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Why You Can't Be Anything You Want to Be
Based on the idea that every person is endowed from birth with a unique pattern of competencies and motivations, or giftedness, this book describes your Motivated Abilities Pattern (MAP) which indicates your personal giftedness and encourages you to pursue your unique calling and live a purposeful life that is highly productive and richly satisfying.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 17, 2014
I really liked this book, despite two frustrating perspectives of the author that I disagree with, which I'll discuss in a minute.
Art Miller's argument is summed up neatly in his long-ish title - you can't be anything you want to be, because each person, with their unique design, is only tailormade (by God) for a handful of vocations that might fit their personal MAP. In order to find your personal MAP, Miller proposes following an easy 3-step process in order to figure out the interaction between one's a) abilities, b) preferred topic of study or 'subject matter' c)circumstances that you operate best in d) operating relationships e) motivational payoff, as well as figuring out your preferred learning style.
Miller is all about customization, of learning, careers, religious experience. He admits, briefly, that this requires a lot of effort to coordinate by teachers, bosses, and pastors - which is a huge understatement that I think he glosses over too quickly. His style is incredibly direct and somewhat pompous. He also wrote his bio on Sima international to include this phrase "As founder of what is now SIMA International Inc, Art Miller solved much of the mystery of our nature as individuals and made significant advances in our understanding of God." Really. http://simainternational.com/our-team...
I'd be really upset with the man, and probably wouldn't have finished his book because this pompous tone bleeds into his writing, except that his methodology is decent.
That said, the two things that really irk me can't be ignored.
1) He certainly seems to lumps all psychological testing into a pile of crap - when in fact - his own perspective is representative of certain psychological schools of thought - eg: positive psychology. He shouldn't have, and no one else should, throw the baby out with the bathwater. He doesn't like (some of) personality psychology - but he also doesn't seem very familiar with other sections of personality psychology that match up with his ideas. He only takes the time to hold certain assessments to standards they were never designed to be held too, and he believes that they are too rigid and narrow minded. He also neglects to understand that there is a robust literature regarding the interaction of personality and social psychology. That is, how individuals are influenced by their environment. He also neglects to realize that the whole topic of motivation is also well studied by psychologist. In short - I think he's working off hunches in a lot of material he may not be completely familiar with.
2) I'm a Christian, and I appreciate that Miller wrote his book with the idea of God as intelligent designer in mind, that he created people in specific ways for specific work. Go Protestant Work Ethic! And yes, I sign on to the idea that being a Jesus follower means taking that orientation into every aspect of life: school, work, home - a 7-day Christian. BUT! As soon as Miller started going on about how 'it is a sin to accept or remain in a position that you 'know' is a mismatch for you.'(115) He lost me. That type of blanket statement is inappropriate and totally outside Miller's ability to make. He might be able to make that statement in certain case by case situations, but definitely not as a universally condemnatory statement.
Art Miller's argument is summed up neatly in his long-ish title - you can't be anything you want to be, because each person, with their unique design, is only tailormade (by God) for a handful of vocations that might fit their personal MAP. In order to find your personal MAP, Miller proposes following an easy 3-step process in order to figure out the interaction between one's a) abilities, b) preferred topic of study or 'subject matter' c)circumstances that you operate best in d) operating relationships e) motivational payoff, as well as figuring out your preferred learning style.
Miller is all about customization, of learning, careers, religious experience. He admits, briefly, that this requires a lot of effort to coordinate by teachers, bosses, and pastors - which is a huge understatement that I think he glosses over too quickly. His style is incredibly direct and somewhat pompous. He also wrote his bio on Sima international to include this phrase "As founder of what is now SIMA International Inc, Art Miller solved much of the mystery of our nature as individuals and made significant advances in our understanding of God." Really. http://simainternational.com/our-team...
I'd be really upset with the man, and probably wouldn't have finished his book because this pompous tone bleeds into his writing, except that his methodology is decent.
That said, the two things that really irk me can't be ignored.
