Verified Document

Plain-Speaking Book About Career Success Book Review

¶ … Patrick Combs Major in Success: Make College Easier, Fire Up Your Dreams, And Get A Great Job by Patrick Combs seems to cover every aspect of college, career and life in very readable terms. His frank approach inspires and is also far more enjoyable and comprehensive than some other authors who write about career success. Combs' approach is both strong and weak but the inspirational nature of the book, plus the suggested resources, make the book very useful.

Major in Success: Make College Easier, Fire Up Your Dreams, And Get A Great Job by Patrick Combs is a pointed guide about success in college and employment. Combs stresses that success requires extraordinary determination and drive (Combs 3), with a passion as powerful as a forest fire (Combs 10). That passionate determination does not necessarily mean the highest GPA in a particular major; rather, prospective employers will want to know if a job applicant can complete work within deadlines, accomplish tasks under pressure, think analytically, work well with others in teams, write well, use a computer well, use time well, and dress suitably for the work environment (Combs 17). In sum, a successful person certainly uses college but does so in a creative way and learns marketable skills rather than a tunnel-visioned striving for high grades.

Combs also stresses a certain attitude for a successful career. In Combs' opinion, a person should pursue his/her passions because it's a waste of time to work at some job that doesn't interest him/her (Combs 21). Combs addresses the issue of money, as well, because money is certainly necessary but should not "buy" a person so he/she...

Even needing money, a person should be aware that he/she has a destiny speaking to him/her through passion and dreams (Combs 32). Combs also understands that despite passion and determination, people are stopped from pursuing their dream jobs by at least six fears, including the fear of: poverty; other people's expectations; competition; making the wrong choice; lacking the right experience; failure (Combs 39). Consequently, despite cultivating passion and determination, a person can fail to keep striving for his/her dream.
In order to help people overcome the fears that stop them from pursuing their dreams, Combs suggests a plan of action. A person should pursue his/her interests and get academic credit for them (Combs 49). he/she should also put forth great energy in both work and relaxation (Combs 56). Also, though GPAs can be important, a person should not sacrifice the development of his/her social and leadership skills in order to pursue a great GPA (Combs 64). As always, a person should be mindful of the ways he/she can fool himself/herself along the road; consequently, a person should keep using reality checks to correct his/her course to stay on the most effective path (Combs 91). A person who wishes to succeed should be an eternal student, constantly absorbing relevant material and improving skills (Combs 97). Another important aspect of success is collecting or making visible signs of a person's education, passion, creativity and productivity that help a person stand out to prospective employers (Combs 104). Finally, it is important to…

Sources used in this document:
References

Ballout, Hassan I. "Career Success: The Effects of Human Capital, Person-Environment Fit and Organizational Support." Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(8) (2007): 741-765. Print.

Combs, Patrick. Major in Success: Make College Easier, Fire Up Your Dreams, And Get A Great Job, 5th Edition. New York: Ten Speed Press, 2007. Print.

Heslin, Peter A. "Conceptualizing and Evaluating Career Success." Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(2) (2005): 113-136. Print.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Bilingual Education
Words: 3097 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

bilingual educated students are more likely to continue education past high school, increase their chances of professional careers, have competitive academic achievement scores, improved social skills and a stronger interest in school education programs. The government interest, certification procedures and selection process of hiring qualified teachers is critical. In this report the consequences of limited English proficiency on academic achievement, the positive effects of bilingual education, and the possible

Fair Labor Standards Act
Words: 7038 Length: 25 Document Type: Term Paper

Human Resources: Fair Labor Standards Act An Examination of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and Its Implications for American Workers Today Although most Americans take for granted the wide range of social programs that are in place for their protection, many of these initiatives are fairly recent in origin, but one that has been around for quite some time is the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The legislation established

Interventionism From the Perspective of Realism Vs.
Words: 13409 Length: 44 Document Type: Case Study

interventionism from the perspective of realism vs. idealism. Realism is defined in relationship to states' national interests whereas idealism is defined in relation to the UN's Responsibility to Protect doctrine -- a doctrine heavily influenced by Western rhetoric over the past decade. By addressing the question of interventionism from this standpoint, by way of a case study of Libya and Syria, a picture of the realistic implications of "humanitarian

Phoenix Program Lessons to Iraq
Words: 19225 Length: 75 Document Type: Term Paper

(MACV Dir 381-41) This document is one of the first confidential memorandums associated with the Phoenix Program, which details in 1967 the mostly U.S. involvement in counterinsurgency intelligence and activities and discusses the future training and development of South Vietnam forces to serve the same function, that had been supported by the U.S. In civilian (mostly CIA) and military roles. The document stresses that the U.S. role is to

Price Beauty 'For Though Beauty Is Seen
Words: 6265 Length: 20 Document Type: Term Paper

Price Beauty? 'For though beauty is seen and confessed by all, yet, from the many fruitless attempts to account for the cause of its being so, enquiries on this head have almost been given up" William Hogarth, The Analysis of Beauty, (1753) Not very encouraging words, but if the great artist William Hogarth felt himself up to the task, we can attempt at least to follow his lead. That beauty is enigmatic

Peace Keepers of the Northeast:
Words: 2241 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Proposal

This dance was very powerful as it did scare the European people. They did not fully understand the reason behind the dance and the religion, but they were very clear as to what the apocalypse was and they wondered if the Indians were somehow summoning the end of the world. Not soon after this Ghost dance caused such a commotion, an Indian by the name of Handsome Lake who

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now