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Before I Went Out into the Real World
by Maria ShriverA pithy, poignant, down-to-earth, and at times laugh-out-loud book that will help people of all ages and on all roads in life.
You could call them notes from life's trenches. Maria Shriver's TEN
THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN--BEFORE I WENT OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD gives us her
reflections, confessions, advice, memories, and, most of all, hard-earned
lessons...all the things we wish we knew before we started out, and that few
people ever honestly discuss.
Here is the truth about: the price we pay for giving in to our fears, as well
as the relief we feel when we finally face them; the humiliation of swallowing
our ego so that we can learn from an abusive experience; the rewards of taking
risks and the pain of failure; the joy of finding someone we can love and the
limitations of every relationship; how it's never too late to tap the wisdom of
others, even (especially!) our own parents; and the importance of taking what we
do seriously without taking ourselves seriously.
Expanded from Maria's acclaimed College of the Holy Cross commencement
address and written in the voice of a trusted and trusting best friend, TEN
THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN--BEFORE I WENT OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD is a pithy,
poignant, down-to-earth, and at times laugh-out-loud book that will help people
of all ages and on all roads in life.
It's within you to carve out your own future, create your own destiny.
I wrote this book so that you might be spared. Not from having to learn the
lessons I had to learn. No one can spare you that, because learning is
experiential, and you have to do it yourself. As a wise person once told me: If
I could spare you the pain you're experiencing, I wouldn't--because I wouldn't
want to deprive you of the strength and wisdom you'll gain from having gone
through it and come out the other side.
Each and every one of you is a powerful, resilient human being capable of
living the life you design for yourself. I wish all of you the faith and the
courage to pinpoint your passion.
Chapter One
First and Foremost: Pinpoint Your Passion
Be honest with
yourself about it. Really think about what you're interested in. What
you enjoy, what captures your imagination and gets your brain going.
What YOU want to do — not what you believe your parents or your teachers
or society or your four brothers think you should do.
When I graduated back in 1977, all I wanted to do was anchor a
network TV show. Everyone thought I was nuts. My parents' friends told
me to get a grip on myself and go to law school until I could figure out
what I really wanted to do. Others suggested I should catch the wave
that was surely going to wash up on Wall Street. My girlfriends all
wanted to go to the big city, get an apartment together, and have a
blast. Still other people told me to get out of denial, stop fighting
the family tradition, and go into politics. All legitimate...
If you liked Ten Things I Wish I'd Known, try these:
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No pleasure is worth giving up for the sake of two more years in a geriatric home.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!