Book Review: Betting on You by Laurie Reuttman

“You fix your world by fixing yourself first.” Laurie Ruettmann, Betting on You: How to Put Yourself First and (Finally) Take Control of Your Career, 2021

So I won this book as a giveaway on Goodreads and I picked it with my wife, Karen G Clemenson, in mind, over a year ago. It has sat waiting to be read and finally I decided that someone needed to read it and it was going to be me and you know what? I really liked it. I felt like, even if you weren’t interested in working for a corporation, owing a business or evening working outside the home, you could take away useful information to bring more balance to your life. Who doesn’t want more balance and peace in their life?

“Change begins by asking hard questions about your motivation, beliefs, desires, abilities, and limitations. Why do you make the choices you make? What are your values? How can you fix the fixable and let the rest go? What else or who else are you ignoring at the expense of work?

Nobody can answer these questions for you, you probably can’t answer them alone.” Laurie Ruettmann, Betting on You

Putting Yourself First Looks Like:

Not going to early morning meetings so you can take your kids to school.
Getting a personal trainer and gym membership.
Seeing a nutritionalist to learn mindfulness about eating habits.
Doing small changes to see what works to make you happy.
Getting more sleep and taking time off when needed.
Prioritizing self-care.

The statements we make about ourself help others make a reasonable judgement about us, but we are more than our occupation. Many people hide their trauma and abuse behind their work, but you can’t find true fulfillment until you can find healing in your personal life.

Work provides a means to provide but we must also focus on what makes us who we are; what makes us happy, like hobbies, relationships, community and self-care. One way to do this is to create a feeling of professional detachment — staying committed to your job and doing good work but redefining the role so it is not your sole identity.

“Work improves when everybody on a team aligns around a shared set of expectations but remains brave and courageous enough to challenge the status quo as necessary.” Laurie Ruettmann, Betting on You

How to Start a Successful Business/Personal Strategy:

Realize everything that can go wrong and make an action plan to answer all of those scenarios.
Visualize what you want.
Talk to people that do what you wan to to do.
Work on your self-care.

Harvard Business Review found that employees that learn at work experience less anxiety and stress. This makes a lot of sense to me. I am much happier when I am learning. That is why I love reading and sharing what I learn with you.

Most people cannot afford to just go job hunting and not worry about keeping the one they currently have. The bills must be paid. One thing to remember is that, even if you feel your current working experience has been abusive and taken your soul to the depths of hell, complaining is not going to make it better for you. Longview, Washington is not the only small town and in the business world, every city can seem small. Your current job has allowed you to pay the bills that are currently being paid and you have learned a few things. Even if all you can think about is that you want a new opportunity it won’t help you to sabotage yourself by bad-mouthing your co-workers and boss to anyone who will listen. Trust me your boss hearing every gripe you have about them will not help them tell your next potential boss good things about you when they check references…

How to Look for a New Job While Staying Employed:

Use personal wifi or anywhere else but work wifi to search for job contacts.
Make a list of dream companies you want to work for.
Read company reviews on Yelp, Google Reviews, Trust Pilot and Angie’s List. Use LinkedIn’s search bar to find mentions. Look for ex-employee’s blogs.
Make contact with anyone you might have met anywhere that works for these complains via phone or personal email.
Be upbeat and positive and ask open-ended questions.
If you feel confident in your contact ask them how to apply for a job with discretion. You might even ask for someone you can talk to confidentially.
If you don’t know anyone that can help you get connected to your dream company you will have to apply online like most people.
Always stay positive about your current job and boss because chances are word will get to them.
If your current boss questions you let them know you are still committed to your job, you were just curious about the market.

“…’always be living.’ Go out on a limb, try to learn (at least a little) each day, and always grow from your mistakes. Manage your money, be an advocate for yourself and master the ins and outs of being rejected.” Laurie Ruettmann, Betting on You

Putting yourself first when you are miserable at work doesn’t mean quitting unless you can afford that and most people can’t, financially or professionally. Putting yourself first means listening to yourself and learning why things are going wrong and creating a strategy that answers your professional, personal, financial and emotional needs.

If You Feel Stressed at Work:

Work fewer hours.
Learn to say no. Set boundaries and schedule times for administrative, creative, and project work and downtime to rest your brain.
Get up and go outside for lunch.
Leave work early and exercise.
Get more sleep.
Make sure to get your finances in line and save.
Go to therapy.
Quit complaining.

When You Resign from a Job:

Keep your letter short and sweet. Leave out the 13 reasons you hate your job. Tell them you are leaving and the preferred end date.
Don’t plan your going away party — but if you do make sure to invite EVERYONE, including your boss.
Be available for an exit interview — Stay positive.
Avoid gossip — You found a job with broader possibilities. Leave it at that.
Refer good candidates to your current company until you leave.

“No journey is easy, no path to success is straight forward, and no life exists without heartache and pain. But your job shouldn’t impede your quality of life, either. So, if you hate work and complain about how its broken, ask yourself, ‘What have I done today to put myself first and finally take control of my career?’” Laurie Ruettmann, Betting on You

You deserve to be happy and feel satisfaction in your life. Many of these helpful hints can translate to working at home too. Stay at home parents and homebound people need time to workout, be creative and pamper themselves too. I really feel like a got reminded of a few things I could do to add more balance in my life and make myself more important while feeling more successful by reading this book. Laurie is an accomplished writer and her writing is easy to read, the chapters are short so you can read quickly between tasks, if you don’t have a lot of time to read and the tempo is upbeat and positive. I highly recommend this book and I am happy I read it.

>>Buy your own copy of Betting on You: How to Put Yourself First and (Finally) Take Control of Your Career by Laurie Ruettmann on Amazon

Feel free to leave your comments below!

My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.

Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:

Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.

I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.

I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.

Please follow and like us: