This is an excellent guide for anyone taking a less than straightforward path through life (which includes just about everyone). Though the subtitle aims at artists, the life-planning and career guidance methods provided can be used by anyone. One of the things that I love about her method is that it can be used again and again throughout one's life and new factors insert themselves or priorities shift. Lloyd essentially provides one with an evaluation and implementation process. And calling it a "method" is misleading. What she provides is a set of tools to use in the service of the process. She emphasizes that each person must tailor their own path and use the tools which work best for who they are and the kind of life they're wanting to create. The book contains wonderful interviews with people who have crafted unusual lives.

Lloyd gave me a real eye-opening experience with her personality types. I had never had anyone nail dead-on my mental process of idea generation (and forgetfulness), it's positives and pitfalls. This alone sold me on the book (which was given to me by a career counselor who sensed I was a "creative type") but what keep is on my shelf is how usable it is over and over again (it was very helpful after a major illness). I love it. I have given it to others and I have gone through it with others to help them get focused on what they want and plan what they need to do to get closer to the life they want. ( )

Excellent, intelligent, practical guide to designing your life to combine your creativity and your sustenance. For folks trying to make a living as an artist, it's a great resource; for people who want to change careers or find a way to incorporate creativity into the rest of their life it's an equally great resource. Lloyd shows you how to make space in your life for your creative pursuits, whatever they might be. The book is structured as a weekly program, but the advice and exercises are useful even if you don't follow the sequence. I found it more useful than The Artist's Way.

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