What do you think?
Rate this book
The End of Jobs: Money, Meaning and Freedom Without the 9-to-5
#1 Bestseller in Business and Money, Small Business, Entrepreneurship and International Economics A Top 3 'Start Your Own Business' Book -Inc Magazine The rapid development of technology and globalization has changed the leverage points in accumulating money, meaning and freedom. Those that don’t adapt are becoming trapped in the downward spiral of a dying middle class - working harder and earning less. Entrepreneurs that understand the new paradigm, have created unprecedented wealth in their lives and the lives of those they love. The End of Jobs combines the broad history of a Sapiens, the latest science of a Thinking Fast and Slow, the entrepreneurial oomph of a Rich Dad, Poor Dad or Zero to One with the motivational push of a Tony Robbins. In This Book You’ll — Why the century-long growth in wages came to a halt in 2000. — Why MBAs and JDs can’t get jobs and what that means for the future of work and your job. — Why The Theory of Constraints and a shift into the Fourth Economy has made entrepreneurship the highest-leveraged career path for the young and ambitious. — Why The Turkey Problem means accounting may be the riskiest profession in the 21st century while entrepreneurship may be the safest. — How entrepreneurs with second-rate degrees are leveraging the radical democracy of the Long Tail to get rich. — How the Stair Step Method and return of apprenticeships have transformed the “entrepreneurial leap" to make entrepreneurship at large, and small business entrepreneurship in particular, more accessible than ever. — The scientific research on how giving up balanced living and embracing integrated living leads to more money, more meaning, and more freedom. — Why a 20th century world view to career search questions like “What career is right for me?” and “How do I find a career?” could be the source of your frustration (and a better way to think about it) Included (Free) — Full Recorded Interviews with the Ten Entrepreneurs featured in The End of Jobs detailing how they launched their own successful businesses. — Taylor’s 67 must-read business books and the best entrepreneur books to fuel your entrepreneurial career. — 49 tools and templates to save you hundreds of hours when launching and growing a business. — A Ninety-Day goal setting template to translate the book into actionable steps — Access to a private community to discuss the book and get support from a community of like-minded individuals to inspire, motivate, and assist each other in seeking out apprenticeships, your career search and other elements around “how to find a career” and other career guidance questions like “what career is right for me?” Who Should Read This Book? Early Stage Entrepreneurs - If you’re already involved in small business entrepreneurship, but doubting yourself and wondering if you made a smart choice to aban
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 28, 2015
About the author
Taylor Pearson
3 books743 followersTaylor spent the last three years meeting with hundreds of entrepreneurs from Los Angeles to Vietnam, Brazil to New York, and worked with dozens of them, in industries from cat furniture to dating, helping them to grow their businesses.
Regardless of the industry, age, race, country, or gender, one simple fact stood out: entrepreneurship was dramatically more accessible, profitable, and safer… while jobs were riskier and less profitable than the public is typically (mis)led to believe.
Based on hundreds of interactions and and dozens of recent books and studies, he wrote The End of Jobs to show others how they could invest in entrepreneurship to create more freedom, meaning, and wealth in their lives.
Regardless of the industry, age, race, country, or gender, one simple fact stood out: entrepreneurship was dramatically more accessible, profitable, and safer… while jobs were riskier and less profitable than the public is typically (mis)led to believe.
Based on hundreds of interactions and and dozens of recent books and studies, he wrote The End of Jobs to show others how they could invest in entrepreneurship to create more freedom, meaning, and wealth in their lives.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 125 reviews
October 12, 2015
This is one of my all time favorite books about entrepreneurship.
It's packed with brand new ideas and it's well written.
Check my animated book review here:
The End Of Jobs Animated Book Review
It's packed with brand new ideas and it's well written.
Check my animated book review here:
The End Of Jobs Animated Book Review
March 25, 2019
I am recycling this book. While I agree with the general thesis regarding entrepreneurship put forth by the author - if you could call it at that - I find the work unoriginal and repetitive. The book is full of stereotypes and quotes from other writers and entrepreneurs - and lacks data or a personal narrative.
Taylor Pearson's main thesis is that entrepreneurship is cool, and is less risky, more profitable and more fulfilling than having a job. His book is also titled, "The End of Jobs" but when you are successful as an entrepreneur, you create jobs. Pearson ends up sounding as though he's writing about a start-up lifestyle of micro-entrepreneurs who manage the digital equivalent of corner shops, without ever scaling.
I take the point about "risk." Risk can be categorised in different ways. He is saying that while an entrepreneurship lifestyle involves taking risks, it also has a bigger upside. A corporate job, on the other hand, seems stable and secure but there is a latent risk of becoming outdated. In that sense, I get his point. But I find it problematic that he goes about saying in an overly cheery tone. A good business leader or a sensible entrepreneur knows that any decision involves trade-offs. I would not recommend anyone taking a financial risk to start a business base his/her decision on this book, please. Furthermore, a start-up position is in equal chance of getting disrupted as well. Business models get obsolete, too, just as jobs get obsolete. Both a corporate job and a start-up endeavour teaches anyone willing the skills necessary to move on and navigate the dynamic economy. Being an entrepreneur is not the panacea for all ills in the world.
I also find the stereotypes problematic. One of his passages is titled, "How safe is it to be an accountant?" At another point, he talks about people dreaming to work at a corporation for decades. Such sentiment may have held true in the corporate America back in the fifties, but this is quite a different landscape among millennials today.
His extolling of an entrepreneurship lifestyle is overly conceited as well. To put this book in contrast with Shoe Dog, for example, Phil Knight had a much more secure and authentic tone, compared to this guy.
Being an entrepreneur does not mean you are free from the 9-to-5 lifestyle. It is enjoyable but it is also extremely difficult. You end up having to make a gut-wrenching call, and you worry about the comfort and security of your team on your payroll. It is a serious endeavor, not a whimsical exercise filled with whiskey and Thai prostitutes as Taylor Pearson makes it out to be (in his opening chapter). If anything, as a start-up leader, you end up having to answer to many more stakeholders. Freedom from the 9-to-5 is a weird way to frame entrepreneurship. If you don't want to scale but remain small, sure, you can get away without having to answer to stakeholders.
Many successful entrepreneurs I know also have had a successful career prior. Phil Knight, again, worked as an accountant for the first 5 years of Nike. Lonely Planet founders have an MBA. Lawyers make great additions to your start-up team. There is no magical allure around entrepreneurs.
Judging from the examples Taylor Pearson uses, I have a feeling that this book is intended for white "toe-ma-pout" Americans graduating into the last recession, making an arbitrage by going to Southeast Asia with cheap beer / special massages / more accessible living costs, and running small online businesses without ever scaling. The colonial attitude seeps through the text.
I decided to read this book based on a 4-point review of over 1,000 readers here, but I must say that Taylor Pearson lacks credentials from both personal success as an entrepreneur (apart from selling this book), or a well-researched point of view based on data and analytics. I regret buying this book.
Taylor Pearson's main thesis is that entrepreneurship is cool, and is less risky, more profitable and more fulfilling than having a job. His book is also titled, "The End of Jobs" but when you are successful as an entrepreneur, you create jobs. Pearson ends up sounding as though he's writing about a start-up lifestyle of micro-entrepreneurs who manage the digital equivalent of corner shops, without ever scaling.
I take the point about "risk." Risk can be categorised in different ways. He is saying that while an entrepreneurship lifestyle involves taking risks, it also has a bigger upside. A corporate job, on the other hand, seems stable and secure but there is a latent risk of becoming outdated. In that sense, I get his point. But I find it problematic that he goes about saying in an overly cheery tone. A good business leader or a sensible entrepreneur knows that any decision involves trade-offs. I would not recommend anyone taking a financial risk to start a business base his/her decision on this book, please. Furthermore, a start-up position is in equal chance of getting disrupted as well. Business models get obsolete, too, just as jobs get obsolete. Both a corporate job and a start-up endeavour teaches anyone willing the skills necessary to move on and navigate the dynamic economy. Being an entrepreneur is not the panacea for all ills in the world.
I also find the stereotypes problematic. One of his passages is titled, "How safe is it to be an accountant?" At another point, he talks about people dreaming to work at a corporation for decades. Such sentiment may have held true in the corporate America back in the fifties, but this is quite a different landscape among millennials today.
His extolling of an entrepreneurship lifestyle is overly conceited as well. To put this book in contrast with Shoe Dog, for example, Phil Knight had a much more secure and authentic tone, compared to this guy.
Being an entrepreneur does not mean you are free from the 9-to-5 lifestyle. It is enjoyable but it is also extremely difficult. You end up having to make a gut-wrenching call, and you worry about the comfort and security of your team on your payroll. It is a serious endeavor, not a whimsical exercise filled with whiskey and Thai prostitutes as Taylor Pearson makes it out to be (in his opening chapter). If anything, as a start-up leader, you end up having to answer to many more stakeholders. Freedom from the 9-to-5 is a weird way to frame entrepreneurship. If you don't want to scale but remain small, sure, you can get away without having to answer to stakeholders.
Many successful entrepreneurs I know also have had a successful career prior. Phil Knight, again, worked as an accountant for the first 5 years of Nike. Lonely Planet founders have an MBA. Lawyers make great additions to your start-up team. There is no magical allure around entrepreneurs.
Judging from the examples Taylor Pearson uses, I have a feeling that this book is intended for white "toe-ma-pout" Americans graduating into the last recession, making an arbitrage by going to Southeast Asia with cheap beer / special massages / more accessible living costs, and running small online businesses without ever scaling. The colonial attitude seeps through the text.
I decided to read this book based on a 4-point review of over 1,000 readers here, but I must say that Taylor Pearson lacks credentials from both personal success as an entrepreneur (apart from selling this book), or a well-researched point of view based on data and analytics. I regret buying this book.
December 29, 2018
End of jobs is a blog-post-like summary of other popular books (antifragile, man's search for meaning, capital in the 21st century, four hour work week, etc) which adds very little new or original thought to the matter. The summary is simple: Society is evolving and technology has enabled new methods for non-traditional employment which is the key to greater happiness and freedom and meaning in your life. It appropriately captures the broader trend but generalizes too often and uses excessive hyperbole and scaremongering to try and make its point. I'll go the cited books and read them for deeper analysis of the trends.
July 8, 2015
Absolutely loved this book. At first I thought it would just be an interesting read, from a historical perspective. But as I got into it, more and more I was getting practical tips and ideas on what I could do myself to adapt to this new era moving forward, and inspiration on what all the "end of jobs" will mean to me and to the world. I'm going to say this is a must read if you are in college, starting your career, or at any point of your career.
Just prepare to have your world view changed if you currently think "the way things are are the way they will always be"!
Just prepare to have your world view changed if you currently think "the way things are are the way they will always be"!
August 8, 2015
A New Era of Entrepreneurship is Upon Us. "The End of Jobs," by Taylor Pearson, is a Masterpiece
It was the same old story. Entrepreneur X makes a risky choice, venturing off on his own in lieu of taking a stable job. He learns about the power of working independently, building knowledge, and providing value to others. He writes a book about how you can do it too.
This is the same story Tim Ferriss told us back in 2007 with The Four Hour Workweek. It’s the same story I tell in The Connection Algorithm. And now, it’s the same story Taylor Pearson is telling us in The End of Jobs.
When I saw the title and the subtitle, I thought to myself, “Another entrepreneurship book? Really?” I was nervous to release my book because I wanted to avoid that exact response, and yet here I was, having the same knee-jerk reaction to a similar title. Despite my reaction, Taylor’s book sales are through the roof. People are buying it in droves. It’s an instant bestseller. While the narrative sounds painfully overplayed, it somehow feels fundamentally different. The shoppers on Amazon are telling us this with their wallets.
So, what is happening here? What makes The Four Hour Workweek more relevant today than it has ever been? And what is causing so many people to buy Taylor’s book, and my book?
On the edges of society, there’s a shift happening. People in cubicles across America can feel it. They’re curious about it, but it’s difficult to understand. The End of Jobs makes it crystal clear, which is also precisely why it’s selling so well. It explains why, contrary to popular belief, investing in entrepreneurship is a smart and safe bet to make at this particular time in our nation’s history.
Taylor describes how civilization has taken us through various phases of power and control — from the church, to monarchs, to banks, to corporations. In each phase, the dominant institution is overtaken by a group of people holding a new resource in high demand. This resource, often initially seen as risky or unstable, slowly morphs into the dominant form of power and profit, until it reaches peak saturation and effectiveness, at which point the cycle repeats.
Taylor explains how America, and much of the world at large, is currently experiencing another peak, namely — peak jobs. To borrow from Taylor’s rhetoric, a “job” in this case is defined as working for someone else and performing tasks that aren’t driving your own knowledge and interests forward. You can think of it as a worker on an assembly line. This person is simply performing a task and getting a paycheck. He isn’t gaining anything for himself in terms of knowledge capital. He’s just performing his duty.
As we transitioned from the Industrial Age into the Information Age, these “assembly-line jobs” declined. Machines took over most of the rote tasks, forcing us humans to use our brains and become more than just a finger pushing a button. This departure from mindless tasks, along with the proliferation of technology, created a new landscape of jobs. More specifically, in the Information Age, demand shifted from menial labor to knowledge-based labor.
When knowledge became the valuable resource, credentials became the most popular measure of that resource. Young people started attending college and graduate school to obtain their diploma — their ticket to stability and success. Unfortunately, over the last twenty five years, as more and more people have flooded into universities despite increased costs, the value of a degree has drastically declined. It has become a saturated asset. The valuable resource has once again changed — and it now lies in entrepreneurship.
The traditional path of the past century is rapidly becoming less stable, less effective, and therefore less appealing. A college degree is no longer a badge that grants you access to the workforce. It’s now an expected commodity, and doesn’t guarantee much of anything. Because jobs as we currently understand them are increasingly being taken over by machines or processed overseas, companies are downsizing their staffs, leaving only the members who make the organization run — the knowledge workers. But even if you’re among these knowledge workers, the heightened competition for such roles means employers are more likely to drop you for someone more qualified, or less expensive. There is no security and no stability. Your job could be stolen from you at any moment.
Working for a corporation is becoming risky. So here we are, at The End of Jobs. Taylor Pearson describes the situation in simple terms:
What was once safe is now risky. What was once risky is now safe.
Power is shifting away from corporations, and toward the individual. As entrepreneurs, we can now skip the middlemen and rely on ourselves — with unprecedented stability. The same technologies that are derailing security in the corporate world are bringing limitless opportunity to the world of the entrepreneur. The knowledge-focused market that was once owned by CEOs is now accessible to everyone. The internet has created an open, meritocratic platform, enabling transactions between anyone in the world. Creatives are starting to realize this. Designers, musicians, writers, engineers, and inventors are all now able to profit from their unique skills, without being tied to an institution. The whole process can be done independently. We can now learn how to do something valuable (from the internet), and effortlessly offer that value to customers with the click of a button (through the internet).
So, if the Information Age has forced us to become knowledge workers, and the nature of this environment eradicates job security within corporations, and we now have a free platform for easily sharing our knowledge for profit, why wouldn’t we just become the operator of our own knowledge and control our own destiny? Why tie ourselves to a third-party system (the corporate world) that’s arguably now less stable than investing in ourselves and building our own personal equity (which can never be taken away from us)?
One of the problems of the past was capital. But that problem has been solved, too. Technology, crowdfunding platforms, the sharing economy, and accelerator programs are enabling entrepreneurship like never before — and this trend will only continue to build momentum. Ten years ago, I couldn’t make money from renting out my apartment on Airbnb, or teaching an online course on Udemy, or driving people around in my car with Uber. Today, I can. Ten years ago, I couldn’t pitch my product to the entire world on Kickstarter or Indiegogo. And I couldn’t join accelerator programs like Techstars or 500 Startups to launch my company without any Angel money or institutional backing. Today I can. Funding projects and making money on the side has never been easier. The infrastructure is already solid, but these types of services are sprouting up every day, enabling more and more people to hit the eject button on the corporate world and spend time on their own entrepreneurial endeavors.
In The Connection Algorithm, I describe a state-of-being called ZombieLand. ZombieLand is where you feel uninterested in what you’re doing — it’s the land of jobs. Most of us have fallen into this culture. We’ve been trudging up the Status-Quo Mountain for the past century, and we’re now at the peak. In my book, I didn’t spend enough time explaining why it’s time to take the leap out of the traditional workforce and into the entrepreneurial arena. Thankfully, Taylor Pearson has filled the gap. Simply put, The End of Jobs is a masterpiece. Taylor goes into far greater detail than I have here, building an almost infallible argument. And he does so with engaging prose, compelling evidence, and poignant examples. I fully expect it to become one of the top-selling and most influential business/lifestyle books of the next decade and beyond.
One of the points I make in my book is that the extractable value of a trend is disproportionately weighted to when it first appears. In other words, it’s insanely valuable to “get in early.” Well, we’re now standing at the precipice of a massive trend: An exodus from jobs as we know it, and a growing army of entrepreneurs who will redefine our concept of work as we approach the second half of the 21st century. I hope you will join Taylor and me, along with countless others around the world who understand the benefit of getting in early. The opportunity won’t last forever.
When I first saw Taylor’s book, which launched only a month after mine, my heart jumped with excitement. Without ever speaking to each other, we had both uncovered the same secret, at nearly the same time. This isn’t some miraculous miracle. It isn’t fate, or luck, or chance. It’s a sign. It’s a sign that we are, as Taylor so eloquently explains, at The End of Jobs. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Taylor’s book right now. It will change the way you see the world, and equip you with the necessary mindset to succeed in this unique, transitional period of our history. If you’re interested in reading my book (which I think is a great compliment to The End of Jobs), you can get that here.
Note: I should mention, as Taylor does, that investing in entrepreneurship does not preclude you from being an employee. You can work at a company and still be investing in entrepreneurship by using the Stair Step method (explained in Taylor’s book). Or, you can be an apprentice to another entrepreneur. On the flip side, you can also be a startup cofounder who just takes orders from your partners, in which case you’re not investing in entrepreneurship. The core of entrepreneurship lies in independent action, knowledge-building, and problem-solving: Starting something from nothing. Creating.
Whether this is being done within an institution, or not, is irrelevant. But, I will say this: the further you decouple yourself from the corporate world as we know it, and the further you venture into the world of entrepreneurship, the higher you can go.
It was the same old story. Entrepreneur X makes a risky choice, venturing off on his own in lieu of taking a stable job. He learns about the power of working independently, building knowledge, and providing value to others. He writes a book about how you can do it too.
This is the same story Tim Ferriss told us back in 2007 with The Four Hour Workweek. It’s the same story I tell in The Connection Algorithm. And now, it’s the same story Taylor Pearson is telling us in The End of Jobs.
When I saw the title and the subtitle, I thought to myself, “Another entrepreneurship book? Really?” I was nervous to release my book because I wanted to avoid that exact response, and yet here I was, having the same knee-jerk reaction to a similar title. Despite my reaction, Taylor’s book sales are through the roof. People are buying it in droves. It’s an instant bestseller. While the narrative sounds painfully overplayed, it somehow feels fundamentally different. The shoppers on Amazon are telling us this with their wallets.
So, what is happening here? What makes The Four Hour Workweek more relevant today than it has ever been? And what is causing so many people to buy Taylor’s book, and my book?
On the edges of society, there’s a shift happening. People in cubicles across America can feel it. They’re curious about it, but it’s difficult to understand. The End of Jobs makes it crystal clear, which is also precisely why it’s selling so well. It explains why, contrary to popular belief, investing in entrepreneurship is a smart and safe bet to make at this particular time in our nation’s history.
Taylor describes how civilization has taken us through various phases of power and control — from the church, to monarchs, to banks, to corporations. In each phase, the dominant institution is overtaken by a group of people holding a new resource in high demand. This resource, often initially seen as risky or unstable, slowly morphs into the dominant form of power and profit, until it reaches peak saturation and effectiveness, at which point the cycle repeats.
Taylor explains how America, and much of the world at large, is currently experiencing another peak, namely — peak jobs. To borrow from Taylor’s rhetoric, a “job” in this case is defined as working for someone else and performing tasks that aren’t driving your own knowledge and interests forward. You can think of it as a worker on an assembly line. This person is simply performing a task and getting a paycheck. He isn’t gaining anything for himself in terms of knowledge capital. He’s just performing his duty.
As we transitioned from the Industrial Age into the Information Age, these “assembly-line jobs” declined. Machines took over most of the rote tasks, forcing us humans to use our brains and become more than just a finger pushing a button. This departure from mindless tasks, along with the proliferation of technology, created a new landscape of jobs. More specifically, in the Information Age, demand shifted from menial labor to knowledge-based labor.
When knowledge became the valuable resource, credentials became the most popular measure of that resource. Young people started attending college and graduate school to obtain their diploma — their ticket to stability and success. Unfortunately, over the last twenty five years, as more and more people have flooded into universities despite increased costs, the value of a degree has drastically declined. It has become a saturated asset. The valuable resource has once again changed — and it now lies in entrepreneurship.
The traditional path of the past century is rapidly becoming less stable, less effective, and therefore less appealing. A college degree is no longer a badge that grants you access to the workforce. It’s now an expected commodity, and doesn’t guarantee much of anything. Because jobs as we currently understand them are increasingly being taken over by machines or processed overseas, companies are downsizing their staffs, leaving only the members who make the organization run — the knowledge workers. But even if you’re among these knowledge workers, the heightened competition for such roles means employers are more likely to drop you for someone more qualified, or less expensive. There is no security and no stability. Your job could be stolen from you at any moment.
Working for a corporation is becoming risky. So here we are, at The End of Jobs. Taylor Pearson describes the situation in simple terms:
What was once safe is now risky. What was once risky is now safe.
Power is shifting away from corporations, and toward the individual. As entrepreneurs, we can now skip the middlemen and rely on ourselves — with unprecedented stability. The same technologies that are derailing security in the corporate world are bringing limitless opportunity to the world of the entrepreneur. The knowledge-focused market that was once owned by CEOs is now accessible to everyone. The internet has created an open, meritocratic platform, enabling transactions between anyone in the world. Creatives are starting to realize this. Designers, musicians, writers, engineers, and inventors are all now able to profit from their unique skills, without being tied to an institution. The whole process can be done independently. We can now learn how to do something valuable (from the internet), and effortlessly offer that value to customers with the click of a button (through the internet).
So, if the Information Age has forced us to become knowledge workers, and the nature of this environment eradicates job security within corporations, and we now have a free platform for easily sharing our knowledge for profit, why wouldn’t we just become the operator of our own knowledge and control our own destiny? Why tie ourselves to a third-party system (the corporate world) that’s arguably now less stable than investing in ourselves and building our own personal equity (which can never be taken away from us)?
