I received Don’t Keep Your Day Job as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. The title is set to publish in November 2019, and you may know Heller from the Don’t Keep Your Day Job Podcast.

Heller is all about following your creative dreams and living your life happily to your fullest artist potential. This purpose on earth ranges from making cupcakes or teaching yoga online to starting a blog or selling pottery.

I find Heller to be highly relevant and inspirational. She teaches bloggers how to build community, reach out to target and end buyers, and even brings into the mix self-discovery and meditation.

Her book gives scenarios of everyday people like you and me making their dreams come true. Heller also discusses and interviews big-name podcasters, bloggers, and entrepreneurs to demonstrate how you can replicate their success.

Anyone can do it.

If you journal or write down your goals, you will love Heller’s prompts.

The idea behind Don’t keep your day job sounds very appealing to me. I was very interested and eager to start reading and get that fire burning to take some of the next steps I’ve been aching for. However, the book fell flat for me. It wasn’t really new or unique and already being familiar with some of the stories she shares, I just didn’t feel inspired or excited.

3 Stars! This book is a little inspirational but also a bit depressing too! I liked all the inspirational stories of people that turned their passions into their career, but it also made me feel like I haven’t done my best in life since my dream career is still just that... a dream! If you’re looking for real guidance and steps to follow, this isn’t the book you want. Maybe it gets better though- I didn’t finish the whole book.
*I received this book to read and review at no charge from the publisher and I gave my honest opinion.*

The first half of this book was somewhat useless to me. I also found this book to be riddled with millennial cliches such as "find your tribe." I found myself rolling my eyes frequently. There was good advice mixed throughout the book, but it was painful to get through the lingo that has become so rampant in the social media culture. I really did appreciate that the author discussed being in alignment and seemed to be supporting a holistic lifestyle. That resonated deeply with me. Overall, I feel that this book is perfect for someone who might be just graduating college.

I can understand the allure of the book for some people but, for me, it was lackluster at best. The first part of the book was an introduction to the author that immediately reminded me of the start of an MLM presentation or another "here's my story...I was just like you before I ..." spill that so many people give when they try to influence people. Some of the advice is okay, but most of it is unrealistic and assumes that one wants to become an influencer rather than pursue their own interests and leave others to theirs. This just wasn't a book that I would recommend to others.

From the host of the popular podcast of the same name, is a new November 2019 book release about turning your passion into a career. As a blogger, I love reading about how to make my business more profitable, so I was curious to see what tips Heller had to share.

Honestly, the first half of the book was a waste of my time. The books starts with tons of generic advice about finding your passion and realizing money isn't evil. I almost consigned this book to my DNF pile.

Luckily, I kept reading because chapters 7, 8 and 10 were chock full of actual usable information. I found myself highlighting sections left and right with concrete advice and great examples of marketing tactics. If you have a side hustle you are trying to make successful, just skip the first half and solely read the chapters on growing your tribe, expanding your influence and teaching/running a podcast. Everywhere else you'll just find inspirational fluff.

DON'T KEEP YOUR DAY JOB is a wonderful for those who have a dream or the rest of us who could stand to jump-start our lives. Highly motivating and fun to read, this would be a great book to give to a college student who is not sure what they want to do with their lives.

I was delighted to receive a galley of Don't Keep Your Day Jon from #netgalley. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the book. Reading about others success in following their passions was inspiring to read, but the book doesn't motivate me. If the purpose was to read about how others have followed their passion was the goal, then the book succeeded. The book is unrealistic for the regular person. Following your passion is great, but we must be realistic while doing so. There is great advice in the book and good stories but I would not pick it up if you are looking for steps that the regular person can follow.

Don't Keep Your Day Job appealed to me as someone who has turned my hobby of portrait photography into a career in a more unique way. I now worked a digital photo editor for other photographers which has allowed me to use the parts of photography I really enjoy without going the more traditional route of having my own portrait photography business.

Don't Keep Your Day Job really resonated with me in so many ways. The book was super engaging and read like a Jen Sincero book which, I personally, really connect with. It is encouraging but also a kick in the butt when you need it, and I think that is the perfect balance for a self-help kind of book in this particular genre.

I loved how Heller alternated between feedback and personal stories of people who have taken this advice to heart and have had great success. I found her writing style to be relatable and also realistic. This book helped me feel motivated but also didn't make me feel alone with some of the struggles you might encounter along the way.

A big thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Pros: This book reads more like a success story book for those looking to find out about other people's lives. It doesn't motivate you to get started on your own. Frankly, I felt worse after reading this book. Although it tried to inspire the reader to branch out on their own, it completely missed the mark. I’m so happy for the entrepreneurs listed in the book, but it’s just not reality for the majority. If you are a single parent, then working for yourself without looking back, is just not an option. Realistically, we need to transition into something like this instead. This is not a book for the masses.

Cons: It’s not realistic or feasible, but it was entertaining to read. It’s nice to read about others making it in this tough world, but there were no steps to success being offered in this book. This is why I scored this book so low.

Don't Keep Your Day Job: How to Turn Your Passion into Your Career by Cathy Heller was a look at how to turn the stuff you love into a job. It's based off a podcast of the same name, but I hadn't listened before. That said, I plan on listening now that I know the spin and information available! This book was just a really good pep talk for me. I liked how it was a blend of advice, experience, and action steps. It was a summary of the best stuff from podcast guests the author had on and had learned for herself. Then, there was also some journal prompts and summaries of points to make the information shared more actionable. More importantly, this piece of the book made the ideas shared something that you could actually made happen. I also really appreciated how the offer framed up how we each have passion and purpose, and we should work to bring that to life more. Rather than making these interests something we do after hours or side hustle, this is about find how to dedicate the best of our time and energy into making this our primary gig. I also really dug how this one took on some of the barriers and excuses we use. The reality is those will always be there, and we have to figure out how to overcome them. This is one I am planning to revisit, as it's definitely a topic I need to explore for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the early preview of this November 2019 release!