The One-Week Job Project
1 Man, 1 Year, 52 Jobs
By: Sean Aiken
Published: April 6, 2010
Format: Paperback, 288 pages
ISBN: 9780143170518
Publisher: Penguin Canada
"I'd felt ready to graduate for some time. I wanted to do my own thing, to start working toward something. The only problem was that I had no idea what this something was", writes 2005 graduate in Business Administration from British Columbia's Capliano College, where he was voted Valedictorian, blogger, and employment adventurer Sean Aiken in his inspirational and self discovering book The One-Week Job Project: 1 Man, 1 Year, 52 Jobs. The author describes his year long employment sampling experiences, of working fifty-two different jobs across North America in fifty-two weeks, with humour and a sense of enjoyment of his personal journey.
Sean Aiken, like many young people when the graduate college, had no idea as to what career path he wanted to follow with his life. For many recent graduates, simply getting a job - any job - is sufficient, even if the career isn't in keeping with their personal goals, values, and aspirations. Sean Aiken decided to take a much less traveled road. Instead of leaping head first into any employment opportunity that offered his a pay cheque, he undertook a unique and life changing experiment. He offered to work one week at a time, and experience many different types of employment, in the hope that he would discover his true mission in life. From the very first job, where he takes a literal bungee jump into the abyss, he takes a metaphorical leap into the unknown of his own career goals and life purpose.
Sean Aiken (photo left) learns a great amount about every job at which he tries his hand, and shares his achievements and disappointments with his readers. Even more importantly, Sean Aiken learns much more about himself, and to what purpose he wants to devote his life. Along the way, he began to understand that many of the old platitudes, that form the nucleus of almost every graduation and convocation address, hold a very powerful element of truth. A person not only can achieve whatever they desire in life, but also they must pursue their passion and their inner compass along that journey. Whether he is instructing rock climbing, working as a reporter, trying his hand as a baker, or a fashion buyer, Sean Aiken dives into every occupation with a zest for life that draws his readers along on his quest for his true passion.
For me, the power of the book is how Sean Aiken shares his passion for life and for exploring as many options as possible in his life. He takes the reader along on his voyage of self discovery, as he learns about life, love, and the truly important aspects of life. He doesn't just go through the motions of each job, but treats every occupation with the dignity and respect that is their due. As a result of his caring about the jobs and the people who work at them, Sean learns valuable lessons about each one of them, and how he can apply those discoveries to other jobs and aspects of his life. The author's humour shines through the book as he shares his adventures, mistakes, and personal foibles along the way. He never loses sight of his vision, and the wisdom of discovering his passion in life and what he intends to do with his life.
I highly recommend the entertaining book about finding passion for life The One-Week Job Project: 1 Man, 1 Year, 52 Jobs by Sean Aiken, to anyone of any age, who is seeking their true purpose in life. While not everyone would undertake the same road on that quest as Sean Aiken, that is one of the points made by the author. Sean followed his own passion for learning and understanding many jobs, with the hope that he would happen upon the one that would fulfill his life aspirations and dreams. For someone else, the road to that deeper understanding would take a different course. The author demonstrates that many different ways of uncovering our dreams are possible, and that we can learn much about ourselves as we take that plunge.
Read the unique and enjoyable adventures of a journeyer on his quest for self discovery The One-Week Job Project: 1 Man, 1 Year, 52 Jobs by Sean Aiken, and be inspired and motivated to seek your own true passion in life. It's never too early to begin that journey, and it's also never too late to find what you really want to do with your life. Follow Sean Aiken's lead and take that symbolic bungee jump into the unknown, as you will never know what you may find within yourself.
