Danger Quicksand Have a Nice Day

Have you ever worked for the boss from Hades?  Have you ever been shafted at work?  Do you feel like you're going nowhere at work?  Did you ever think of starting up your own business?  David St Lawrence, in his book, Danger Quicksand-Have a Nice Day , answers these questions and many more just like it.

David worked for fifty years in design and marketing for high tech companies.  His experience reaches out from the book and pulls you in.  His experience saddens, gives one hope and coaches.  It saddens because you feel he has gone through many ugly situations.  It gives hope because now he is doing what he enjoys.  It coaches because David leads the reader from identifying sordid workplace situations to methods of coping or improving one's lot.

Here are my take-aways:

• The workplace is changing faster today than it ever did.  As individuals, we must keep our heads out of the sand.  We need to observe and note what is happening.
• We must take advantage of all learning opportunities at our present jobs.  What skills can we improve upon that we will need in the future?
• Continuously build your support network.
• Maintain your integrity - always
• The future might be Me Inc. - prepare for it.

There is much, much more to David's book.  In fact, so much, it must be sipped.  For this reason I recommend keeping your copy on the bookshelf that is with in arm's length.

Quotes from the book:

There is only one long-term solution.  Every job you take should be part of a plan to equip you for full self-employment.  The ideal jobs are those that prepare you for long-term job security as your own boss.

You should get as much experience as you can running projects, handling finances, purchasing, and dealing with customers in a sales and service capacity.  Being your own boss requires all of these skills and more.

Comments

[David St Lawrence]

Thanks for the thoughtful analysis of my book.

I encountered more good situations than ugly situations, but I could have escaped many of the ugly situations entirely if the information in this book had been available to me.

Having survived, I felt honor-bound to make the task of earning a living less stressful for others. From the letters I am getting, the book is accomplishing what I intended.

I will endeavor to make the second book of the series more cheerful all the way through. The working title is still, "Who's In Charge?"