One of the problems of the past was capital. But that problem has been solved, too. Technology, crowdfunding platforms, the sharing economy, and accelerator programs are enabling entrepreneurship like never before — and this trend will only continue to build momentum. Ten years ago, I couldn’t make money from renting out my apartment on Airbnb, or teaching an online course on Udemy, or driving people around in my car with Uber. Today, I can. Ten years ago, I couldn’t pitch my product to the entire world on Kickstarter or Indiegogo. And I couldn’t join accelerator programs like Techstars or 500 Startups to launch my company without any Angel money or institutional backing. Today I can. Funding projects and making money on the side has never been easier. The infrastructure is already solid, but these types of services are sprouting up every day, enabling more and more people to hit the eject button on the corporate world and spend time on their own entrepreneurial endeavors.
In The Connection Algorithm, I describe a state-of-being called ZombieLand. ZombieLand is where you feel uninterested in what you’re doing — it’s the land of jobs. Most of us have fallen into this culture. We’ve been trudging up the Status-Quo Mountain for the past century, and we’re now at the peak. In my book, I didn’t spend enough time explaining why it’s time to take the leap out of the traditional workforce and into the entrepreneurial arena. Thankfully, Taylor Pearson has filled the gap. Simply put, The End of Jobs is a masterpiece. Taylor goes into far greater detail than I have here, building an almost infallible argument. And he does so with engaging prose, compelling evidence, and poignant examples. I fully expect it to become one of the top-selling and most influential business/lifestyle books of the next decade and beyond.
One of the points I make in my book is that the extractable value of a trend is disproportionately weighted to when it first appears. In other words, it’s insanely valuable to “get in early.” Well, we’re now standing at the precipice of a massive trend: An exodus from jobs as we know it, and a growing army of entrepreneurs who will redefine our concept of work as we approach the second half of the 21st century. I hope you will join Taylor and me, along with countless others around the world who understand the benefit of getting in early. The opportunity won’t last forever.
When I first saw Taylor’s book, which launched only a month after mine, my heart jumped with excitement. Without ever speaking to each other, we had both uncovered the same secret, at nearly the same time. This isn’t some miraculous miracle. It isn’t fate, or luck, or chance. It’s a sign. It’s a sign that we are, as Taylor so eloquently explains, at The End of Jobs. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Taylor’s book right now. It will change the way you see the world, and equip you with the necessary mindset to succeed in this unique, transitional period of our history. If you’re interested in reading my book (which I think is a great compliment to The End of Jobs), you can get that here.
Note: I should mention, as Taylor does, that investing in entrepreneurship does not preclude you from being an employee. You can work at a company and still be investing in entrepreneurship by using the Stair Step method (explained in Taylor’s book). Or, you can be an apprentice to another entrepreneur. On the flip side, you can also be a startup cofounder who just takes orders from your partners, in which case you’re not investing in entrepreneurship. The core of entrepreneurship lies in independent action, knowledge-building, and problem-solving: Starting something from nothing. Creating.
Whether this is being done within an institution, or not, is irrelevant. But, I will say this: the further you decouple yourself from the corporate world as we know it, and the further you venture into the world of entrepreneurship, the higher you can go.
May 31, 2016
Taylor Pearson says that we're facing "the end of jobs" for three main reasons:
1. Because of the fact that nearly everyone in the world has access to the internet, global education standards have risen. Communication tech is awesome now. So all this means that you're potentially competing with 7 billion people for that job offer. (And the software developers in the Philippines can afford to make $10/hr doing it.)
2. Machines, both hardware and software, are taking over both blue collar AND white collar, knowledge-based jobs.
3. Everyone and their mom has a degree nowadays. They're becoming less valuable every year.
He says that throughout history, there have been various limits to economic growth. In the Middle Ages, that limit was land. During the Enlightenment/Industrial Revolution era, the limit was capital. During the 20th century, the limit was knowledge. Nowadays, we don't have a collective lack of land or money or knowledge. What we need is creative solutions to problems. Our limit is entrepreneurship (ie, creativity and "complex/chaotic work").
Pearson asserts that we aren't in the middle of a global recession, we're merely "transitioning between two distinct economic periods". The longer we resist changing paradigms, the more personal risk we assume. We shouldn't be investing in college degrees anymore than we should be investing in blacksmithing. Instead, we should be learning and applying the entrepreneur's skill set (which is absolutely learnable) to create jobs for ourselves.
The point of the book isn't that work is no more, but that "work" as we know it is changing. As we're starting to notice, the whole "go to college, get a job, do that job and climb the ranks for 50 years, retire" thing isn't happening anymore. This book explores why, and it makes predictions for where we're headed and what work is going to look like in the future.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, though it clearly played to my biases as a college dropout. I really like that it gave me a new way of viewing the world we currently live in, as well as a new way to look at what the world used to be. The historical perspective of economic limits was extremely interesting to me. I also enjoyed reading about the 4 types of work (obvious, complicated, complex, and chaotic) from the "Cynefin Framework". And I also liked that Pearson mentioned several people, companies, organizations, and books that supported his arguments/observations. I've bookmarked them all (and bought a few of the books) to look into soon.
I think anyone (old or young; working, retired, or in school) would benefit from reading this book. It was valuable, insightful, and quick to read. If you're at all interested in being "financially stable" or "financially street smart", read this book. If you're wondering if you should go to college (or go back to college), read this book. If you want a new perspective on what's economically risky and what's not, read this book. You won't regret it.
1. Because of the fact that nearly everyone in the world has access to the internet, global education standards have risen. Communication tech is awesome now. So all this means that you're potentially competing with 7 billion people for that job offer. (And the software developers in the Philippines can afford to make $10/hr doing it.)
2. Machines, both hardware and software, are taking over both blue collar AND white collar, knowledge-based jobs.
3. Everyone and their mom has a degree nowadays. They're becoming less valuable every year.
He says that throughout history, there have been various limits to economic growth. In the Middle Ages, that limit was land. During the Enlightenment/Industrial Revolution era, the limit was capital. During the 20th century, the limit was knowledge. Nowadays, we don't have a collective lack of land or money or knowledge. What we need is creative solutions to problems. Our limit is entrepreneurship (ie, creativity and "complex/chaotic work").
Pearson asserts that we aren't in the middle of a global recession, we're merely "transitioning between two distinct economic periods". The longer we resist changing paradigms, the more personal risk we assume. We shouldn't be investing in college degrees anymore than we should be investing in blacksmithing. Instead, we should be learning and applying the entrepreneur's skill set (which is absolutely learnable) to create jobs for ourselves.
The point of the book isn't that work is no more, but that "work" as we know it is changing. As we're starting to notice, the whole "go to college, get a job, do that job and climb the ranks for 50 years, retire" thing isn't happening anymore. This book explores why, and it makes predictions for where we're headed and what work is going to look like in the future.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, though it clearly played to my biases as a college dropout. I really like that it gave me a new way of viewing the world we currently live in, as well as a new way to look at what the world used to be. The historical perspective of economic limits was extremely interesting to me. I also enjoyed reading about the 4 types of work (obvious, complicated, complex, and chaotic) from the "Cynefin Framework". And I also liked that Pearson mentioned several people, companies, organizations, and books that supported his arguments/observations. I've bookmarked them all (and bought a few of the books) to look into soon.
I think anyone (old or young; working, retired, or in school) would benefit from reading this book. It was valuable, insightful, and quick to read. If you're at all interested in being "financially stable" or "financially street smart", read this book. If you're wondering if you should go to college (or go back to college), read this book. If you want a new perspective on what's economically risky and what's not, read this book. You won't regret it.
August 11, 2018
The book compares the traditional approach to career (job) with an emerging new one (entrepreneurship). More and more people work in complex organisations, where following the rules or best practices is not creating any value. Those organisations need individuals who can walk into chaos and create order.
What caused the emergence of entrepreneurial revolution:
- Long tail phenomenon has been enabled by technology in last 2 decades.
- We are experiencing exponential growth in many areas, but humans tend to assume that the world is linear. Exponential growth means that we live in a more chaotic world with growing number of extreme events that cannot be dealt with by people who just follow instructions.
- Credentialism (e.g. college degrees, certificates), the safest career bet in 20th century is on the way out. Individuals are no longer competing to be more knowledgeable than a person down the street - we are all competing against everybody else thanks to the technological advances.
- Most corporate jobs make us think that we create value. Steady income creates an illusion of steady value creation. It causes us to accumulate silent risks.
- Humans like to work, but dislike the obligation of it - jobs make our natural tendency to grow break.
The book references many external sources. Some of the most interesting ones:
- The Fourth Economy by Ron Davison - history of economy and how we are entering the fourth economy based on entrepreneurship.
- Cynefin framework.
- The Turkey Effect (https://taylorpearson.me/extremistan/) - we assume, based on historical trends, that stable employment will be available for the next 50 years, because it's been the case for the last century. But the risks are higher than ever that this won't be the case.
What caused the emergence of entrepreneurial revolution:
- Long tail phenomenon has been enabled by technology in last 2 decades.
- We are experiencing exponential growth in many areas, but humans tend to assume that the world is linear. Exponential growth means that we live in a more chaotic world with growing number of extreme events that cannot be dealt with by people who just follow instructions.
- Credentialism (e.g. college degrees, certificates), the safest career bet in 20th century is on the way out. Individuals are no longer competing to be more knowledgeable than a person down the street - we are all competing against everybody else thanks to the technological advances.
- Most corporate jobs make us think that we create value. Steady income creates an illusion of steady value creation. It causes us to accumulate silent risks.
- Humans like to work, but dislike the obligation of it - jobs make our natural tendency to grow break.
The book references many external sources. Some of the most interesting ones:
- The Fourth Economy by Ron Davison - history of economy and how we are entering the fourth economy based on entrepreneurship.
- Cynefin framework.
- The Turkey Effect (https://taylorpearson.me/extremistan/) - we assume, based on historical trends, that stable employment will be available for the next 50 years, because it's been the case for the last century. But the risks are higher than ever that this won't be the case.
October 30, 2016
I found this book thought-provoking, but it gave me very little information I had not already absorbed osmotically through the internet. However, it did collect the information and distill it, which made the read worthwhile, even though much of it felt like review. It served as affirmation in my decision not to pursue a college degree — the return on the investment does not warrant the expense — and it made me contemplate how to take advantage of niche markets and how to leverage existing skills. The book's focus on entrepreneurship was mainly on selling products, not services, and thus was not wholly applicable to my life. I sell a service, which means I am selling both my skills and my time, and since time is the only limited resource, I cannot scale it the way one could scale a physical or digital product. I would be curious to see how he would address entrepreneurship from the standpoint of selling finite time.
The writing is decent, but the book would do well with a comprehensive edit, both a substantive edit and a line edit: his arguments are sometimes tenuous, statements with footnotes of referenced articles or studies, but no clear line of logic to trace between his conclusion and the referenced material; several of the concepts are repeated too often without value added to the reiteration, and some passages are outright redundant with paragraphs in earlier chapters; typos slipped through here and there; and on multiple occasions the sentence structure was convoluted or outright ungrammatical, and the punctuation misapplied. One could argue that since I am an editor myself, my eye is trained to catch such flaws, therefore I am unfairly biased, but I began the book knowing that it was self-published, that its author prefers to ship a project rather than perfect it, and that its general audience would not care a whit about the finer points of grammar and sentence structure. Yet even with grace given from that understanding, I still stand by the claim that the book needs an overhaul. If the writing were more polished, the arguments more clearly set out, and the redundancy trimmed, he would have a much more cogent book.
The writing is decent, but the book would do well with a comprehensive edit, both a substantive edit and a line edit: his arguments are sometimes tenuous, statements with footnotes of referenced articles or studies, but no clear line of logic to trace between his conclusion and the referenced material; several of the concepts are repeated too often without value added to the reiteration, and some passages are outright redundant with paragraphs in earlier chapters; typos slipped through here and there; and on multiple occasions the sentence structure was convoluted or outright ungrammatical, and the punctuation misapplied. One could argue that since I am an editor myself, my eye is trained to catch such flaws, therefore I am unfairly biased, but I began the book knowing that it was self-published, that its author prefers to ship a project rather than perfect it, and that its general audience would not care a whit about the finer points of grammar and sentence structure. Yet even with grace given from that understanding, I still stand by the claim that the book needs an overhaul. If the writing were more polished, the arguments more clearly set out, and the redundancy trimmed, he would have a much more cogent book.
July 24, 2015
Globalization, the acceleration of technology, entrepreneurship, digital disruption and thriving in extremistan. This should be mandatory reading for parents & teens considering their next step. Excellent book
April 4, 2022
Lots of platitudes and vague exhortations to be an entrepreneur. Unfortunately missing actual advice on how to run a business, raise money, sell goods, or other nuts and bolts of running a business. Mostly a high level empty think piece about macro economic trends without ever being smart or self aware enough to recognize them as macroeconomic trends.
A good example of what happens when a McKinsey bro becomes only slightly self aware. There’s “business triangles of growth” and all sorts of fun pictures but it’s almost entirely fluff.
I will say that because of this book, I might codify “quoting Charlie Munger and/or Warren Buffett as an example to support bad points“ as a red flag to immediately disregard whatever nonsense someone is talking about. If copying Charlie and Warren worked to make people rich, we’d have so many rich b school dudebros that Ibiza would collapse and sink back into the Mediterranean under their weight during spring break. Maybe I should make a shelf for books called “timeout room for bad Warren Buffet quotes” and stick this one and that other one where the guy gets kicked out of the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting for being obnoxious in there.
A good example of what happens when a McKinsey bro becomes only slightly self aware. There’s “business triangles of growth” and all sorts of fun pictures but it’s almost entirely fluff.
I will say that because of this book, I might codify “quoting Charlie Munger and/or Warren Buffett as an example to support bad points“ as a red flag to immediately disregard whatever nonsense someone is talking about. If copying Charlie and Warren worked to make people rich, we’d have so many rich b school dudebros that Ibiza would collapse and sink back into the Mediterranean under their weight during spring break. Maybe I should make a shelf for books called “timeout room for bad Warren Buffet quotes” and stick this one and that other one where the guy gets kicked out of the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting for being obnoxious in there.
February 6, 2018
A call-to-arms for a new age of entrepreneurship. The End of Jobs makes a compelling argument that globalisation and the democratisation of production and distribution mean it has never been easier or more fruitful to become an entrepreneur. Arguably, taking a traditional career is now the more risky pathway.
If all this 'describe a change in the world' stuff isn't your cup of tea, just skip past it. Where this book really shines is in providing a fully-formed blueprint of how to start an online business, backed up with case studies and examples and strategies. It feels like the perfect companion to popular books like the 4 Hour Work-Week, which are great at selling the dream but somewhat lacking in the specifics.
These lessons apply to anyone who wants to become a more entrepreneurial employee/contractor/freelancer in general, not just those who want to run actual businesses. For example, I've found the '90 day sprint' system that Pearson has popularized really useful for my own goals, and took loads of other notes that I will apply to my own projects.
If all this 'describe a change in the world' stuff isn't your cup of tea, just skip past it. Where this book really shines is in providing a fully-formed blueprint of how to start an online business, backed up with case studies and examples and strategies. It feels like the perfect companion to popular books like the 4 Hour Work-Week, which are great at selling the dream but somewhat lacking in the specifics.
These lessons apply to anyone who wants to become a more entrepreneurial employee/contractor/freelancer in general, not just those who want to run actual businesses. For example, I've found the '90 day sprint' system that Pearson has popularized really useful for my own goals, and took loads of other notes that I will apply to my own projects.
