Be a Free Range Human
Escape the 9-5, Create a Life You Love and Still Pay the Bills
About the Book
For Marianne Cantwell, Free Range Humans are "a growing tribe, easily spotted by the smiles on their faces on Monday mornings." They are people that have figured out what they want to do with their lives and they are doing it, right now. They choose when, where and how they work, and get paid to do what makes them come alive. They have decided to live their life every day, not just weekends.
Lighthearted in style but serious in intention, this is a practical guide to creating a life of fulfillment. Life coach Cantwell - herself a career shifter - helps mid-career professionals work out what they really want. She addresses the things that career changers think they need but don't: a job; an MBA; a big investment; a fancy website, and shows how to build not just a business but a life that works for them.
Be a Free Range Human is a valuable contribution for those new to personal growth and struggling with work-life balance.
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About the Book
For Marianne Cantwell, Free Range Humans are "a growing tribe, easily spotted by the smiles on their faces on Monday mornings." They are people that have figured out what they want to do with their lives and they are doing it, right now. They choose when, where and how they work, and get paid to do what makes them come alive. They have decided to live their life every day, not just weekends.
Lighthearted in style ...
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Authors / Editors
Marianne Cantwell writes a popular blog, "Free Range Humans: Escape the corporate cage and live life on your terms," and is an international speaker on escaping the "corporate cage" and creating a successful work life balance. She helps professionals escape the 9-5, ditch the commute and create free range careers, earning a regular income without an office or a boss. Having escaped the corporate cage herself, Cantwell now runs her business from her laptop on Bali beaches, in California cafes and by the Sydney seaside.
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Authors / Editors
Marianne Cantwell writes a popular blog, "Free Range Humans: Escape the corporate cage and live life on your terms," and is an international speaker on escaping the "corporate cage" and creating a successful work life balance. She helps professionals escape the 9-5, ditch the commute and create free range careers, earning a regular income without an office or a boss. Having escaped the corporate cage herself, Cantwell now runs her business from her laptop on ...
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Press Coverage
Read this and realize that the world is your oyster. A rare mix of funny, frank and feisty, as well as realistic and do-able, this is the kind of book you’ll take everywhere with you – it’ll be your new best buddy, supporting and encouraging you on the road to living la vida free range-a!” --
Nadia Finer, Co-author of
More To Life Than Shoes: How to Kick-start Your Career and Change Your Life “One of the most useful guides I’ve read to help you create a realistic (read: totally do-able) life you want to live – and it is also fun to read.” --Lea Woodward, Entrepreneur and founder of LocationIndependent.com
“Be a Free Range Human shines. Marianne Cantwell could have merely inspired millions of frustrated cubicle-dwellers to think outside the job box, but she goes the extra mile to provide the reader with the all-important ‘how.’ Brilliant!” --Dr. Valerie Young, Author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women and founder of Changing Course
“Imaginative, inspirational, and challenging. A unique, well written book that will have a huge impact on readers.” --Dr. Barrie Hopson, Author of Build Your Own Rainbow and And What Do You Do? 10 Steps To A Portfolio Career
“Many of us get stuck in jobs we need to do – to pay the bills – rather than doing what we want to do. But it can be done. This wise and clever book can help you immensely on the road to discovering and doing what you love.” --Stevyn Colgan, Author of Joined Up Thinking, cartoonist, contributor to BBC TV series QI and former police officer
“A practical guidebook loaded with exactly the tools you need to break free of excuses and start creating the adventurous life of your dreams. Marianne Cantwell knows what she’s talking about. Pay attention.” --Barbara Winter, Author of Making A Living Without A Job
"[W]hether you’re looking to set up shop from the world’s beaches or just want to bolster your career, there is a lot of great information offered up. Practical, straightforward, easy to read. Good stuff and worth a read." --Broc Edwards, Fool With A Plan
"This book is a great introduction for people who are considering moving away from the corporate world, the traditional career ladder and aiming to make a living doing something they love. It is written in a lighthearted in style with practical exercise to guide the reader. [F]or those new to personal growth and struggling with work-life balance...the book is encouraging and useful as a way to consider your next steps towards your future." --Growing Edge Coaching
"Prepare to be inspired." --CaretakingCouple.com
"[S]omeone finally wrote the book I wish I’d had when I started my first business. Full of brilliant story-telling about actual people who’ve escaped the caged-in cubicle life and created a business doing what they love AND making money. [Cantwell] shares unconventional ideas and practical, do-able steps." --Terri Belford, Inspired Living
"[P]rovides a fine inspirational survey that tells how to create an amazing lifestyle doing what you love. Case histories from those who have taken the plunge and tailored their work to better match their lives makes for a powerful survey of 'how to' gain time, freedom, and still make as much income. ...[A] powerful recommendation for business and inspirational lending libraries alike." --Midwest Book Review, The Bookwatch, The Self-Help Shelf
"Be A Free Range Human has officially joined my list of go-to books for useful ideas...Well written and filled with a new way of thinking about entrepreneurship. Full of real world examples, exercises, and inspiration." --NurtureArts.com
"Cantwell writes clearly, succinctly and draws on real life examples (beyond her own) to illustrate her points. She provides many websites/blogs for further reading. This book is for you if you are trying to get up the courage to try a new venture (she will help you want to jump off the precipice); if you don’t think you could escape the 9-5 (for curiosity purposes) and if you have a niggle but you don’t know what it is (this could be your key!)." --Confessions of a Fancy Nerd
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Press Coverage
Read this and realize that the world is your oyster. A rare mix of funny, frank and feisty, as well as realistic and do-able, this is the kind of book you’ll take everywhere with you – it’ll be your new best buddy, supporting and encouraging you on the road to living la vida free range-a!” --
Nadia Finer, Co-author of
More To Life Than Shoes: How to Kick-start Your Career and Change Your Life “One of the most ...
