Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Contributors
Burnett, Bill Author
Evans, Dave Author
Published
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group , 2016.
Status
Checked Out

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Description

#1 New York Times Bestseller  An inspiring and thought-provoking graduation gift: At last, a book that shows you how to build'design'a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage  Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home'at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise. "Designing Your Life walks readers through the process of building a satisfying, meaningful life by approaching the challenge the way a designer would. Experimentation. Wayfinding. Prototyping. Constant iteration. You should read the book. Everyone else will."  'Daniel Pink, bestselling author of Drive   'this [is] the career book of the next decade and . . . the go-to book that is read as a rite of passage whenever someone is ready to create a life they love." 'David Kelley, Founder of IDEO 'An empowering book based on their popular class of the same name at Stanford University . . . Perhaps the book's most important lesson is that the only failure is settling for a life that makes one unhappy. With useful fact-finding exercises, an empathetic tone, and sensible advice, this book will easily earn a place among career-finding classics." 'Publishers Weekly

More Details

Format
eBook
Street Date
09/20/2016
Language
English
ISBN
9781101875339

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Published Reviews

Choice Review

Burnett and Evans (both Stanford Design Program) argue that successful careers consistent with life world views result from a systematic, analytical, action-oriented process that consciously constructs next steps along the way. This never-ending cycle for effecting positive change challenges readers to consider chosen action paths as experimental, reflect on what worked, and design revised routes from that point forward--always moving in the best direction possible at the time. This book stems from the authors' successful course at Stanford and finds its niche among career management, strategic planning, and life coaching sources. Burnett and Evans use an uncomplicated storytelling style, first or second person, numerical lists, bold fonts, boxed areas articulating nonproductive assumptions versus action-oriented versions, and "Try Stuff" sections with chapter-relevant tools. Chapters 7 and 8 guide readers through the job search process, focusing on obtaining offers to match needs. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. --Daniela Truty, Northeastern Illinois University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
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Booklist Review

Burnett and Evans myth-bust their way through common career and life challenges by presenting dysfunctional beliefs and reframes. As an example, You start out thinking you are designing a product (a new coffee blend and a new kind of coffee machine) and reframe when you realize you are actually redesigning the coffee experience (Starbucks). Why do this? Because here's the big truth: there are many versions of you and they are all right.' And life design will help you live into whatever version of you is playing at the Cineplex. The authors, both Stanford professors, have taught a course by the same name for the past 15 years. Now, through well-designed exercises, helpful explanations, and examples, the reader is given the opportunity to use these tools to design his or her own life. It will take hard work, but as the authors point out, no one has failed their course. Library patrons may prefer this over the perennial updates to What Color Is Your Parachute?, and with widespread promotion, this title may fly off the shelves of public libraries.--McIntosh, Joyce Copyright 2016 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Burnett and Evans present an empowering book based on their popular class of the same name at Stanford University. At the center of their philosophy is the idea that people need a process-a design-to make any sort of significant life change. After encouraging readers to unflinchingly examine their own views of work and life, the authors advise readers to undertake "prototyping," a method for exploring new life directions in manageable and realistic ways. A key tool is creating a "Good Time Journal," an outline of the times when readers felt most engaged and energized. What their plan has no room for, however, is agonizing over paths not taken. "The fourth step in the process is to let go," the authors state. Perhaps the book's most important lesson is that the only failure is settling for a life that makes one unhappy. With useful fact-finding exercises, an empathetic tone, and sensible advice, this book will easily earn a place among career-finding classics. Agent: Doug Abrams, Idea Architects. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Library Journal Review

What's career planning got to do with designing a sleep button on a mobile phone or a citrus zester? According to the authors, more than you think. Burnett and Evans, instructors of a popular Stanford University course, also called "Designing Your Life," here turn principles of product design into a series of lectures and exercises for finding the work and play that will make you happy. The authors, whose enthusiasm and optimism shine through their narration, spell out the habits and traits of product designers-curiosity, a bias for taking action, the ability to "reframe" problems, and the notion of prototyping-that listeners can apply to career exploration. Many relatable examples and supplementary exercises are included in the audiobook and on their resourceful website, designingyour.life. -VERDICT Clever, helpful, and wise, this program is a good asset for libraries seeking to offer career help to users. ["One of the best books on how to build a secure and fruitful future": LJ 7/16 review of the Knopf hc.]-Anne M. Condon, West Hartford, CT © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Booklist Reviews

Burnett and Evans myth-bust their way through common career and life challenges by presenting dysfunctional beliefs and reframes. As an example, "You start out thinking you are designing a product (a new coffee blend and a new kind of coffee machine) and reframe when you realize you are actually redesigning the coffee experience (Starbucks)." Why do this? "Because here's the big truth: there are many versions of you and they are all ‘right.' And life design will help you live into whatever version of you is playing at the Cineplex." The authors, both Stanford professors, have taught a course by the same name for the past 15 years. Now, through well-designed exercises, helpful explanations, and examples, the reader is given the opportunity to use these tools to design his or her own life. It will take hard work, but as the authors point out, no one has failed their course. Library patrons may prefer this over the perennial updates to What Color Is Your Parachute?, and with widespread promotion, this title may fly off the shelves of public libraries. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

Burnett is the executive director of the Design Program at Stanford, Evans an adjunct lecturer there, and together their thinking has contributed to the creation of the Apple Mouse, the laptop computer, and more. Now they apply their design smarts to something really key: your life. With a 300,000-copy first printing.

[Page 64]. (c) Copyright 2016 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2016 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Library Journal Reviews

Silicon Valley innovators Burnett and Evans, both Stanford University professors, propose a design process for helping people to determine what they want out of life and how to accomplish their goals. Their strategies involve reframing dysfunctional beliefs (e.g., "It's too late") into positive ideas (e.g., "It's never too late to design a life you love"), helping readers generate an action plan. Along the way the authors cover such topics as getting unstuck and building immunity against failure. A wealth of personal examples aid in applying the principles. VERDICT One of the best books on how to build a secure and fruitful future.

[Page 74]. (c) Copyright 2016 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2016 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Burnett and Evans present an empowering book based on their popular class of the same name at Stanford University. At the center of their philosophy is the idea that people need a process—a design—to make any sort of significant life change. After encouraging readers to unflinchingly examine their own views of work and life, the authors advise readers to undertake "prototyping," a method for exploring new life directions in manageable and realistic ways. A key tool is creating a "Good Time Journal," an outline of the times when readers felt most engaged and energized. What their plan has no room for, however, is agonizing over paths not taken. "The fourth step in the process is to let go," the authors state. Perhaps the book's most important lesson is that the only failure is settling for a life that makes one unhappy. With useful fact-finding exercises, an empathetic tone, and sensible advice, this book will easily earn a place among career-finding classics. Agent: Doug Abrams, Idea Architects. (Sept.)

[Page ]. Copyright 2016 PWxyz LLC

Copyright 2016 PWxyz LLC
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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Burnett, B., & Evans, D. (2016). Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life . Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Burnett, Bill and Dave Evans. 2016. Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Burnett, Bill and Dave Evans. Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2016.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Burnett, B. and Evans, D. (2016). Designing your life: how to build a well-lived, joyful life. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Burnett, Bill, and Dave Evans. Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2016.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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