Date of Review:

06/03/2008

Published Work:

Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed and Overworked - 21st Century Edition

Reviewer:

Louise M.Boucher

Source:

HRAC Perspective

Review Excerpt:

Do you love your life? Do you have work-life balance? Do you wake up every morning excited about your day? Are you doing what you want with your life? If you answered no to any of these questions, you should really consider reading The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked by Ernie J. Zelinski.

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, I still recommend that you read this book.

I was at a friend's 50th birthday party when I first came across this book. At the time, I was in one of those places where you reflect upon life and wonder if this is all that there is. As a kid you have all these hopes, dreams and glamorous expectations of where you will be as an adult. Then, as an adult, you take a look around and say, "yah . . . so this is it, eh?" It was finally time for my friend Bob to open his birthday gifts. As a group of us gathered in the kitchen, Bob opened each card and Retirement Gift with great appreciation, as he always does. Besides finding Etch N Sketch quite fascinating, my heart skipped a beat when I spotted the next gift titled The Joy of Not Working.

Let me just warn you ahead of time. The author is far from a traditionalist. Living in Edmonton, Alberta, Ernie Zelinski works two to four hours per day and does not like to work at all in any month that doesn't have an "r" in it.

There is also an entire chapter dedicated to financial independence on less than twenty dollars a day and how money plays a role in society and how we let it affect us. When he does slave like the rest of us, Ernie, an educated engineer by trade, works as a consultant and as a professional speaker in the field of applying creativity to business and leisure.

Having said that,I do not think you would be disappointed picking this book up. I think it is a fantastic read. In his easy to read and down to earth writing style, Ernie Zelinski guides the reader to be reflective of one's life and how to get the most out of it by providing eye opening exercises and thought-provoking lists and diagrams. It's not about being an unemployed mooch, but about being the best that you can be even if you are employed, between jobs, overworked or retired. He tells you the way to find the lifelong happiness that you really want and shows you how to slow down and really live the moments in your life. He deals with working too much, not developing your own interests and the difficulty of identifying with your work. Ernie shares with us how leisure is so important in our lives and how it prepares us for Retirement.

Despite being an odd mix between amateur psychology and self-help, this book has certainly inspired me and has shown what I have been missing in my life. I now know the prescription to lifelong Happiness. Can you say the same?

Here are the various Webpages associates with The Retirement Quotes Cafe:

Retirement Jokes at The Retirement Jokes Café

Retirement Dinner Speeches at The Retirement Speeches Café

Retirement Poems at The Retirement Poems Café

Best Places to Retire

Retirement Jobs

Best Places to Retire in the World

The Best Retirement Gifts

Best Retirement Poems

Link to Full Review: