Creating a Life You'll Love: Notable Achievers Offer Their Secrets for Happiness

by Mark Chimsky-Lustig, Mark Evan Chimsky

This inspiring collection, drawn from the best commencement speeches of recent years, is the perfect gift for anyone venturing out on their own for the first time or making a new life transition. Notable contributors reveal important life lessons about navigating successfully through life and being true to oneself. As Molly Ivins advised, "Raise hell - big time!" Their advice is illuminating, surprising, thought-provoking, and funny. Creating a Life You'll Love is essential reading for everyone who is seeking the secret to living life wisely and well.

Genres: Nonfiction

248 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2009

About the author

Mark Chimsky is Editor-in-Chief of the book division of Sellers Publishing. For eight years, he ran his own editorial consulting business. Previously he was executive editor and editorial director of Harper San Francisco and headed the paperback divisions at Little, Brown and Macmillan. In addition, he was on the faculty of New York University’s Center for Publishing and for three years he served as the director of the book section of NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute. He has edited a number of bestselling books, including Johnny Cash's memoir, Cash, and he has worked with such notable authors as Melody Beattie, Arthur Hertzberg, Beryl Bender Birch, and Robert Coles. His editorial achievements have been noted in Vanity Fair, The Nation, and Publishers Weekly. He is an award-winning poet whose poetry and essays have appeared in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association), Three Rivers Poetry Journal, Mississippi Review, and the PBS Web site, Next Avenue. He is also a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. For Sellers Publishing, he has developed and compiled the anthologies, Creating a Business You'll Love, Creating a Meal You'll Love, Creating a Marriage You'll Love, and Creating a Life You'll Love, which won the silver in ForeWord Review's 2009 Book of the Year Awards (self-help category). His most recent collection, 65 Things to Do When You Retire, was recently named by the Wall Street Journal as "[one] of the year's best guides to later life."

Reviews

[Angie Fehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Formerly an editor for publishing houses Harper and Little, Brown & MacMillian, Mark Chimsky-Lustig is now an award winning poet and regular contributor to Huffington Post. In this first volume (of a series of themed essay collections he's compiled), Chimsky-Lustig brings together the commencement speeches of numerous successful people in the arts and sciences -- Barbara Kingsolver, Tom Hanks, Anna Quindlen, David McCullough, Ken Burns, Tess Gerritsen... just to name a few. Within their speeches, the reader is given words of inspiration and encouragement to go out and grasp the life of their dreams. Though originally geared at college students, readers of any age can likely find something uplifting within these pages.

A rundown of the essay highlights:

* Barbara Kingsolver encourages you to find and develop a sense of community, wherever you plant yourself.
* David McCollough urges you to not only learn facts, but to honestly comprehend them.Take them in, use them to teach you empathy for others. Make learning a passion central to your life. Do work that you believe in, work that energizes you. And always work on expanding your vocabulary.
* Molly Ivins says to raise a ruckus, have fun, and express gratitude to those who have helped you along the way to your successes.
* Anna Deavere Smith reminds you that live requires stamina, perseverance and flexibility. She, like Quindlen, encourages you to find a community to bolster you while you're on your life's journey. She also reminds you that life is rarely clear cut, black and white... so don't fear those grey areas.
* Tom Friedman, like many others in this collection, urges you to find work you love, pay attention, be a good listener, and "learn how to learn" -- learn to love the process of learning, don't get caught up in the instant gratification that gadgetry brings, but learn to enjoy more manual processes simply for the experience it offers. He also points out that healthy skepticism is good, but not when it veers into deep cynicism, so watch for that. Oh, and call your parents once in awhile, yeah?
* Genevieve Bell says to live in the present. Allow yourself to be vulnerable once in awhile and also keep yourself open to the opportunity to be surprised by life from time to time! Be honest, be brave, and don't be afraid to admit that you don't know everything. :-)
* Karen Tse inspires by reminding that "chaos precedes creation", so don't lose hope when things get messy. Embrace doing small things with great love. Approach your hardships with courage and the determination to overcome.
* Ken Burns, legendary historian / documentary filmmaker -- no surprise here -- wants you to learn your history to prepare for your future (not just your personal family history but history at large, that is). He also recommends that you NOT pigeonhole yourself into too specific a skill set, keep things flexible to broaden your potential opportunities and experiences. Pursue quality over quantity, overall excellence over momentary successes. Have your heroes but also strive to be one for someone else. Write hand-written letters of love and thanks. Journal your thoughts. Always practice communication! Live a life of service. Develop and maintain an unwavering enthusiasm for life. He also echoes Friedman's thoughts on skeptics vs. cynics.
* Ray Kurzweil echoes the others, urging you to find work that honestly challenges and inspires you. Learn knowledge, but also create it. Don't give up. Don't give in.
* Dana Goia's speech focuses on the importance of having a love of the arts in your life. Not just for the individual, but also for the human race as a whole.
* Muhammad Yunus points out that rather than following crowds, you should define and follow your own path, embrace your own uniqueness. Become socially / globally aware and pursue global action towards making the world better through small, manageable everyday actions.
* Harold Prince wants you to pursue social activism. Make your mark immersive, be active out in the world rather than just blogging or tweeting about something. Pursue art for art's sake.
* Wendell Berry urges you to be a fearless, self-determined, self-starting, consciously aware being who embraces individual thought. Pursue constant education of the self, but also remember not to make work all-consuming in your life, make room for play and silliness as well.
* Anna Quindlen says to be fearless and to welcome differences between yourself and others. Celebrate variety in life!
* David Levering Lewis encourages you to pursue constant self-education. Always be on the pursuit of knowledge in not only arts but also science, technology, and democracy. Don't just blindly follow someone or something for the sake of going with the crowd!
* Tess Gerritsen gives you the solid advice to surround yourself with good, honest people. Don't muck up your workplace with bitterness or petty gossip. Read constantly. Educate yourself on current world affairs. Take yourself out of your comfort zone from time to time. Experiment with things completely foreign to you (because you just never know what might be your next favorite thing!). Don't be afraid of failing or changing your mind career-wise because it's not unlikely that you could have at least 2-3 career changes within your lifetime.
* Tom Hanks -- his whole speech is amazing but the overall message is to just live a life of service, to make yourself helpful where you can and to be kind.


