Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Stephen M Pollan is a New York City-based attorney, financial advisor, and life coach.

Mark Levine has been Stephen Pollan's collaborator for more than eighteen years. Together they have authored numerous books, including the national bestsellers Lifescripts, Live Rich, and Die Broke, and most recently, Second Acts. They have been nominated for three National Magazine Awards.

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Fire Your Boss
And Hire Yourself.

Impossible? Not according to nationally bestselling author Stephen M. Pollan. As he says in this new and empowering book, "You don't have to accept your current work situation. You can be in control of your job and your stream of income, so you're never again subject to the whims, prejudices, moods, or circumstances of your so-called boss."

In today's difficult work environment, gone are the days of finding satisfaction through your job, gone is the time when your job was secure, and gone are the days when your employer cared about you. This new environment requires new rules, and Pollan has provided surprisingly fresh and intriguing methods for finding "success" on the job.

Pollan's bold and unique message begins with the idea that you must "fire your boss." By this he means you can no longer rely on your manager or your company for economic security. Instead, you must put yourself in charge of your working life. In this thought-provoking and counterintuitive career guide, Pollan presents a seven-step program and a series of exercises that give you the confidence, power, and will to achieve the life of your dreams.

Once you have changed your mind-set and learned the new rules of the game, you can start the process of moving to a richer, more enriching, and more enjoyable life. And the best part about it? Your boss will love you for it.

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Fire Your Boss

HarperResource

Chapter One

The Job of Your Dreams

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams;who looks inside, awakes.
-- Carl Jung

You can take charge of your work life.

Are you like the office manager wishing she could spend more time at home caring for her children than at the office catering to a juvenileboss?

Are you like the regional manager worrying that the new hotshotvice president of sales will fire him two years short of his daughter'sfinishing college?

You don't have to accept your current work situation. You can be in control of your job and your stream of income so you're never againsubject to the whims, prejudices, moods, or circumstances of your so-calledboss. It doesn't matter whether you've been on the job for fortyyears or forty days; it's never too late or too early to seize control ofyour work life. It doesn't matter if you're a stock clerk at a video store or the chief financial officer of a movie studio; everyone who's employedcan take charge of his or her own work life. I won't lie to you:becoming boss of your own life is neither quick nor easy. The programI outline in this book will require hard work and real thought. It's notsomething you can do in a weekend. But, believe me, it's worth thetime and effort.

Being master of your own work life leads to incredible changes inyour life. You'll earn more money if that's what you wish. You'll feelmore secure if that's your goal. You'll be able to pursue whateverbrings you the most joy and satisfaction, whether it's having a catchwith your son, puttering around in the garden, or serving meals to theneedy. You'll end up with the job of your dreams, and that will giveyou a leg up on living the life of your dreams. Just ask Sydney Carton.

Sydney is now sleeping well at night. For years, however, he layawake worrying. He worried about the state of his career; whetherhe'd ever achieve his life's dreams; how he'd pay for his daughter's collegeeducation; and whether he and his wife, Lucy, would ever be ableto retire. He worried about when they'd actually get to spend somequality time together as a family with all the hours he and his wifewere working. But Sydney is not worried anymore. His income isfine -- he's not an NBA first-round draft pick, but he's doing okay. Hisjob is as secure as it can be in today's world because his boss dependson him more than ever. And even with that security, he's spending lesstime at work and more at home. He has taken up photography again.He and Lucy have rekindled their romance, thanks to being able tospend time together. And he's being the kind of father he alwayswanted to be. Sydney turned his work life around ... and so can you.

You can find a new job that pays an income large enough to keeppace with your family's needs and wants.

You can find a new job with the kind of security that lets you sleepsoundly and not lie awake worrying about money.

You can find a new job that lets you achieve the emotional and psychologicalsatisfaction you've always sought.

And you can do all this without getting more education or training,without moving, without changing industries. You don't need to learna new style of résumé, memorize new buzzwords to drop into yourconversations, or learn the latest variations of job hunting.

In fact, you may not need to find a new job at all.

I know this sounds crazy. It flies in the face of what everyone issaying. The media are filled with stories about how the American jobmarket has permanently turned into a cold, chaotic, and corrupt environment.The world of paternalistic companies and loyal employees isextinct, say the pundits. It's a dog-eat-dog world today, in which everyman and woman has to be out for him- or herself. We're told we've becomea nation of mercenaries engaged in a Darwinian struggle inwhich only the fittest survive and get to keep their jobs.

Setting all the overblown rhetoric aside, it's clear that the Americanworkplace has changed. More and more full-time jobs are beingturned into part-time or contingent positions. Back-office operationsare being outsourced. Instead of staff being added, temps are hired.There's no more climbing up a company ladder. Upper-level positionsare filled with outsiders stolen from competitors, and to move up at allyou've got to first move out. To keep your job it used to be enough toshow up on time, do your job for eight hours, and go home. Todayyou're expected to work for as long as it takes to do your work ... andthe work of the two people who were laid off last month. (See the boxon page 6: How Long Are You Working?)

But I'm not telling you anything you don't know already. You'veprobably seen firsthand signs of the new job market. I bet there areempty desks at work where longtime productive coworkers used to sitbefore they were laid off. There are probably some people in your office who have shifted over to part-time in an effort to keep their jobs.

If you're like most of us, you're working longer and longer hours,without getting more pay, because you've been sent a veiled messagethat unless you bite the bullet you'll be out of a job. Friends may becoming to you asking for leads because they've been out of work andare unable to land a new job. Maybe you're out of work yourself, orjust losing sleep, playing out worst-case scenarios in your head ...

Excerpted from Fire Your Bossby Stephen M. Pollan Copyright © 2005 by Stephen M. Pollan. Excerpted by permission.
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