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Prologue Introduction
From beach to boardroom
What I do now (work or pleasure?)
Jobs are so last century (welcome to free ranging)
What this book is not
Who am I to write this book?
How to read this book
Part 1 Get ready for the ride
Get set up to get the most from this journey
1 What your school career adviser never told you
The ‘safe job’ myth
Myth buster
Free range third way
2 Why this matters now
What would you do if you had only one life?
Notes for Part 1
Part 2 Creating your free range life (how to decide what you really want) Dream big, discover your strengths and find out what to do when you want to do everything.
Figure out what you really want.
3 Why doing what you love is not negotiable
The two-step strategy
4 Dream big – then get off your butt and do it
How to quit your job, write a book and get on TV (while baking cakes)
Dare to dream
5 Defrosting – your secret weapon in figuring out what you want
Is your GPS out of whack?
6 How to create your perfect ‘career’ when you want to do everything
The ‘one thing’ myth
Myth buster
7 Spot your superpowers
Average is no longer an option
Weaknesses are just strengths in the wrong environment
How to use your strengths to find your thing
Free range profile Benny’s story Travel the world, learn languages, and make a living from your blog 8 Taking free range action
The ‘endless research’ myth
Myth buster
Free range third way
Notes for Part 2
Part 3 Think like a Free Range Human
You don’t need oodles of experience, a wildly original idea or even funding. How to start for under £100 (and find out if your idea will work within two weeks). Decide on your new free range career. Free range profile Peter’s story From T-shirts to US$100k without an office
9 Why you don’t need an original idea
The ‘originality’ myth
Myth buster
Free range third way
10 Why you don’t need oodles of experience (what you have to offer other than your CV)
The ‘oodles of experience’ myth
Myth buster
Free range third way
11 What a free range business looks like (or: what can I do other than start a café?)
Four free range business types (plus one extra option)
12 How to free range-ify your idea
13 How to start for under £100
14 How to know if your idea will work (test your idea in seven days)
How to know if your idea can pay enough
How to know if people will really pay for what you have to offer
Free range profile Susan’s story From idea to income in 10 weeks
Notes for Part 3
Interlude free range reality check A rush of inspiration and free range thinking (how to overcome those ‘reasons why not’ and make anything happen).
15 Meet the people who don’t want you to escape the career cage (or: the beige army unmasked)
16 What to do with those reasons why not
The ‘not for the likes of me’ myth
Myth buster
Free range third way
Free range profile Jon’s story How to quit your job, move to paradise and get paid to change the world Notes for Interlude
Part 4 Build your free range escape hatch
Get started, get known fast, and start earning that free range income (even while still in your job!). An unconventional guide on how to build things up, stand out from the crowd, and then escape the career-cage trap in your 10 steps to freedom. Discover how to earn the income, get the lifestyle and break free (on your terms).
17 Making a living without an office (or a boss)
18 Why you don’t need a business plan (or an MBA)
The ‘research’ myth
Myth buster
Free range third way
19 Why you don’t need to appeal to everyone
Big lives come from bold steps
20 How to decide who gets to give you money
From burnout to brilliant: a real life turnaround
How to choose your niche
21 How to brand like a rock star
The power of branding as you
Your brand is more than a name
22 How to stand out from the crowd
How to stand out (by being more you)
Free range profile Connie Hozvicka I earned more in one month than I did in three months in my job 23 How to do the Free Range Faststart
Meet the Free Range Faststart
Choosing your Faststart partners
24 How to get clients without paying for advertising
Old versus new marketing
Seven steps to a hot email relationship
25 Instant status
Status hacking 101
Three pillars of instant status
26 How to communicate in an unsucky way
27 Why you don’t have to be an all-rounder (you don’t have to do it all alone)
28 How to sell without selling your soul
The four e’s of selling without selling your soul
29 Get comfortable with setting your salary
30 What to do when you get stuck (when to give up and when to give in)
31 How to live and work anywhere
Focus on the advantages
Travel checklist
32 How to quit your job: 10 steps to freedom
Notes for Part 4
Epilogue
Index
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Prologue Introduction
From beach to boardroom
What I do now (work or pleasure?)
Jobs are so last century (welcome to free ranging)
What this book is not
Who am I to write this book?
How to read this book
Part 1 Get ready for the ride
Get set up to get the most from this journey
1 What your school career adviser never told you
The ‘safe job’ myth
Myth buster
Free range third way
2 Why this matters now
What would you do if you had only one life?
Notes ...
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