Okay, Hanks' speech flat out put a knot in my throat. But also among my favorites were the ones by David McCullough, Anna Quindlen, Barbara Kingsolver (my second favorite in this collection, I'd say) and Ken Burns. There were a few that personally struck me as a tad bit on the phoned in side -- Molly Ivins' speech had a good message but something about it felt a little too over the top for my tastes. Overall though, an incredibly heartwarming collection! So much so that after finishing this book, I immediately got online and ordered all the others in the series. Perfect gift book for any graduate or anyone, really, who is needing a boost in spirit or motivation!

Something to note about this series -- with each book in the collection, all profits from the book are given to a different charity. With Creating a Life You'll Love, all proceeds were sent to organizations dedicated to HIV / AIDS research & education.

It was also neat to learn that Barbara Kingsolver was the creator of the Bellweather Prize for fiction. Had no idea!

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read half of this book, but I wasn't really getting out of it what I had hoped. The author has accumulated college graduation speeches and, while they are surely inspirational for someone just heading out into the world. They aren't quite what I had been looking for (I'm well past college graduation age).

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the commencement speeches. The speakers were successful in their fields and had solid stories. The is not “follow your dreams” fluff stuff.

[John Orman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this inspiring book, Tom Hanks, Ken Burns, and many other super-achievers give us their lessons on achieving success and happiness.

Drawn from commencement addresses given at universities around the United States, the wisdom doled out here is free, but priceless. I hope those listening graduates took the words to heart.

Sometimes the speech title alone tells you a lot:

"How to be Hopeful" Barbara Kingsolver

"The Love of Learning" David McCullough

"Go Forth Unafraid" Molly Ivins
"Get out there and raise hell about damned near everything."

"Listen to your Heart" Thomas Friedman
"Do what you really love to do, and cultivate the ability to learn to learn."

"The Approach of Danger" Ken Burns
"Insist on having a past and then you will have a future."


"With Apologies to the Gettysburg Address" Harold Prince
"Visible social activism beats blogging every time."


"Be Not Afraid" Anna Quindlen
"The voices of conformity speak so loudly out there. Don't listen to them. People will tell you what you ought to think and how you ought to feel. They will tell you what to read and how to live. They will urge you to follow safe paths that they themselves find tedious."

"The ultimate act of bravery doesn't usually take place on the battlefield. It takes place in the your heart when you have the courage to honor your character, your intellect, your inclinations, and your soul by listening to its clean, clear voice of direction instead of following the muddied messages of a timid world."


"The Creepy Biological Facts of Life" Tess Gerritsen
"From this day forward, every single day of your life, you must read a newspaper."

"Be critical about what you consume from the media. Because what you put in your brains is as important as what you put into your mouth. Whether food or information, insist on the truth. Don't swallow propaganda."

"Don't waste a single planting season. Plant the seeds of your future now by nurturing every interest, every hobby. And always have something new growing, something you've never tried to grow before. Because you never know. It could end up being the most beautiful plant in your garden. Now go out and start planting."

"The Power of Four" Tom Hanks
"Not a bit of advice, but a plea. Help. We need help. Your help. You must help. Please help. Help ... and you will make a huge impact in the life of the street, the town, the country, and our planet. Help bring reason and respect to discourse and debate. Help science to solve and faith to soothe. Help and you will abolish apathy--the void that is so quickly filled by ignorance and evil."

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not at all what I was expecting or what the cover advertised. Instead of a book of wise words and life advice from notable people, this was a book of political statements and personal beliefs under the camouflage of graduation addresses. There were two stories that I liked and was able to take something from. Unfortunately they were the last two. Tess Gerritsen had an interesting format (advice based on "5 creepy biological facts of life") with sound advice. I might actually seek out some of her novels. And who wouldn't love advice from Tom Hanks? (I read the chapter with his voice in my head). His points about the Power of Four were quite interesting and empowering. Other than these two portions, I wasn't a big fan.

[Rachel Bayles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compilation of commencement addresses. Surprisingly excellent and inspirational.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the speaches by Barbara Kingsolver and Tess Gerritsen the best. Very motivating in a time where I'm losing my job due to the organization dissolving and having to find another soon.

[Charissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some speeches I found particularly inspiring were those of Ken Burns, Dana Gioia, Anna Quindlen, and Tom Hanks.