.
May 17, 2020
The book is pretty well written, easy to follow, has plenty of examples and exercises to help you understand what you really want to do with your life.
The main issue here is that when you read it, you feel motivated and think that it’s easy. But in fact it’s not. Actually it’s very hard, you have to prepare yourself for those hardships in advance. It’s definitely not enough to read one book, read a bunch of success stories and think that you already went half-way through. No, it’s hardly even the beginning.
But yes, the book gives you the motivation and positive emotions to start with.
The main issue here is that when you read it, you feel motivated and think that it’s easy. But in fact it’s not. Actually it’s very hard, you have to prepare yourself for those hardships in advance. It’s definitely not enough to read one book, read a bunch of success stories and think that you already went half-way through. No, it’s hardly even the beginning.
But yes, the book gives you the motivation and positive emotions to start with.
May 14, 2020
Do what you like and build your life right NOW. It’s a good thought but if I would move to the beach now: how am I supppsed to pay my bills? Good thoughts: but not on spot.
September 6, 2018
Takhle, ne že byste se dozvěděli něco zvlášť nového. Ale tahle knížka je fantasticky entuziastická a velmi dobře mi sedla do aktuálního rozpoložení.
May 3, 2013
Quick Overview
A practical guide to personal fulfilment through career-change that emphasises the need for imagination, passion, hard work and commitment. No empty promises or get-rich-quick schemes here, but if you’re serious about making a major change and escaping a career rut, then Marianne Cantwell’s book might be just the catalyst you’ve been searching for,
Full Review
Marianne Cantwell broke out of her cubicle cage, transformed her life and now eschews the daily commute and soul-destroying office grind in favour of a whirlwind tour of the globe. These days she works from wherever she chooses to set up home as a consultant and inspirational speaker.
Now, in Be a Free Range Human Marianne wants to show you how you, too, can follow your dream and live the lifestyle you’ve always longed for.
The author makes one thing very clear throughout: the lifestyle of a Free Range Human is an attainable one, but it will take time, inspiration and a whole lot of sustained effort on your part to achieve it. If you’re ready to make the change and are prepared to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, then book provides a genuinely helpful set of suggestions and resources to help you get started.
If, on the other hand, you’re just looking for a get-rich-quick scheme or someone to hold your hand and do all the difficult bits for you, then you might as well click away now.
Still reading? Good. Here’s how Marianne Cantwell sets out her stall.
After an introductory section of background development and myth-busting pointers on where the traditional career model gets it wrong, the main focus of the book is on the practical steps you’ll need to consider before you launch yourself out into the wider, Free Range world.
Stages covered and advice offered includes:
- Focusing on your unique strengths – exploring your ideas and personality as well as your skill-set in order to do what you Love rather than what you happen to be good at.
- Avoiding the mental delaying tactics – realising that endless research and searching for perfection are probably just ways to prevent you from getting started.
- Low-cost, high-speed start-up – getting going for under £100 without quitting your job or over-spending on unnecessary add-ons.
- Branding and marketing to boost your status – spending time on making effective connections rather than spending money on old-school promotion channels.
- Living anywhere and quitting your job – going fully free range and living the dream, once you’re ready to take that step.
The tone throughout is chatty and approachable, but the advice is solid and focuses on practical, sensible measures (such as: don’t quit your job on day one, work out if what you want to do will work first) as well as the need for high levels of bravery, enthusiasm and commitment to doing the work.
One thing that Marianne Cantwell constantly emphasises – both in the book and in the free hour-long intro audio that she’ll send you if you sign up to her Free Range Humans mailing list – is that she’s not attempting to provide you with all the answers, and she won’t hold your hand as you take your first baby-steps in your big, new direction. But she will tell you which questions she thinks you need to ask yourself, suggest where some of the answers might be found (hint: mostly they’ll end up coming from inside your head) and recommend a few practical tools and methods that you can adapt and apply and use, to suit your own requirements.
She also points out that all those people you hear about – the ones who’ve already made the Free Range move and are now doing what they love rather than what they have to in order to pay the bills (herself included) – didn’t succeed because they were luckier, or smarter, or more financially independent than you are. They vast majority of them succeeded because they followed their dreams, focused on their passions and worked damned hard to get where they are today.
Summary
Be a Free Range Human isn’t a bubbly dollop of inspiration-speak intended to gee you up, whip you into a job-quitting frenzy and then leave you stranded high and dry. Nor is it a detailed SatNav-style step-by-step instruction manual. If you’re someone who feels trapped by the daily grind of the cubicle lifestyle, or penned in by the ‘career cage’ then reading this book could help you switch on that mental lightbulb, work out just what it is you really, really want to be doing and start planning your escape route.
The worst that can happen is that you spend a small amount of money on the book, read it and then decide that safety first is more important than personal fulfillment. The best thing that can happen… well, that’s very much up to you.
A practical guide to personal fulfilment through career-change that emphasises the need for imagination, passion, hard work and commitment. No empty promises or get-rich-quick schemes here, but if you’re serious about making a major change and escaping a career rut, then Marianne Cantwell’s book might be just the catalyst you’ve been searching for,
Full Review
Marianne Cantwell broke out of her cubicle cage, transformed her life and now eschews the daily commute and soul-destroying office grind in favour of a whirlwind tour of the globe. These days she works from wherever she chooses to set up home as a consultant and inspirational speaker.
Now, in Be a Free Range Human Marianne wants to show you how you, too, can follow your dream and live the lifestyle you’ve always longed for.
The author makes one thing very clear throughout: the lifestyle of a Free Range Human is an attainable one, but it will take time, inspiration and a whole lot of sustained effort on your part to achieve it. If you’re ready to make the change and are prepared to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, then book provides a genuinely helpful set of suggestions and resources to help you get started.
If, on the other hand, you’re just looking for a get-rich-quick scheme or someone to hold your hand and do all the difficult bits for you, then you might as well click away now.
Still reading? Good. Here’s how Marianne Cantwell sets out her stall.
After an introductory section of background development and myth-busting pointers on where the traditional career model gets it wrong, the main focus of the book is on the practical steps you’ll need to consider before you launch yourself out into the wider, Free Range world.
Stages covered and advice offered includes:
- Focusing on your unique strengths – exploring your ideas and personality as well as your skill-set in order to do what you Love rather than what you happen to be good at.
- Avoiding the mental delaying tactics – realising that endless research and searching for perfection are probably just ways to prevent you from getting started.
- Low-cost, high-speed start-up – getting going for under £100 without quitting your job or over-spending on unnecessary add-ons.
- Branding and marketing to boost your status – spending time on making effective connections rather than spending money on old-school promotion channels.
- Living anywhere and quitting your job – going fully free range and living the dream, once you’re ready to take that step.
The tone throughout is chatty and approachable, but the advice is solid and focuses on practical, sensible measures (such as: don’t quit your job on day one, work out if what you want to do will work first) as well as the need for high levels of bravery, enthusiasm and commitment to doing the work.
One thing that Marianne Cantwell constantly emphasises – both in the book and in the free hour-long intro audio that she’ll send you if you sign up to her Free Range Humans mailing list – is that she’s not attempting to provide you with all the answers, and she won’t hold your hand as you take your first baby-steps in your big, new direction. But she will tell you which questions she thinks you need to ask yourself, suggest where some of the answers might be found (hint: mostly they’ll end up coming from inside your head) and recommend a few practical tools and methods that you can adapt and apply and use, to suit your own requirements.
She also points out that all those people you hear about – the ones who’ve already made the Free Range move and are now doing what they love rather than what they have to in order to pay the bills (herself included) – didn’t succeed because they were luckier, or smarter, or more financially independent than you are. They vast majority of them succeeded because they followed their dreams, focused on their passions and worked damned hard to get where they are today.
Summary
Be a Free Range Human isn’t a bubbly dollop of inspiration-speak intended to gee you up, whip you into a job-quitting frenzy and then leave you stranded high and dry. Nor is it a detailed SatNav-style step-by-step instruction manual. If you’re someone who feels trapped by the daily grind of the cubicle lifestyle, or penned in by the ‘career cage’ then reading this book could help you switch on that mental lightbulb, work out just what it is you really, really want to be doing and start planning your escape route.
The worst that can happen is that you spend a small amount of money on the book, read it and then decide that safety first is more important than personal fulfillment. The best thing that can happen… well, that’s very much up to you.
August 12, 2019
A bit of a mixed bag this one, as I was expecting more practicalities of freelance life (the info I wanted about setting up was in an extra downloadable worksheet on her website) but what the book is more at people that want to escape the 9-5 life but haven't figured out what their business is yet. There's quite a few practical exercises for finding your niche, but if you're already schooled up in this and a digital self starter then you won't get too much out of this. Far too many case-studies to seem informative, as it read very salesy.
January 17, 2016
This is a terrific book which has helped me finally start acting on the plans I've had for years to stop being resigned to working in cubicle-land and start crafting my own work based on my natural strengths and what I love doing. Cantwell addresses both the emotional and the practical aspects of going Free Range, and her enthusiasm for the subject, combined with her own success and that of the people in her case studies, make for inspirational reading.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to leave the rat race but don't know where to start, or who are afraid that it's just not practical. Cantwell makes a powerful case for it being practical and life-affirming. If you do it right. Doing it right isn't that hard, but some of the steps are non-obvious and go against conventional wisdom. The thing is, conventional wisdom is based on decades past, and there many new opportunities which did not exist before.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to leave the rat race but don't know where to start, or who are afraid that it's just not practical. Cantwell makes a powerful case for it being practical and life-affirming. If you do it right. Doing it right isn't that hard, but some of the steps are non-obvious and go against conventional wisdom. The thing is, conventional wisdom is based on decades past, and there many new opportunities which did not exist before.
August 19, 2014
I spotted an article about the book in a magazine last year, with a free chapter offer, and the writing is so engaging I needed to read more.I have this book on my Kindle and smartphone and a much-highlighted, corner-turned paperback.
BAFRH is a great either to read all the way through, or a dipper for those brief five minutes we have in our days. The exercises are designed to help you find what will make you happy in your career, and Marianne's friendly style suggests it's absolutely fine to rethink your career plans and she encourages you to dream big.
If you're after a change, but not sure of what, this book will help you to find the insights that you need.
BAFRH is a great either to read all the way through, or a dipper for those brief five minutes we have in our days. The exercises are designed to help you find what will make you happy in your career, and Marianne's friendly style suggests it's absolutely fine to rethink your career plans and she encourages you to dream big.
If you're after a change, but not sure of what, this book will help you to find the insights that you need.
December 31, 2014
Great book - especially if you're at the beginning of your independent career journey. A lot of points resonated strongly with me, and I liked the author's approach, which is quite informal. The second half or so of the book was nothing new for me given that I work in digital marketing but it can be helpful to newbies who want concrete tips on how to promote their new business. Well worth the read, particularly if you're just beginning to think about an alternative career path.
January 27, 2019
This is an excellent book for those of you who want to escape the conventional lifestyle of working for a boss, picking up a salary. There is a nice blend of inspiration, encouragement and genuinely useful practical advice. It is the latter which I found the most useful as you can get plenty of books which offer just positivity without any real content. There are plenty of tips in here which I am contemplating using for the working lifestyle I want to commit to.
February 7, 2013
This was a good and inspiring self-help book written by a coach and I hope it will soon be translated because it really gives good tips and insights.
Bel libro,chiaro e scritto da un coach veramente ispirato. Spero venga presto tradotto perchè fornisce ottimi suggerimenti e tecniche attuative.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND KOGAN PAGE FOR THE PREVIEW
Bel libro,chiaro e scritto da un coach veramente ispirato. Spero venga presto tradotto perchè fornisce ottimi suggerimenti e tecniche attuative.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND KOGAN PAGE FOR THE PREVIEW
February 4, 2016
I'm not interested in quitting my day job just yet but this is an incredibly inspiring and motivating book. Whilst listening to this I have bought a domain name (www.isobel.uk.com), set up a blog, and written my first few blog posts. I also have a clear plan for how I'd like to enhance my foreseeable future outside of being at work. Bring it on!..
November 8, 2015
This book was so reassuring! It helpfully asks questions of the reader and sets tasks. It's designed to help uncover the readers true talents and what will really make them happy, all the while keeping their cool and not dashing off with a half-baked idea. I will definitely return to it again!
September 23, 2019
To Be a Free Range Human requires leaving the 9 to 5 corporate work culture behind for a better work-life balance.
The book suggests that everyone has a bit of entrepreneur in them just waiting to be discovered. By using exercises, it tries to help the reader find their inherent skills that can be transferred to a gig lifecycle. Once the idea is found, the book explains how to test your ideas merits in as short as one week. Does it pay enough to support you and your family? The book is full of myth busting of old ideas that may be stopping you from starting out on your own. For example, your idea doesn’t have to be original. Not everyone can invent an iPhone but plenty of companies including Android, Google and Amazon can copy that formula and reach a different audience. There are also many empowering stories describing how real people became free range humans.
Anyone needing motivation to quit that corporate job that is slowly killed them from the inside out will enjoy this book. That said I’m not sure how many practical skills for beginning a company are listed here. It is all well and good to say that you don’t need a business plan, a MBA, or to research to start your own business. That may be true for many readers of the book. However, for most readers they will need to do some research. If they need a loan to begin their own company, they will also need a business plan. I think it would have been better if the author was a little more honest in her assessment of how easy it is to start a business when you are not a person with a million bucks (or even $10,000) in the bank. But again, the stories within this book will motivate you to work towards your dream. However, expect to read several other books in addition to this one. I wish the author had included a “For Further Reading” list at the end of Be a Free Range Human. Because she didn’t, I can’t give this book more than 3 stars.
Thanks to Kogan Page Ltd. and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
The book suggests that everyone has a bit of entrepreneur in them just waiting to be discovered. By using exercises, it tries to help the reader find their inherent skills that can be transferred to a gig lifecycle. Once the idea is found, the book explains how to test your ideas merits in as short as one week. Does it pay enough to support you and your family? The book is full of myth busting of old ideas that may be stopping you from starting out on your own. For example, your idea doesn’t have to be original. Not everyone can invent an iPhone but plenty of companies including Android, Google and Amazon can copy that formula and reach a different audience. There are also many empowering stories describing how real people became free range humans.
Anyone needing motivation to quit that corporate job that is slowly killed them from the inside out will enjoy this book. That said I’m not sure how many practical skills for beginning a company are listed here. It is all well and good to say that you don’t need a business plan, a MBA, or to research to start your own business. That may be true for many readers of the book. However, for most readers they will need to do some research. If they need a loan to begin their own company, they will also need a business plan. I think it would have been better if the author was a little more honest in her assessment of how easy it is to start a business when you are not a person with a million bucks (or even $10,000) in the bank. But again, the stories within this book will motivate you to work towards your dream. However, expect to read several other books in addition to this one. I wish the author had included a “For Further Reading” list at the end of Be a Free Range Human. Because she didn’t, I can’t give this book more than 3 stars.
Thanks to Kogan Page Ltd. and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
September 6, 2019
Books like this are a two sided thing for me. On the one hand, I love the aspirational, inspirational advice - the stories of people who've achieved their dream of working for themselves and doing what they like, the practical steps to be like them. On the other hand, I'm not big on the 'if you visualise it, you'll reach it' kind of mantra-saying, moodboard-creating sort of methodology that often goes hand in hand with the practical stuff.
Which is not to say that sort of thing doesn't work - it absolutely does for the right person. I know people who are energised by that sort of activity. I'm just not one of them.
Disproportionately, the people who write books intended to help you achieve your dreams are the kind of people who like that sort of thing. What I liked most about Marianne Cantwell is that she's upfront about the fact that her methodology might not be right for you - that you've got to find someone whose energy and methods align with yours and that that person, whoever they are, will be best placed to help propel you to new heights.
If you are the sort of person who wants to work for themselves, or even just earn a bit of extra on the side, then giving this book a go is well worth the small cost. There is practical advice about what you need to prioritise, what sort of businesses you'll be able to make a go at, what particular style of business would best suit your personality. Even if Cantwell's particular style doesn't suit you, there's still plenty of information and food for thought you can get out of the book. Which is why for me it's a four not a five star. I can see that this book would be amazing for someone else - it just didn't click with me in the way it needed to for a full five star.
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Which is not to say that sort of thing doesn't work - it absolutely does for the right person. I know people who are energised by that sort of activity. I'm just not one of them.
Disproportionately, the people who write books intended to help you achieve your dreams are the kind of people who like that sort of thing. What I liked most about Marianne Cantwell is that she's upfront about the fact that her methodology might not be right for you - that you've got to find someone whose energy and methods align with yours and that that person, whoever they are, will be best placed to help propel you to new heights.
If you are the sort of person who wants to work for themselves, or even just earn a bit of extra on the side, then giving this book a go is well worth the small cost. There is practical advice about what you need to prioritise, what sort of businesses you'll be able to make a go at, what particular style of business would best suit your personality. Even if Cantwell's particular style doesn't suit you, there's still plenty of information and food for thought you can get out of the book. Which is why for me it's a four not a five star. I can see that this book would be amazing for someone else - it just didn't click with me in the way it needed to for a full five star.
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 8, 2018
I bought this book a few years back when in my office job but didn't read it until now.
I escaped the 9 to 5 thanks to a coaching training I did and thanks to following my hearts wishes despite the uncertainty and fear.
This book is well written and fun to read. It asks you a lot of questions to get you started. There are plenty of exercises to guide you to towards fulfilling adventurous life doing what you love. You will find a lot of inspiration from others, advice, resources and guidance.
If you are not happy in your job or career and you know that sooner or later you will have to make a change, read this book now. I have recommended it to friends and clients too.
I escaped the 9 to 5 thanks to a coaching training I did and thanks to following my hearts wishes despite the uncertainty and fear.
This book is well written and fun to read. It asks you a lot of questions to get you started. There are plenty of exercises to guide you to towards fulfilling adventurous life doing what you love. You will find a lot of inspiration from others, advice, resources and guidance.
If you are not happy in your job or career and you know that sooner or later you will have to make a change, read this book now. I have recommended it to friends and clients too.
December 11, 2024
This is absolutely a beginning your journey book. I'd actually give it a 3.5 but alas that's not possible. I think there are lots of gems in the book, but seems judgy at times and prescriptive. I like the sections where she talks more about different people doing different things for their life. I don't like that she squeezes the topic of having kids into a literal paragraph. That felt like such a throw away and absolutely hollow. She would have done better not to include it at all lol. That being said, much of the information I plan on giving a spin.
November 23, 2018
This is a fun read, in addition to being a book about how to get out of the drudgy work cage. It doesn’t always mean leaving your job, by the way. There’s just lots of ideas in here about how you can change your perspective and do something alongside your job if you want to. If you are dead cert for having a plan to go ‘free range’ it also gives you lots of ideas for this too. It also encourages you to think about work based fun - what a concept!
October 9, 2020
I remember getting to know this at the airport during a tiring business trip back home. Very alluring title and premise.
I really don’t like this - I suggest you check out Marianne’s Ted Talk to see whether her style is for you ... Motivation? Self-help? Self-promotion?
Still I like one of her good advice, “good brand takes what you have to offer and puts it on the outside so people ‘get’ you and your offering, even before they buy from you”.
I really don’t like this - I suggest you check out Marianne’s Ted Talk to see whether her style is for you ... Motivation? Self-help? Self-promotion?
Still I like one of her good advice, “good brand takes what you have to offer and puts it on the outside so people ‘get’ you and your offering, even before they buy from you”.
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