The Adventures of Johnny Bunko

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need might actually be that very thing. It's short. It's clear. It's fun to read (it looks just like a Japanese comic book). And, like all useful guides, it's easy to understand. Nothing really deep, until you really think about it. And it's written by Daniel Pink, author of the best-selling A Whole New Mind.

The entire guide consists of 6, easy-to-digest lessons:

1. There is no plan. (The best career plan is ad hoc. When the diem comes, you just have to carpe it.)
2. Think strengths, not weaknesses. (Pink even alludes to our much-vaunted philosopher of fun Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)
3. It's not about you. (Serving others serves you best)
4. Persistence trumps talent. (Think "long haul")
5. Make excellent mistakes. (Think big)
6. Leave an imprint. (Do something that matters)

Of course, nothing is easy. Each of these lessons can take a lifetime to pursue and understand (which is exactly what makes the guide so useful). On the other hand, these lessons are rooted in a very enlightened pragmatism, and for someone who is searching to create a life of meaningful work, they are as useful as understanding how to create a life of meaningful play.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is such an easy, entertaining, enjoyable read, and its lessons so clearly and playfully illustrated, that it's easy to overlook what a significant accomplishment this little book really is. You can read it in a half-hour, you can spend the rest of your life putting it into practice - a practice that comes from the heart, a practice whose wisdom leads the reader towards self-actualization, towards lasting, personal fulfillment. In establishing principles for a better living, Johnny Bunko guides readers to a more satisfying and meaningful life. And it's fun, too.


from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith