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5: Where will you be five years from today?
Over the next five years, what do you really want to do? Who do you really want to be? With a fresh new look, this best-selling book will turn "what if" into "what is." Perfect for graduates, recent retirees, or anyone ready to start a new venture. Features an embossed hardcover.
112 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2007
43 people are currently reading
643 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
February 2, 2009
Each year I share with my clients and friends a book that I believe will provoke their thinking in some way.
Shortly after Thanksgiving last year I found myself in a Starbucks Café with a steaming Americano on my table and seated next to a display of dark chocolate and merchandise. I had a 30-minute wait till my appointment arrived, so I began to page through the book titled, “5.” It’s a tool for planning your life five years out, filled with thought-provoking activities. Yet even when I ignored the exercises, I decided, it’s a good, fun read!
I found the layout stimulating, the questions quite provocative, and the value high. So high, in fact, that I talked a Starbucks manager into ordering me a full case of these (50) for exclusive distribution to my client base.
They loved the book! I received dozens of notes from clients who dug into the exercises and were having a wonderful time discovering their future. A few confessed they had no energy to plan the future, but when they started reading the book they felt so inspired by the layout and the powerful questions that they found themselves engaged despite them selves.
I also had a lot of requests re: Where can I get a copy? Until very recently (end of month Jan 09) the book was not available except thru Starbucks, and they were sold out. I'm thrilled it's now available thru AZN.
My wife and I used two copies of this book to do our annual Planning Retreat, where we set aside an entire day to review the past year and then look ahead to the next. This book, 5, challenged us to look even further ahead.
It's not a breakthrough book, and it's filled with a lot of quotes and readings that self-improvement junkies will have already seen before. But the presentation is so much fun; and the arrangement of activities keeps one moving thru the planning/vision process.
Bottom line, it's a pretty joyful planning tool. I highly recommend this for those who get stuck in planning their life, and especially those who appreciate visual presentation.
Shortly after Thanksgiving last year I found myself in a Starbucks Café with a steaming Americano on my table and seated next to a display of dark chocolate and merchandise. I had a 30-minute wait till my appointment arrived, so I began to page through the book titled, “5.” It’s a tool for planning your life five years out, filled with thought-provoking activities. Yet even when I ignored the exercises, I decided, it’s a good, fun read!
I found the layout stimulating, the questions quite provocative, and the value high. So high, in fact, that I talked a Starbucks manager into ordering me a full case of these (50) for exclusive distribution to my client base.
They loved the book! I received dozens of notes from clients who dug into the exercises and were having a wonderful time discovering their future. A few confessed they had no energy to plan the future, but when they started reading the book they felt so inspired by the layout and the powerful questions that they found themselves engaged despite them selves.
I also had a lot of requests re: Where can I get a copy? Until very recently (end of month Jan 09) the book was not available except thru Starbucks, and they were sold out. I'm thrilled it's now available thru AZN.
My wife and I used two copies of this book to do our annual Planning Retreat, where we set aside an entire day to review the past year and then look ahead to the next. This book, 5, challenged us to look even further ahead.
It's not a breakthrough book, and it's filled with a lot of quotes and readings that self-improvement junkies will have already seen before. But the presentation is so much fun; and the arrangement of activities keeps one moving thru the planning/vision process.
Bottom line, it's a pretty joyful planning tool. I highly recommend this for those who get stuck in planning their life, and especially those who appreciate visual presentation.
May 19, 2018
When this book arrived in the mail, I was disappointed to see how incredibly thin it is -- a mere 80 pages. Flipping through it, I was disappointed again to discover that most of the pages have only a sentence or two written on them. It's as though the gimmicky typography took centre stage over the subject matter.
When I actually sat down to read it and do the exercises, I wasn't at all surprised to see that the handling of the material was... thin, at best. I was hoping for more insights, more meaty discussions on what makes a meaningful life, on goal-setting and time management, on priorities and boundaries, on all the things that so many of us struggle with that keeps us from achieving our peak potential.
Instead, I got a whole lot of fluff, a mish-mash of quotes I've read a hundred times before, and questions that are so common-sense as to be pretty useless in terms of actually setting down a solid 5-year plan. Overall, this book was incredibly disappointing, and I wish I'd flipped through it in a store before purchasing it from Amazon, because I never would have spent my hard-earned money on it.
When I actually sat down to read it and do the exercises, I wasn't at all surprised to see that the handling of the material was... thin, at best. I was hoping for more insights, more meaty discussions on what makes a meaningful life, on goal-setting and time management, on priorities and boundaries, on all the things that so many of us struggle with that keeps us from achieving our peak potential.
Instead, I got a whole lot of fluff, a mish-mash of quotes I've read a hundred times before, and questions that are so common-sense as to be pretty useless in terms of actually setting down a solid 5-year plan. Overall, this book was incredibly disappointing, and I wish I'd flipped through it in a store before purchasing it from Amazon, because I never would have spent my hard-earned money on it.
April 1, 2010
There was nothing earth shattering in this book, except it forced you to sit down and really think about your life, your goals, your passions, dreams and how to get there.
I was amazed at how easily the ideas came. Now if only I follow though and create for myself the life I want...
I was amazed at how easily the ideas came. Now if only I follow though and create for myself the life I want...
December 2, 2014
Dont read it ... If you dont have the ability to change with passion
September 28, 2017
Makes you think....especially at how much can occur in 5 years. And also opens up many possibilities.
December 4, 2019
Just expected... more. Disappointed that this book had no meat to it.
Read
November 16, 2015It's a wake-up call when you sit down to write your annual goals, and realize you have not worked on any longer-range vision for at least five years. I scoured Amazon and found precious few resources for planning and goal-setting beyond one year, but "5" kept coming up.
The exercises in the first half of the book were awesome. I used a regular paper journal to complete them, though I wish these kinds of books were published in more of a spiral workbook format, instead of hardcover, so I could write comfortably in the book itself. The most helpful exercises had me calculate how much of my life has already passed (based on an average American life span); encouraged me to think bigger and more comprehensively than I ever have before; and brought a sense of focus I didn't even realize I'd been missing.
Anyhow, the last 2/3 had more "food for thought" than actual exercises. Just be aware what you're really getting for a $10, 70+ page book.
That said, I still feel like it was worth the cost of the book for the clarity I got from the exercises in the first 1/3 of content.
The exercises in the first half of the book were awesome. I used a regular paper journal to complete them, though I wish these kinds of books were published in more of a spiral workbook format, instead of hardcover, so I could write comfortably in the book itself. The most helpful exercises had me calculate how much of my life has already passed (based on an average American life span); encouraged me to think bigger and more comprehensively than I ever have before; and brought a sense of focus I didn't even realize I'd been missing.
Anyhow, the last 2/3 had more "food for thought" than actual exercises. Just be aware what you're really getting for a $10, 70+ page book.
That said, I still feel like it was worth the cost of the book for the clarity I got from the exercises in the first 1/3 of content.
October 28, 2013
I read this book on the suggestion of a workshop instructor at the local college.
I have to admit, I'm not much of a planner. I don't know what I'm going to make for my next meal, much less what I want to achieve in the next 5 years. This book has inspired me to work on my goals, and envision where I want to be.
Much like all self-help books, you will get out of it what you put into it. I haven't started the exercises yet, so I will get a lot more benefit out of the book once I do those. The unconventional layout of the book makes it an interesting read. The questions, though simple, are thought provoking. The key will be to follow through on the plans that you make through the exercises.
I also purchased "1" at the same time. I am interested to see how the two books will complement each other.
I have to admit, I'm not much of a planner. I don't know what I'm going to make for my next meal, much less what I want to achieve in the next 5 years. This book has inspired me to work on my goals, and envision where I want to be.
Much like all self-help books, you will get out of it what you put into it. I haven't started the exercises yet, so I will get a lot more benefit out of the book once I do those. The unconventional layout of the book makes it an interesting read. The questions, though simple, are thought provoking. The key will be to follow through on the plans that you make through the exercises.
I also purchased "1" at the same time. I am interested to see how the two books will complement each other.
December 24, 2020
I'm naturally skeptical of self-help books: for every such book which is truly helpful there are two which fail miserably, and this work falls squarely into the latter category. "Five" claims to help the reader imagine the next five years of their life and, in doing so, maximize their human potential. Perhaps I should have been more suspicious going in, since this book was given to me by a former boss who turned out to be a shameless hypocrite. And I should have known what I was in for after reading the very first substantive statement contained in this volume: "In five years Columbus opened up a whole new world by discovering the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaliola, and North America." Leading with praise for one of history's great monsters does not exactly inspire confidence.
As with many of the worst self-help books, the bulk of "Five" consists of a jumble of quotations -- really out-of-context platitudes -- which, on account of their mostly well-known sources, are supposed to carry the weight of authority and profundity. Yet this book is really just a round of rah-rah-rah cheerleading for the privileged class. Advice such as, "Visit the home of your ancestors," is problematic for anyone who doesn't enjoy both financial and cultural advantages. But, then again, the author clearly understood his audience, since anyone who would pony up $14.95 for a hardcover book in which two whole pages are devoted to the sentence, "See the world," is likely to consider the advice found here to be timely, relevant, and deeply moving. To the rest of the world -- or to those of us who are too smart for that bullshit -- it is more likely to act as an emetic. Yech!!
As with many of the worst self-help books, the bulk of "Five" consists of a jumble of quotations -- really out-of-context platitudes -- which, on account of their mostly well-known sources, are supposed to carry the weight of authority and profundity. Yet this book is really just a round of rah-rah-rah cheerleading for the privileged class. Advice such as, "Visit the home of your ancestors," is problematic for anyone who doesn't enjoy both financial and cultural advantages. But, then again, the author clearly understood his audience, since anyone who would pony up $14.95 for a hardcover book in which two whole pages are devoted to the sentence, "See the world," is likely to consider the advice found here to be timely, relevant, and deeply moving. To the rest of the world -- or to those of us who are too smart for that bullshit -- it is more likely to act as an emetic. Yech!!
August 14, 2020
Enjoying it!! It is like a cliff notes version of other books on self-discovery, self-awareness, and life planning. As the opening pages state..."The purpose of this book is to stir your creative juices and to inspire you to really get in touch with your dreams. The goal is not to provide a list of what "should"be done with the next 5 years - but to stir up some exciting possibilities of what "could" be done!!!! ** But Like anything else in life...you have to put the work in if you want your life to change!!!! Just reading a book and not taking ACTION will never get you to your goals!!! Your Life Journey is determined by the choice you make!!!! So let today be the day that you decide to take your life back and start your 5-year journey on personal success. * You Can Have A Better Life! *
December 18, 2021
Over the next five years, what do you really want to do? Who do you really want to be? What do you really want to have? Where do you really want to go? This book celebrates the want tos, the choose tos, and the I can’t wait tos in your life. Whether you’re just finishing school, starting a new venture, celebrating a milestone, or envisioning your retirement, you’ll find inspiration for creating your future with intention. Filled with quotes from today’s leaders, thought-provoking activities, and real-life examples, this imaginative book offers fuel for embracing the possibilities in front of you. A meaningful gift for graduates, recent retirees, entrepreneurs, or anyone ready to start a new venture
March 31, 2022
Read the book in half an hour…and now the real learning begins. Love the new format which is more like a workbook. Because the book inspires both self reflection and dreams, I will go back to it to refocus, realign, and feel inspired to do the “next big thing.” Great resource for the work place to stimulate innovative thinking and promote self awareness!
February 26, 2023
You have to be in the right place and time in your life to do the work on this one. I thought it brought up a lot of great things to consider and explore. For me though, I feel that I've already spent quite a bit of time in this area so I didn't get much out of it, this time. I'd pick it up again though.
November 28, 2017
Great book. Bought 10 of these and gifted them last Christmas. I refer back to mine often to see if I am still on track. Great tool for people of all ages who want to set their destiny based on their own goals!
October 24, 2018
This book has a very original approach to mapping out your goals in life. Traditional books follow the same SMART method which is functional but uninspiring. This book gave ideas and guided the journey toward setting a true vision for what you can accomplish in 5 years.
July 30, 2020
Self help books are pretty hokey and if you come just looking for answers you won’t get them. This one is cool because it requires you to be a lot more introspective and dig for your answers and put them to paper. Honestly wish I read this earlier just to help codify values and dreams.
May 7, 2023
What a great way to work through your hopes for your life. This is my second time through (once 5 years ago), and it is great to see how things have changed and been prioritized. It’s great to know where you’d like to go!
August 25, 2023
I love the way this book gave you prompts to think about your future. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine your goals that far down the line but I liked all the quotes from influential people and the advice the prompts gave.a great gift for a person of any age really
February 25, 2024
This helped me focus my ideas and jumpstart my motivation. Writing things down, answering questions I wouldn't have thought to ask myself, feels like a tangible first step. I believe I will continue to refer back to this volume, and continue to fill the space inside with my progress.
December 5, 2017
Really cute, motivational book that made me feel extremely inspired. I should probably look through this during New Years to help make myself some good resolutions!
February 28, 2018
pseudo-inspiring quotes don't provide any real value
June 7, 2019
Remember, life is short and death is long.
-Fritz Shoulder
-Fritz Shoulder
June 24, 2019
A little fluffy, but helps to get thoughts in order.
Read
December 11, 2019OK book - it's good to think ahead, but I am more of a spontaneous person.
July 4, 2020
A good book for finding goals and inspiration in your personal life it doesnt cover my professional ideas though.
January 8, 2021
Amazing... Took a year to get through.
December 4, 2021
Super fun and inspirational
March 22, 2022
Makes you think creatively about your future and how you can start building in the present.
February 18, 2023
I really enjoyed this. Many of the quotes and questions are very thought provoking. A tad hype-y but nonetheless quite true: life is short, live it to the fullest and start today!
November 11, 2024
I liked the layout of the book and wrote down questions along the way. The book was a breath of fresh air and had me asking thought-provoking questions that are imperative to my existence.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews