The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World without Losing Your Way ebook

by Hillary Rettig

Hillary Rettig Politics and Government English

The best way I can answer is by recommending a book, The Lifelong Activist by Hillary Rettig. This book teaches time management, the importance of appearance, and how to get inside the system you want to change

The best way I can answer is by recommending a book, The Lifelong Activist by Hillary Rettig. Richard Stallman, MacArthur Fellow and Founder and President, Free Software Foundation. If I had but one book to spend hard-earned cash on this year, this one would be it, hands down. This book teaches time management, the importance of appearance, and how to get inside the system you want to change.

The Lifelong Activist book. The book's sections are: Managing Your Mission The Lifelong Activist is a guide to living a joyful and productive life that includes a strong progressive mission. It offers simple and clear instructions that help you figure out the form your authentic life should take, and live that life with a maximum of joy and productivity, and a minimum of fear, guilt and shame.

The Lifelong Activist is a guide to living a joyful and productive life that includes a strong progressive mission

The Lifelong Activist is a guide to living a joyful and productive life that includes a strong progressive mission.

As a fellow activist, author Hillary Rettig knows how grinding and stressful activism can be; those who devote . If you are, then The Lifelong Activist will help.

As a fellow activist, author Hillary Rettig knows how grinding and stressful activism can be; those who devote their time and energy (indeed, much of their lives) to correcting the many injustices in the world are subject to stress, exhaustion, and even burnout. Luckily, Ms. Rettig - who is or has been active in a number of progressive issues, including feminism, labor, animal rights, and vegetarianism - is also a business coach.

The Lifelong Activist is a guide to living a joyful and productive life that includes a strong . The book's sections are: Managing Your Mission (figuring out your authentic mission). Please tell us how we can improve it. Cancel.

The Lifelong Activist is a guide to living a joyful and productive life that includes a strong progressive mission. Managing Your Time (building a schedule that allows you to realize that mission).

Author: Rettig, Hillary.

Welcome to the Web home of my book, The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way (Lantern Books, 2006)

Welcome to the Web home of my book, The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way (Lantern Books, 2006). It is based on my many years’ experience as an activist and coach: work in which I learned which personal habits, thoughts and beliefs tend to help people succeed at ambitious goals, and which don’t. The Lifelong Activist encompasses all I have learned, and recasts it for use by progressive activists, organizers, educators and others.

The best way I can answer is by recommendin. he Lifelong Activist. Richard Stallman, Founder of the Free Software movement and MacArthur Fellow. Global warming, poverty, homelessness, or other pressing problems; take your pick-and then use the organizing and time-management tools in The Lifelong Activist to change the world.

The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way by Hillary Rettig (2006) Many books for activists talk strategy, but how many focus on how to integrate activism into your life in a mindful, healthy way? Rettig’s book explores issues such as finding your mission.

The Lifelong Activist" is clearly written and a pleasure to read. But reading it is the easy part

The Lifelong Activist" is clearly written and a pleasure to read. But reading it is the easy part. Hillary Rettig, the author, is an animal activist who periodically refers to "companion animals" (the non-hierarchical version of "pets," I suppose), and the book reminds me of having a friendly but persistent snout being wedged into my hand to remind me that it's time to get off the couch and out the door. I read this book, as I am an aspiring full time animal activist. What I realized is that you don't have to be an activist of any kind to read and utilize this book's many, invaluable insights and recommendations.

The Lifelong Activist is a guide to living a joyful and productive life that includes a strong progressive mission. It offers simple and clear instructions that help you figure out the form your authentic life should take, and live that life with a maximum of joy and productivity, and a minimum of fear, guilt and shame. The book's sections are: Managing Your Mission (figuring out your authentic mission) Managing Your Time (building a schedule that allows you to realize that mission) Managing Your Fears (beating perfectionism, procrastination and blocks to success, so you can follow your schedule) Managing Your Relationships (leveraging your strengths with those of others) The Lifelong Activist is for liberal activists, artists, campaign workers, labor organizers, volunteers, students, teachers, human services workers, and entrepreneurs, but anyone can use it and learn from it. It can act as a useful handbook for students and young people at the beginning of their careers; those contemplating a career or path change; and those at risk for burnout will find it particularly useful.

Mavegelv

I loved this book! It helped me transition from a punk/hippie/scenster to a professional. Now instead of blabbering about my ideals to deaf ears, I am the manager of vegetarian cafe that is growing into a chain and creating the change I want to see in the world. I feel like this book was a big help in that transition.

This book teaches time management, the importance of appearance, and how to get inside the system you want to change.

I loved it so much that I loaned it out many times, and have had to purchase a second copy!

SiIеnt

This book is water for the thirsty, parched soul of an activist. I agree with the positive comments made by other reviewers.

I have one sticking point: Her coverage of burnout. Ms. Rettig admits that she comes from a business background and that some people will not like that perspective. I am one of those. Only on this one issue, but it's a big one for me.

I do not agree, as she says, that the most common cause of burnout is "living a life in conflict with your values and needs." She qualifies her statement by prefacing it with "PERHAPS the most common.." The word "perhaps" means this is her unsupported opinion. I hope that activists who are suffering from burnout will seek and consider other information of a more psychological nature.

The life-values notion absolutely did not resonate with me. Think about an environmental activist who gets overwhelmed and has to quit the cause. Is the person more likely to quit, for example, because he feels no hope that he and those like him will ever be able to stop the butchering of the planet and we are all going to die as a result OR because he is ashamed and confused that he can't find solar housing in his neighborhood or toilet tissue from recycled materials? Hmmm.

Her thesis on burnout can mislead people who are experiencing it and interfere with their finding solutions. Every professional puts their spin on a problem, but pertinent research suggests that activists experience burnout when they become overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems with which they deal. The pain and sorrow seem endless and you just get to the point of emotional and physical fatigue. It's the trying to empty the ocean with a paper cup idea. Embedded in her notes section is a brief mention of compassion fatigue, which she implies is a precursor to burnout. I accept that; some experts consider it synonymous.

Later in the book, she talks about people being hypersensitive, which I found interesting and applicable. A great resource on hypersensitivity is:The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You

Her time and resource management information is really good. A great book if you are losing yourself because of your cause--not taking care of your time, money, and so forth. She provides some interesting assessments and gives important information to get you to look at what you and those around you are focusing on. This is essential information to keep all kinds of resources from being scattered and squandered. Yours and your organization's.

I found that her use of the feminine pronoun interfered with smooth reading of the material. I am not proud of that, and I fully respect and support her decision to do it. If more people did it, it wouldn't do that. Take heed. I found her one page "chapters" humorous. Why call one page of material that is related to the previous or next page another chapter?

We need more books to help activists. We all care about something, and we mustn't lose ourselves as we try to make improvements. We are all activists of one sort or another, and there is much work to do. This is a necessary tool for your arsenal. This book has much to offer in an area where little help is found.

Galubel

Having worked in the animal rights 'sector' for several years and met many dedicated campaigners and some that have fallen along the way, this book is essential reading for anyone that is passionate about making change in the world. There is no doubt that it's not something that comes about overnight - the Lifelong Activist recognises this and gives essential advice to enable you to stay on track, not burn out, become effective every day and not lose your focus or your health, family, relationships, resources, and all the things that can get lost along the way when fighting for justice.
Animal rights, the environment, social justice issues - if you are involved in making society a better place - society needs people like you and most of us need a book like this to put it into perspective and make us all effective people for the long term.

Change requires time and dedication and "The Lifelong Activist" will help you achieve balance in your own life and effectiveness in your campaign in the long term.

Kikora

This is an excellent book for anyone involved in the areas of social service, social activism or non-profit work. It is very easy to lose yourself when working for the good of others, and this book helps you keep perspective and sanity in your personal life. I have one for myself, and I have given three to friends who all say it is a lifesaver!

Karg

Not only is this a great book and very helpful, but Hillary is great as well. I contacted her and she helped me manage my activism and life needs.