January 27, 2018
#40BooksAYear
Really enjoyed the book & many insights into why the era of resources, then knowledge is now over, and the new era of entrepreneurship is upon us. Many cool stories of people giving up their 9 to 5 dull jobs & stairstepping into creating businesses. Surprisingly a good read!
Really enjoyed the book & many insights into why the era of resources, then knowledge is now over, and the new era of entrepreneurship is upon us. Many cool stories of people giving up their 9 to 5 dull jobs & stairstepping into creating businesses. Surprisingly a good read!
October 10, 2021
Very interesting case for entrepreneurship and leaving the traditional 9-5. Especially when freelancing/contract work is not the "norm" it is nice to read something that talks up the idea rather than saying 'get a job'
October 7, 2020
The premise behind The End of Jobs is (in my opinion) both contrarian and correct - which is really the highest praise I can give to a "big idea" non-fiction book such as this one.
Essentially, Taylor Pearson is saying that the career paths we think of as "safe" and "risky" have undergone a dramatic reversal since the end of the 20th century, due largely to the Internet. Jobs are now riskier than before, and entrepreneurship is now safer than before. However, most people don't realize how the world has change - young people still invest heavily in credentials through taking out obscene levels of debt and dedicating years of their lives to getting college diplomas - only to find a terrible employment market and stagnant wages. Hence the need for this important book to shift the conversation.
In making this argument, Taylor Pearson leans particularly heavily on The Fourth Economy by Ron Davison and Antifragile by Nassim Taleb. There are also a collection of case studies based on the author's own interviews, as well as plenty of supporting data.
My enduring memory from The End of Jobs is the statement: "the same trends which are threats to employees are opportunities for entrepreneurs." As in, the ability to outsource jobs to the developing world and replace many jobs with software makes it cheaper and less risky for entrepreneurs to start up, but increases competition for those with jobs.
However, on this, my third reading of The End of Jobs I noticed a bit of nuance missing.
There is the following problematic statement: "Thanks to digital distribution like YouTube, podcasting, and blogging, the newly revealed markets are easier to reach and market to than ever."
While it is true that the tools of content production are cheaper and more accessible, an important implication of this is totally overlooked: *because* anyone can create content on these platforms, the competition is getting higher all the time. OK, there are no gatekeepers to starting a YouTube channel, a podcast, or a blog - but getting attention for them is far from easy.
Maybe it's just that what was true in 2015 (when the book was published) is no longer true several years later. The lions share of the gains accrue to those who dominate the few big tech platforms - Amazon, Google, Facebook, YouTube, etc... With competition getting tougher and tougher, I disagree that these markets are "easier to reach and market to than ever."
Also, readers should realize that the phenomenon Pearson is describing isn't about *all* jobs, but rather is limited to the sort of knowledge work which can be performed remotely - e.g. accounting, journalism, and teaching. The argument doesn't really extend to location-dependent work such as that done by qualified tradespeople (electricians, builders, plumbers, etc...).
However, for what Taylor Pearson sets out to do - which is no less ambitious than question the Western world's prevailing view of the "path to success" (higher education, leading to steady career, and eventual retirement) - The End of Jobs does a great... job.
It convinced me, and I think it will convince most thinking readers too.
Essentially, Taylor Pearson is saying that the career paths we think of as "safe" and "risky" have undergone a dramatic reversal since the end of the 20th century, due largely to the Internet. Jobs are now riskier than before, and entrepreneurship is now safer than before. However, most people don't realize how the world has change - young people still invest heavily in credentials through taking out obscene levels of debt and dedicating years of their lives to getting college diplomas - only to find a terrible employment market and stagnant wages. Hence the need for this important book to shift the conversation.
In making this argument, Taylor Pearson leans particularly heavily on The Fourth Economy by Ron Davison and Antifragile by Nassim Taleb. There are also a collection of case studies based on the author's own interviews, as well as plenty of supporting data.
My enduring memory from The End of Jobs is the statement: "the same trends which are threats to employees are opportunities for entrepreneurs." As in, the ability to outsource jobs to the developing world and replace many jobs with software makes it cheaper and less risky for entrepreneurs to start up, but increases competition for those with jobs.
However, on this, my third reading of The End of Jobs I noticed a bit of nuance missing.
There is the following problematic statement: "Thanks to digital distribution like YouTube, podcasting, and blogging, the newly revealed markets are easier to reach and market to than ever."
While it is true that the tools of content production are cheaper and more accessible, an important implication of this is totally overlooked: *because* anyone can create content on these platforms, the competition is getting higher all the time. OK, there are no gatekeepers to starting a YouTube channel, a podcast, or a blog - but getting attention for them is far from easy.
Maybe it's just that what was true in 2015 (when the book was published) is no longer true several years later. The lions share of the gains accrue to those who dominate the few big tech platforms - Amazon, Google, Facebook, YouTube, etc... With competition getting tougher and tougher, I disagree that these markets are "easier to reach and market to than ever."
Also, readers should realize that the phenomenon Pearson is describing isn't about *all* jobs, but rather is limited to the sort of knowledge work which can be performed remotely - e.g. accounting, journalism, and teaching. The argument doesn't really extend to location-dependent work such as that done by qualified tradespeople (electricians, builders, plumbers, etc...).
However, for what Taylor Pearson sets out to do - which is no less ambitious than question the Western world's prevailing view of the "path to success" (higher education, leading to steady career, and eventual retirement) - The End of Jobs does a great... job.
It convinced me, and I think it will convince most thinking readers too.
April 10, 2019
This book was phenomenal the second time through. The author, Taylor Pearson, has a background in blogging and essay writing, and the style in his book reflects the quick pace common in online content. The paragraphs are really short and chapters go by in a few minutes, so the book only takes a few hours to read in its entirety.
I love how clearly Taylor can breakdown complex ideas. He is very repetitive, but I find what he repeats to be very beneficial and ultimately worth repeating.
The book boils down to a few core concepts. I've listed a few that come top of mind.
Based on major macro-trends (think Globalization, Technological Progress, Automation), it is becoming clear that traditional jobs are a less secure social script than ever before whereas the opportunities in entrepreneurship have never been better. The 'Stair-Step' method and Apprenticeships provide compelling social scripts for entrepreneurship.
No different than anything else (Sales, Marketing, Project Management), Entrepreneurship is a skill set that can be invested in.
College is increasing in cost but decreasing in value. There are more graduates each year than relevant job openings. There are equally skilled knowledge workers overseas that are much more affordable to higher on a full-time, part-time, or contract basis.
Capital is abundant, time is scarce.
Employees accumulate 'silent risk.' Artisans and entrepreneurs operate with consistent feedback and have notice for changes they need to account for.
SAAS, the sharing economy, contracted work, and self-education have lowered startup and maintenance costs for entrepreneurs.
Blogs, YouTube, and podcasts make it easy to reach customers, and new niche markets are created every day.
The pursuit of entrepreneurship is a synergistic path with opportunities for personal freedom, wealth creation, and finding meaning in life.
Everything I've read of Taylor's has been stellar, and this book is no exception.
Some Personal Notes:
My appreciation for this book was definitely improved by having already read most of it's major sources of influence. Examples include Nassim Taleb's Incerto Series, Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational, Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Workweek, MJ Demarco's Unscripted and Millionaire Fastlane, and most of Taylor's Blog.
I first read the End of Jobs in September of 2018. It took me two days to read the book that time. I decided to buy a paper copy and had it on my 'reread' list for a while. I decided to pick it up last night and I finished it roughly 24 hours later.
Don't be a turkey...
I love how clearly Taylor can breakdown complex ideas. He is very repetitive, but I find what he repeats to be very beneficial and ultimately worth repeating.
The book boils down to a few core concepts. I've listed a few that come top of mind.
Based on major macro-trends (think Globalization, Technological Progress, Automation), it is becoming clear that traditional jobs are a less secure social script than ever before whereas the opportunities in entrepreneurship have never been better. The 'Stair-Step' method and Apprenticeships provide compelling social scripts for entrepreneurship.
No different than anything else (Sales, Marketing, Project Management), Entrepreneurship is a skill set that can be invested in.
College is increasing in cost but decreasing in value. There are more graduates each year than relevant job openings. There are equally skilled knowledge workers overseas that are much more affordable to higher on a full-time, part-time, or contract basis.
Capital is abundant, time is scarce.
Employees accumulate 'silent risk.' Artisans and entrepreneurs operate with consistent feedback and have notice for changes they need to account for.
SAAS, the sharing economy, contracted work, and self-education have lowered startup and maintenance costs for entrepreneurs.
Blogs, YouTube, and podcasts make it easy to reach customers, and new niche markets are created every day.
The pursuit of entrepreneurship is a synergistic path with opportunities for personal freedom, wealth creation, and finding meaning in life.
Everything I've read of Taylor's has been stellar, and this book is no exception.
Some Personal Notes:
My appreciation for this book was definitely improved by having already read most of it's major sources of influence. Examples include Nassim Taleb's Incerto Series, Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational, Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Workweek, MJ Demarco's Unscripted and Millionaire Fastlane, and most of Taylor's Blog.
I first read the End of Jobs in September of 2018. It took me two days to read the book that time. I decided to buy a paper copy and had it on my 'reread' list for a while. I decided to pick it up last night and I finished it roughly 24 hours later.
Don't be a turkey...
March 19, 2018
Filled with interesting insights and thoughts that I value, I have found some good motivation from.
However, I hold a few things against the book:
1. It's incredibly repetitive. The same interesting insights are repeated 5-10 times it felt like, so sometimes it feels like it's being padded for length unnecessarily. Keeping it succinct would have felt more valuable to me and my time.
2. Though "freedom" felt like a good motivator for why to approach the economy differently which he cites a couple of times, more prevalently the author's underlying motivation feels simply driven by money - which in one sense is to be expected by a book like this, maybe. He holds up in reasonably high esteem people who drive ridiculous cars and such. To me, I am inspired by a new way of thinking, how I can connect my kids in with the changing economy so they can have the right mindset in tomorrow's marketplace. Being motivated by wealth alone rings hollow and boorish to me.
3. His attitude seems to be there are entrepreneurs and workers - leaders and followers - geniuses and suckers. It feels like he's almost looking down on everyone else. The evolving economy needs to shape answers to how we can create connection points for all personality types and all contributors. It's not realistic for everyone to be an entrepreneur. So some smart entrepreneurs will help shape the future of work for the masses in a way that they're not just means to an end, but mutually benefit from the opportunities in this dynamic and emerging world.
4. His repeated use of "Extremistan" and "Mediocristan" was tiring and also reflected in what felt like an elitist view looking down on the rest of the world.
However, I hold a few things against the book:
1. It's incredibly repetitive. The same interesting insights are repeated 5-10 times it felt like, so sometimes it feels like it's being padded for length unnecessarily. Keeping it succinct would have felt more valuable to me and my time.
2. Though "freedom" felt like a good motivator for why to approach the economy differently which he cites a couple of times, more prevalently the author's underlying motivation feels simply driven by money - which in one sense is to be expected by a book like this, maybe. He holds up in reasonably high esteem people who drive ridiculous cars and such. To me, I am inspired by a new way of thinking, how I can connect my kids in with the changing economy so they can have the right mindset in tomorrow's marketplace. Being motivated by wealth alone rings hollow and boorish to me.
3. His attitude seems to be there are entrepreneurs and workers - leaders and followers - geniuses and suckers. It feels like he's almost looking down on everyone else. The evolving economy needs to shape answers to how we can create connection points for all personality types and all contributors. It's not realistic for everyone to be an entrepreneur. So some smart entrepreneurs will help shape the future of work for the masses in a way that they're not just means to an end, but mutually benefit from the opportunities in this dynamic and emerging world.
4. His repeated use of "Extremistan" and "Mediocristan" was tiring and also reflected in what felt like an elitist view looking down on the rest of the world.
October 15, 2015
Think Entrepreneurial Skill Development - Everyone Can Embrace That Concept
I had a long-standing love/hate relationship with the word "entrepreneur" because my background is deeply rooted in a secure, job framework - government service. This said, I realized even in that setting that successful people (i.e. the ones getting promoted or being put on plum projects) were successful because they were accomplished in skills like networking, communications, developing relationships and generating ideas. These are the same skills that mark entrepreneurs.
Taylor has now helped me view entrepreneur not as a title (which I do not apply to myself nor ever will) but as a set of skills. This is key because despite the well voice argument in the book that entrepreneurship is the path most must go, the fact is that many will still choose to work for other companies, the government, join the military or work for a non-profit. The skills of an entrepreneur can yield massive leverage in these situations as well.
Shifting one's mindset to viewing entrepreneurship as a skill versus a title can help anyone leverage the benefits in their career, life and art.
I had a long-standing love/hate relationship with the word "entrepreneur" because my background is deeply rooted in a secure, job framework - government service. This said, I realized even in that setting that successful people (i.e. the ones getting promoted or being put on plum projects) were successful because they were accomplished in skills like networking, communications, developing relationships and generating ideas. These are the same skills that mark entrepreneurs.
Taylor has now helped me view entrepreneur not as a title (which I do not apply to myself nor ever will) but as a set of skills. This is key because despite the well voice argument in the book that entrepreneurship is the path most must go, the fact is that many will still choose to work for other companies, the government, join the military or work for a non-profit. The skills of an entrepreneur can yield massive leverage in these situations as well.
Shifting one's mindset to viewing entrepreneurship as a skill versus a title can help anyone leverage the benefits in their career, life and art.
November 22, 2016
This book confirmed and brought to the surface a long buried notion of mine; the secret to entrepreneurship in not something that you find in a book. Not to say that is the book is not good, the very opposite. I feel that Tyler has ensconced this idea in this book.
Limits have changed. Jobs and the traditional school to college to career conveyor belt is off track with human progress. The world is full of college graduates making the prospect of a degree and the work associated with it a huge wager. A wager whose outcome is ever increasingly dependent more competitive performance; Performance that has no connection to the ability to provide value to others.
The way of the future is entrepreneurship, and it is something worth investing in.
Limits have changed. Jobs and the traditional school to college to career conveyor belt is off track with human progress. The world is full of college graduates making the prospect of a degree and the work associated with it a huge wager. A wager whose outcome is ever increasingly dependent more competitive performance; Performance that has no connection to the ability to provide value to others.
The way of the future is entrepreneurship, and it is something worth investing in.
July 11, 2016
Summary: A big tsunami is coming to wipe out jobs as we have known them. But hey, it's never been easier to be an entrepreneur.
A convincing book, particularly as we see the concept of the secure career-long job crumble and the rise of the contract and sites such as Airtasker and Freelancer. More and more jobs are being automated or moved 'offshore'.
This book is a very good heads-up, with a stirring finish.
A convincing book, particularly as we see the concept of the secure career-long job crumble and the rise of the contract and sites such as Airtasker and Freelancer. More and more jobs are being automated or moved 'offshore'.
This book is a very good heads-up, with a stirring finish.
February 9, 2016
Great message (again, summed up in the title). Juxtaposing it with So Good They Can't Ignore You, the two books obviously have contradicting premises, and both felt they were cherry-picking when providing examples.
The writing in this one is pretty poor and leaves a lot to be desired. Plus, it seems while reading that the author is rehashing concepts from others, without really analyzing them.
The writing in this one is pretty poor and leaves a lot to be desired. Plus, it seems while reading that the author is rehashing concepts from others, without really analyzing them.
July 30, 2015
Great insight into what I also personally believe (and in some ways hope) will be the future. Pearson is as sharp as they come.
August 3, 2015
Makes a good case. I'm going to read it again and try to verify what he states.
March 19, 2016
This book shows the signs of trends to come for resources and professional services.
There are additional tools online that support the book.
There are additional tools online that support the book.
February 12, 2019
Looks like a collection of ideas from other books (1) + advocating for the entrepreneurship (2). Worth reading/skimming to get familiar with ideas from (1) and maybe get inspired by (2).
March 23, 2020
Not only mediocre, but many things are wrong.
June 7, 2021
Both entrepreneurship and being an employee take risks, no matter being an employee or entrepreneur, we are all doing the same thing-- evaluating the options in our hands and make a trade-off we want to achieve our goal.
However, the book keeps showing the upside of entrepreneurship and the downside of being an employee, but never really talk about what the trade-off is as an entrepreneur, even the book's title itself: without the 9-to-5, seems misleading to me. For most entrepreneurs around me, they all works their tail off to run their business, different challenges and risks showing up one after another during different stages in their entrepreneurship. So, plz, don't just jump into entrepreneurship just by the illuminaton "without 9-to-5" in a rush, plz evaluate the options you have in your hands before you take action.
Though I didn't buy the anecdotes, I still agree with some other concepts in the book-- more opportunities and the boundaries of entrepreneurship is much lower than before. Especially from my experience running a side project, to publish an App, all we need is a designer and an engineer, and we could even outsourcing. The boundary is lower but the hardest part is the entrepreneurship itself, what the business model is, where are the bottlenecks... etc
All in all, this is a book for those who need a push to start their business, it gives you faith rather than "how to start"
However, the book keeps showing the upside of entrepreneurship and the downside of being an employee, but never really talk about what the trade-off is as an entrepreneur, even the book's title itself: without the 9-to-5, seems misleading to me. For most entrepreneurs around me, they all works their tail off to run their business, different challenges and risks showing up one after another during different stages in their entrepreneurship. So, plz, don't just jump into entrepreneurship just by the illuminaton "without 9-to-5" in a rush, plz evaluate the options you have in your hands before you take action.
Though I didn't buy the anecdotes, I still agree with some other concepts in the book-- more opportunities and the boundaries of entrepreneurship is much lower than before. Especially from my experience running a side project, to publish an App, all we need is a designer and an engineer, and we could even outsourcing. The boundary is lower but the hardest part is the entrepreneurship itself, what the business model is, where are the bottlenecks... etc
All in all, this is a book for those who need a push to start their business, it gives you faith rather than "how to start"
October 26, 2017
I enjoyed reading this book. It has a lot of insights into the notion of job or working in companies and how as an individual we can do and achieve much more than what we have been made to believe.
The book stresses upon why Entrepreneurship is always better then being in a job. This isn't true in all cases. What he's trying to tell is that people who work for big companies are often not motivated and have very poor performance.
Smaller companies which have a great work environment and give their employees freedom to work and do what they like is the perfect place to be an apprentice. This allows the employees to learn and grow quickly and then start his or her own company.
There are great insights and stories and highly meaningful analogies on why we need to be an entrepreneur even though if we are working. This book has been written for the masses to tell them that in the age of Internet, we can build more wealth than we think possible and anyone can do it provided the right dedication exists.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is working or is planning to become and entrepreneur.
The book stresses upon why Entrepreneurship is always better then being in a job. This isn't true in all cases. What he's trying to tell is that people who work for big companies are often not motivated and have very poor performance.
Smaller companies which have a great work environment and give their employees freedom to work and do what they like is the perfect place to be an apprentice. This allows the employees to learn and grow quickly and then start his or her own company.
There are great insights and stories and highly meaningful analogies on why we need to be an entrepreneur even though if we are working. This book has been written for the masses to tell them that in the age of Internet, we can build more wealth than we think possible and anyone can do it provided the right dedication exists.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is working or is planning to become and entrepreneur.
September 16, 2019
Taylor Pearson penned this some years ago, and it's a great complement to the ecosystem first pioneered by Tim Ferriss and his 4HWW. While he's not at his best when making sweeping generalizations (particularly about the Catholic Church, etc), Pearson does a good job of making the case for the title of his book. Even better, he points out why we shouldn't be shedding tears for the end of traditional jobs, which were only a blip in the economy of work over the timeline of mankind. There is more freedom, more possibility, and more wealth available than ever before. Part of that begins with understanding and having gratitude for the basics that many of us in the developed world have that would put us in the top 1% of mankind for the previous 6,000 years. Indoor plumbing, medical care, access to almost any type of food we want, potable water on demand. Because food, clothing, and shelter are easily taken care of, we are free to pursue what's next. The book could be a bit more tightly written and sometimes Pearson tails off a bit, but it's a worthwhile read, particularly for those who are still finding themselves in this new and developing gig economy and want to pursue the greater freedom to be had beyond the alleged "safety" of a traditional job.
November 1, 2019
Another one of those (increasingly common) books that should just have been a 2000 word article. I had to abandon the book around the halfway point as I was simply getting nothing out of the book.
The core idea in the book is that the economy is changing in such a way that becoming an entrepreneur is far less risky than pursuing a career.
This central idea is often wrapped in overly-simplified analysis, for example in the description of how the economy has switched episodically from agricultural-based to industrial-based to knowledge-based. Actually, there have always been entrepreneurs, learning the skills of a trade and making this available to others. Two of my great-grandfathers, for example, went through an apprenticeship and eventually opened up small shops as a 'platform' for their trade. The opportunities opened up by technology is simply allowing people to rediscover that entrepreneurial spirit, which was only BRIEFLY lost during the twentieth century because of the rise of large corporations.
But a reasonable read for someone whose never read anything about becoming an entrepreneur before.
The core idea in the book is that the economy is changing in such a way that becoming an entrepreneur is far less risky than pursuing a career.
This central idea is often wrapped in overly-simplified analysis, for example in the description of how the economy has switched episodically from agricultural-based to industrial-based to knowledge-based. Actually, there have always been entrepreneurs, learning the skills of a trade and making this available to others. Two of my great-grandfathers, for example, went through an apprenticeship and eventually opened up small shops as a 'platform' for their trade. The opportunities opened up by technology is simply allowing people to rediscover that entrepreneurial spirit, which was only BRIEFLY lost during the twentieth century because of the rise of large corporations.
But a reasonable read for someone whose never read anything about becoming an entrepreneur before.
February 16, 2020
Good ignition for thinking like an entrepreneur in a world designed by principles that don't scale any further
Providing a good philosophy about current opportunities and a good awareness that the only ones that can use our own time for us and for a good return instead selling it cheap to the others and having a "robot" life (but take care, the robots are better in being robots than us) it's us. If the book would have added more practical hints it would have been a complete guide to keep with me and periodically review while starting a business. The statements made in the book seem very correct and well linked but you still ask yourself "are you sure? How can I check this is really true?" Also, more other examples from different industries than online would provide more trust in the opportunities presented here. In the end, the book provided a good ignition for changing the way of thinking towards entrepreneurship and that's something most of us never heard from our parents or professors. They only told "do this to obtain this" but their advice doesn't apply anymore.
Providing a good philosophy about current opportunities and a good awareness that the only ones that can use our own time for us and for a good return instead selling it cheap to the others and having a "robot" life (but take care, the robots are better in being robots than us) it's us. If the book would have added more practical hints it would have been a complete guide to keep with me and periodically review while starting a business. The statements made in the book seem very correct and well linked but you still ask yourself "are you sure? How can I check this is really true?" Also, more other examples from different industries than online would provide more trust in the opportunities presented here. In the end, the book provided a good ignition for changing the way of thinking towards entrepreneurship and that's something most of us never heard from our parents or professors. They only told "do this to obtain this" but their advice doesn't apply anymore.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 125 reviews