Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Path in Life Reviews

• Luck is all you need

  
  By A276I8G7LLRK8 on 2003-05-01
  The concept for Roadtrip Nation is great. Go on a roadtrip, meet lots of people, talk about their lives, and bring it all together in a single tome of great wisdom and clarity for all to benefit from. But it doesn't really work. First, there is a selection bias at work here, in that the people these folks chose to talk to are all successful. Most of them freely admit that they were lucky, or that circumstances just lined up for them. That said, the advice they give is not bad advice: work hard, follow your passion, don't be shy, explore each opportunity as it comes along. But it's unclear how many UNsuccessful people have done exactly the same thing. The number of struggling filmmakers and artists and entrepeneurs is a testament to that. So I would find it especially interesting if they compared the stories (or "roads") of less successful people to find what they would have done differently. Or as I like to say, learn from the mistakes of others. Another problem is that the "interviews" (which read more like nicely edited monologues) are much too short and lack detail. There must be countless illustrative anecdotes that are simply glossed over in a few paragraphs, but instead we get a larger font size and bigger margins, and a peppering of inane asides about the RV they drove around. Another problem is that the set of people they interview fall mainly within the boundaries of business and the arts. Very few technical professions are represented, so the book lacks balance in that respect.

  To summarize, the idea of the book and its message are great. There are many roads in life, and your parents and school hardly ever give you an accurate picture of all the possibilities. So you should explore, meet people, find your passion, work at it, and don't be discouraged when you don't meet instant success. But when it comes to fleshing out these ideas, the book's superficial profiles fall short. Stick with the website.
  
  

• Insights from the fortunate few.

  
  By A15G70V9OBTOVO on 2004-09-24
  Its hard to argue with the notion that life is more fulfilling if you do something you like. So, if you are just starting out in life and have wealthy, supportive parents or you don't mind starving, by all means, go for it.
  
  But the bottom line is that these people are exceptions to the rule. And they were lucky. If all it took was hard work and a dream there wouldn't be a dentist or a tax preparer in America.
  
  Honestly, I don't know what the answer is. But I have noticed that many people who end up with dream jobs are folks who came from the wrong side of the tracks and thus had nothing to lose. If this describes you, well, you have nothing to lose.
  
  So 3 stars for the entertainment but as a wise man once said "If you think you can't, you can't. If you think you can, you might."
  
  

• A must read for College Students

  
  By ARM4FL5ZESI69 on 2003-04-21
  I am a college student who has switched my major three times and I am about to enter my senior year and Indiana University and I am still not sure what I want to do with my life. Around me are friends and people I know who have goals and paths to life but are not inspired by love of their major but more so by money. I want to succeed not only with money but also more importantly with a love of my job. This book gives me insight to people who chose other paths and in the end they are happier and still able to succeed. The basis of this book is don't set a course to follow because everyone is different, just do what you love and let that be your guide. Truly an inspiring book that all college students, graduates, and twenty something people must read.
  
  

• Must Read for 20 Somethings

  
  By AJKMTMT26VXQ1 on 2003-07-18
  I just finished reading "Roadtrip Nation" and I must say that I'm inspired to go out and find people new areas to explore and talk to people to find out what I want to do with my life. I am at the exact same spot that Mike and Nate were in during their senior year of college so it feels much more attainable than someone writing who is in their 40s telling you how to live your life. As for the reviewer who writes that there aren't enough people in technical positions or less successful people interviewed that's the beauty of the book. You're allowed and encouraged to go and search out people that interest you. The idea is to explore. Have fun.
  
  

• An inspirational read

  
  By A3EIIITZ2P8OD on 2003-11-21
  I wasn't sure what to expect about this book at first, but I was quickly engaged in the content. It's extrememly easy to read and it's completely real. The interviews are almost like watching a reality TV show.
  The extra "roadtrip" blurbs about various trip snags kept the book in perspective, even though it is mostly Interview Based. And the instructions to make your own roadtrip we're very enlightening.
  Overall excellent read to anyone
  
  
• Inspirational entrepreneurial stories
  By AH0N1N2CY9AHN on 2005-01-21
  While promoted as a guide for college graduates, this book is truly an entrepreneurial bible for every age. Rather than delivering stale status reports from founders of companies like Barnes & Noble, Starbucks and Dell, you'll learn what drove these visionaries to buck the system, overcome objections, and follow their passions. For anyone who has ever woken up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night and thought "what the heck am I doing with my life?" keep this book by your bedside and your dreams at the forefront.
  
  
• ROADTRIP NATION
  By on 2003-04-10
  This book is a great guide for a person of any age. It shows the routes various people have taken in their careers to get to where they are while at the same time encouraging its readers to map out their own paths. It's a great gift idea for graduates or anyone who could use some insight. I highly recommend this book because it is quick to read, has great stories and hilarious anecdotes. Plus, I really loved the big green motor home.
  
  
• A great book for anyone in school or a dead end job.
  By A26BPQR87EULVR on 2003-05-07
  This is a great book for anyone nearing the close of any scholastic or professional carreer. The book is an easy read and the interviews are short enough that even young readers would enjoy this book. It is a great window into life lived with passion. It is an example that success is not always immediate, but if you stay true to yourself and your dreams, the payoff is personal success, which is always greater than personal gain which is much easier to find. The interviews are fun and diverse. No matter what path in life you are taking, there is an interview that will probably mirror your experience. Even more interensting than the interviews themselves though, is the story of the author and how he and his friends landed the interviews in the book. The only reason for the four star rating is that I was always wanting more at the end of each interview. Although this may be the goal of the author, it is not everyday that someone gets to peek into the lives of some of the world's most successful people. Overall though, I highly reccomend the book.
  
  
• This book will inspire you.
  By AFVZXHIUSXINA on 2004-07-27
  What do you want to be when you grow up?
  
  It doesn't matter whether you're four, fourteen, or twenty-four years old --- the question never goes away. People say that you should be a lawyer, or a doctor, or a stockbroker, but they don't always consider that the goals and aspirations they've laid out for you may not quite match your own.
  
  Authors Mike Marriner and Nathan Gebhard graduated from Pepperdine University in California, and realized that they were unhappy with their chosen fields of study. The problem was that they weren't sure what other career paths existed. But then they had an idea. They decided to go on a nationwide road trip and interview everyone who had a job that sounded interesting, from the CEO of Starbucks to Manny the Lobsterman. Thousands of phone calls, miles and dollars later, they put all of the interviews and their experiences together in a fascinating and often hilarious account of their talks with people from all walks of life.
  
  Many of the successful people they interviewed were discouraged from pursuing their interests as children. They were told, "You'll never make any money dressing up your friends" (said to the woman who later became Madonna's stylist) or "If you don't go to college, you'll never get a good job" (said to the man who is now a senior vice-president at the Cartoon Network). All the people who were interviewed believe that being happy and doing what you want is more important than making a ton of money. If you're not sure what you want to do with your life, or even if you are, this book will inspire you to pursue the career of your dreams.
  
  --- Reviewed by Carlie Kraft
  
  
  
• Inspiring and Captivating
  By on 2003-04-01
  I received my copy of Roadtrip Nation this weekend and began reading it immediately. The leaders that are interviewed in the book are diverse, yet they all have success stories because they followed their interests. A definite recomendation to college students and those who are out of college and still trying to decide what their passion is and how it can be turned into a career. I highly recommend this book for coffee table reading, students and those who want to be inspired.
  
  
• Roadtrip Nation
  By on 2003-04-06
  I picked up this book to take with me on a weekend trip. I would highly recommend this for anyone from a junior in high school to the college graduate and a little beyond. I like the way it was put together, it was interesting and stimulating. You could read all the interviews or just a few and not miss a thing. The inserts that told how they booked the interviews and the fun(ny) things that happened to them kept you wanting to read more. It really encourages you to find your passion in life and follow your dreams. Fun and quick reading!
  
  
• an inspiring find
  By on 2003-04-09
  this book is a great find for someone that is looking for an inspiring read. each interview illustrates that not all big shots had a master plan before they made it big...they just kept follow their passion! its great for college students and recent grads who are looking for the inspiration and motivation for what may seem a dull career world. kudos.
  
  
• A cool book
  By on 2003-05-26
  Very nice, easy to read book. Without any verbiage or pomposity, gives you a sense in how many different ways people live out their lives, and how different things matter to different people. Interspersed in the book are true gems of wisdow that interviewes occasionally drop. Things you've all heard before, but here having strong credibility, because they are clearly life's lessons these people learned through toil and struggle, not read off a fortune cookie.
  
  
• roadtrip nation
  By A202HCBRUY58BX on 2003-04-07
  I WISH I WOULD HAVE HAD A BOOK LIKE THIS WHEN I WAS JUST STARTING OUT. IT MAKES YOU REALIZE THAT IT IS OK TO CHANGE YOUR ROAD, AS LONG AS YOU ARE MOVING. I WOULD RECOMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO HAS JUST FINISHED SCHOOL, OR IS TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING NEW TO DO AND IS WORRIED ABOUT IF IT IS OK OR NOT. JUST GREAT,I HAVE ALREADY BOUGHT 5 COPIES AND GIVEN THEM OUT.
  
  
• Good boook for the graduate or anyone in a dead end job
  By A26BPQR87EULVR on 2003-05-05
  This is a great book for anyone nearing the close of any scholastic or professional carreer. The book is an easy read and the interviews are short enough that even young readers would enjoy this book. It is a great window into life lived with passion. It is an example that success is not always immediate, but if you stay true to yourself and your dreams, the payoff is personal success, which is always greater than personal gain which is much easier to find. The interviews are fun and diverse. No matter what path in life you are taking, there is an interview that will probably mirror your experience. Even more interensting than the interviews themselves though, is the story of the author and how he and his friends landed the interviews in the book. The only reason for the four star rating is that I was always wanting more at the end of each interview. Although this may be the goal of the author, it is not everyday that someone gets to peek into the lives of some of the world's most successful people. Overall though, I highly reccomend the book.
  
  

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