1) He certainly seems to lumps all psychological testing into a pile of crap - when in fact - his own perspective is representative of certain psychological schools of thought - eg: positive psychology. He shouldn't have, and no one else should, throw the baby out with the bathwater. He doesn't like (some of) personality psychology - but he also doesn't seem very familiar with other sections of personality psychology that match up with his ideas. He only takes the time to hold certain assessments to standards they were never designed to be held too, and he believes that they are too rigid and narrow minded. He also neglects to understand that there is a robust literature regarding the interaction of personality and social psychology. That is, how individuals are influenced by their environment. He also neglects to realize that the whole topic of motivation is also well studied by psychologist. In short - I think he's working off hunches in a lot of material he may not be completely familiar with.
2) I'm a Christian, and I appreciate that Miller wrote his book with the idea of God as intelligent designer in mind, that he created people in specific ways for specific work. Go Protestant Work Ethic! And yes, I sign on to the idea that being a Jesus follower means taking that orientation into every aspect of life: school, work, home - a 7-day Christian. BUT! As soon as Miller started going on about how 'it is a sin to accept or remain in a position that you 'know' is a mismatch for you.'(115) He lost me. That type of blanket statement is inappropriate and totally outside Miller's ability to make. He might be able to make that statement in certain case by case situations, but definitely not as a universally condemnatory statement.
November 19, 2007
i thought this was interesting, again because it was a new idea. The concept of the book (similar to theories of people like Parker Palmer) is that you can't BE anything you want to be because you're wired in a way that you're going to be best doing what you were made to do and everything else is going to be forced and not incredibly enjoyable. I liked that the discovery part of it wasn't TOO involved or complicated (in contrast to the daunting one in What color is Your Parachute)and I was actually able to discover new things about myself and what I'm GOOD at. Also, since it is based on my experiences and not a multiple-choice test, I'm not left wondering if I answered them completely right, or if I would have done it differently a second time.
One thing I didn't like.. was the ridiculous detail. He made his point and then made his point 1000 more times, which seemed a little unnecessary. The book wouldn't have lost impact at half the length.
One thing I didn't like.. was the ridiculous detail. He made his point and then made his point 1000 more times, which seemed a little unnecessary. The book wouldn't have lost impact at half the length.
June 6, 2008
So simple in its outlook and gameplan for figuring out who we are as people, and more importantly who we are as workers. The literature also has some interesting perspectives to offer on how various institutions and areas of life could be different... could be revolutionized, in fact, were we to consider the methods and meanings embedded in God's design for we the workers.
August 9, 2023
Based on the title I was expecting this book to be a bit snarky, then I read the first chapter and realized "Wait a minute, you really can't be anything you want!" The reasoning, data collection, and presentation is compelling. Further, as you read it, you can't help but think of all the different aspects in your own life that might not be the right match and need some tweaking so that you are not only moderately happy in life, but also satisfied, fulfilled, and thriving. Who doesn't want that. In all honesty this is probably one of the better 'Be Your Best Self' books I've read, and it doesn't matter that it is decades old either. The subject base is timeless and if more people read this, I think everyone would be better off.
March 23, 2021
Profoundly helpful in helping you to find your giftedness. Know your uniqueness and find your path for life.
February 16, 2016
In a deeply evangelical Christian book (although he is honest about his worldview, is careful not to foist it on others), Miller makes the very solid point that “being anything you want to be” is not possible. We are all simply not equipped the same. But, says Miller, we are all “gifted” by God with natural abilities, etc. that can allow us to excel and experience extreme satisfaction in our work and lives. Miller goes so far to say that the abuse of your “giftedness” is what he would call sin. His company, People Management (http://www.sima-pmi.com, trains individuals and companies to use their system), has developed a process called SIMA, System for Identifying Motivated Abilities (a significantly extended version of Bernard Haldane’s System for Identifying Motivated Skills) that helps unearth the clues to one’s “giftedness” through developing narratives of personal achievement. Simply put, find the life experiences that brought you the most joy and satisfaction and identify the themes, skills, values, etc. that made them up and your gifts will become clearer. According to Miller, testing does not do it (in the appendix he has a short article on why they don’t work. I agree to some extent, but can see their value when used judiciously). He also asserts that you can begin to identify an individual’s giftedness at very early ages, gifts that remain as constants, key themes throughout life. This is, according to Miller, your MAP - Motivated Abilities Pattern, providing insights on 5 areas: Abilities, Subject Matter, Circumstances, Operating Relationships and Payoff.
