The overarching impression I get when reading Dan Miller’s books is someone spread a bit too thin. He has good ideas and his writing style is easy to digest, but his books lack the punch or insight I’m expecting.
His website is not very well organized and it is difficult to find things even when you know they are there because his books mention them. I was looking for the online appendix for No More Mondays and it wasn’t at the URL listed in the book nor did I find it on the website. I ended up tracking it down in a blog elsewhere by doing a Google search and the comments are not very positive on the quality or timeliness of the links.
All the same, I think this is more because Dan might be doing too much with too few support people than I think his information is bad. My guess is that he would be an excellent career counselor and a good public speaker. Maybe I’m just expecting too much tailor-made information from books that must be general purpose.
I’ve read both 48 Days to the Work You Love and No More Mondays. They provide some good solid ideas but only a couple of items have made a lasting impression on me. Most of the content is stuff I’ve heard many times before or is common sense. There are literally only two or three take-away statistics or concepts for me from both books combined.
Having just finished reading No More Mondays, I can say that I almost didn’t make it through the first half of the book. I didn’t think I was going to get anything out of it, but by the end it had me thinking about concepts I had let slip by the wayside in my career search. The last couple of chapters are well worth reading if you are looking for a new career.
It also provided a nice statistic. It presented the idea that you are most likely to become a millionaire if you are a business owner – roughly seven times more likely than if you are senior level executive, doctor, lawyer or other traditionally high paying job.
Overall, I cannot strongly recommend either of these books, but don’t feel that they are a waste of time either.
Jason Patz 