Reviews
Be You. Do Good.: Having the Guts to Pursue What Makes You Come Alive by Jonathan David Golden
mlindsey441's review
3.0
One star? Five Stars? Oh, I have no idea. I've settled on three, but I'm not even certain that this right. The book sets out to help people find their purpose and then provide the encouragement to follow that -- but I felt throughout the the book that the author had a secondary, that often times fronted to a primary purpose, of telling his readers about his coffee business in Rwanda. And frankly, this was where the book got really good. I loved hearing the stories about the work he was engaged in and the people he met. There was a beautiful story in here about forgiveness that I will likely never forget. But in between these lovely moments, were sections where I felt like I was listening to a poorly organized sermon. I found myself wishing that Golden had set out to write a memoir instead of a Christian self-help book.
The most difficult part of this book is what call his tendency to maybeize decisions -- as in maybe you could do this or perhaps you could do this or maybe this might be better. I completely understand that it is difficult to give advice to people about their calling because callings are unique. But it wasn't helpful nor even interesting to have lists of maybe this, maybe that. I work with students everyday who can't figure out their calling and often have a great deal of angst about this. Giving them a whole bunch of maybes is not only not helpful, but also can produce a fair amount of anxiety.
I also took issue with his assumption that everyone has inklings and that these inklings should be followed, often at great cost (like moving, quitting a job, taking out a loan). He even has a six step plan for dealing with these inklings, which I am sure for those who get them might be useful, but for someone whose brain doesn't work this way, I found it a little strange to be told repeatedly that I should follow them.
Finally, I felt like Golden tried to do too much. He gave advice for so much more than finding ones calling -- really it was more about living the spiritual life. For a reader who is looking to discover their calling, this book is too much of everything else and not enough on what might be involved in finding this for those who really have no idea what it is that makes them come alive.
If Golden ever writes a book specifically about this work in Rwanda, I'd read it in heartbeat. But if someone is looking for vocation/calling guidance, I'd suggest Parker Palmer's [b:Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation|67862|Let Your Life Speak Listening for the Voice of Vocation|Parker J. Palmer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397512984s/67862.jpg|65809].
The most difficult part of this book is what call his tendency to maybeize decisions -- as in maybe you could do this or perhaps you could do this or maybe this might be better. I completely understand that it is difficult to give advice to people about their calling because callings are unique. But it wasn't helpful nor even interesting to have lists of maybe this, maybe that. I work with students everyday who can't figure out their calling and often have a great deal of angst about this. Giving them a whole bunch of maybes is not only not helpful, but also can produce a fair amount of anxiety.
I also took issue with his assumption that everyone has inklings and that these inklings should be followed, often at great cost (like moving, quitting a job, taking out a loan). He even has a six step plan for dealing with these inklings, which I am sure for those who get them might be useful, but for someone whose brain doesn't work this way, I found it a little strange to be told repeatedly that I should follow them.
Finally, I felt like Golden tried to do too much. He gave advice for so much more than finding ones calling -- really it was more about living the spiritual life. For a reader who is looking to discover their calling, this book is too much of everything else and not enough on what might be involved in finding this for those who really have no idea what it is that makes them come alive.
If Golden ever writes a book specifically about this work in Rwanda, I'd read it in heartbeat. But if someone is looking for vocation/calling guidance, I'd suggest Parker Palmer's [b:Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation|67862|Let Your Life Speak Listening for the Voice of Vocation|Parker J. Palmer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397512984s/67862.jpg|65809].
craftymanatee's review
3.0
Each chapter starts with and is followed by a number of stories illustrating both how the author found his life’s work and the life work of others. The stories were enjoyable to read and were full of inspiration and passion. Additionally, each chapter ends with 3 key questions that provide guidance in how to put what you’ve read into action. I really liked the questions and they always left me with a lot to think about.
To be entirely honest, I struggled to finish this book. It’s well written and enjoyable but for the subject, I was needing a more direct response. A lot of the book is taken up by stories that are fine by themselves but with it being a book to help you “pursue what makes you come alive” it often felt like it took forever to get to the point of the story. It is for this reason that I rated it down to a 3.5 star and not more.
I would recommend this book to anyone who may be looking for some direction in their search for where their life is going and want less of a direction and more examples and stories. Like I said, it was an enjoyable read but not quite my cup of tea.
To be entirely honest, I struggled to finish this book. It’s well written and enjoyable but for the subject, I was needing a more direct response. A lot of the book is taken up by stories that are fine by themselves but with it being a book to help you “pursue what makes you come alive” it often felt like it took forever to get to the point of the story. It is for this reason that I rated it down to a 3.5 star and not more.
I would recommend this book to anyone who may be looking for some direction in their search for where their life is going and want less of a direction and more examples and stories. Like I said, it was an enjoyable read but not quite my cup of tea.
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