His book cites numerous examples, as well as describing (in some detail) how this knowledge should transform work, education and religion (regardless of your affiliation or lack thereof). The end of the book includes rather comprehensive examples from individuals’ MAP reports as well as an extended list of Bible verses to support the case (most of them are pretty solid, a few a bit out of context, if you ask me). He also includes a step-by-step design for discovering your design and quotes from philosophers and others across 2500 years to make his case.
Some more detail on this system:
Three major steps:
1. Recall and summarize your achievements
2. Describe in detail what you did
3. Make an inventory of recurring themes
Motivated Abilities - Abilities you love to use
How you learn, evalute, prepare, take action, influence others
Motivating Subject Matter - Things you love to work with or through
Data, things, senses, living, ideas, mechanisms
Motivating Circumstances - Conditions of work, situations or settings that stimulate you to achieve
Trigger, visible, difficult, structured, measured, different
Operating Relationships - The way you prefer to work with others
Contributor, influencer, overseer / Hands off, collaborative, supportive
Payoff - The goal you love to work toward
Personal performance, impact/effect, dominion/power, achieve a goal, engage in a process
A fascinating yet somewhat intense book, with a lot to offer in considering what individuals “should be when they grow up.”
His book cites numerous examples, as well as describing (in some detail) how this knowledge should transform work, education and religion (regardless of your affiliation or lack thereof). The end of the book includes rather comprehensive examples from individuals’ MAP reports as well as an extended list of Bible verses to support the case (most of them are pretty solid, a few a bit out of context, if you ask me). He also includes a step-by-step design for discovering your design and quotes from philosophers and others across 2500 years to make his case.
Some more detail on this system:
Three major steps:
1. Recall and summarize your achievements
2. Describe in detail what you did
3. Make an inventory of recurring themes
Motivated Abilities - Abilities you love to use
How you learn, evalute, prepare, take action, influence others
Motivating Subject Matter - Things you love to work with or through
Data, things, senses, living, ideas, mechanisms
Motivating Circumstances - Conditions of work, situations or settings that stimulate you to achieve
Trigger, visible, difficult, structured, measured, different
Operating Relationships - The way you prefer to work with others
Contributor, influencer, overseer / Hands off, collaborative, supportive
Payoff - The goal you love to work toward
Personal performance, impact/effect, dominion/power, achieve a goal, engage in a process
A fascinating yet somewhat intense book, with a lot to offer in considering what individuals “should be when they grow up.”
November 30, 2015
Solid structural approach
Very easy to follow, guided, breakdown to help figure out who you really are: what actually interests and motivates you, how do you learn, what are you seeking, etc. If looking for help answering anything like it this would be one if my recommended resources.
Very easy to follow, guided, breakdown to help figure out who you really are: what actually interests and motivates you, how do you learn, what are you seeking, etc. If looking for help answering anything like it this would be one if my recommended resources.
June 28, 2012
Great presentation of everyone being gifted. Not sure I'm prepared to go as far as he does with implications of it. Lots of potential in what he has to say, wonder how we can do that in a broad spectrum sort of way.
January 13, 2016
Very good book. I really see the main point. God has made you special for something and that is not just any old thing you want to be.
Let's face it. I do not seem to have been made to play in the NBA, no matter how bad I wanted it.
Let's face it. I do not seem to have been made to play in the NBA, no matter how bad I wanted it.
August 22, 2007
one of the best books out there when it comes to getting to know yourself and how you work best.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews