Do You Have a Parachute?

Backaches and sciatica image.

For 40 years now, What Color is Your Parachute has been the definitive job seeker’s Bible, passed down through several generations, and revised regularly to reflect the ever-changing career landscape.

So influential is the scope of this book, that in 1991 the Library of Congress included it in its list of the “25 Books that have Shaped Readers’ Lives,” ranked right up there with the Bible, Don Quixote, War and Peace and Catcher in the Rye! How has this book endured, withstanding the test of time and adjusting to the ever-changing job market?

With over 7 million copies in print since it was self-published by its author, Richard Bolles, in 1970, What Color is Your Parachute combines humor with practical advice and offbeat tips on finding a job and changing careers. Bolles’ basic strategy? Figure out what you like, what you want to do and what you’re good at and go after it. Contact organizations you’d like to work for, whether or not an opening for what you want to do exists, and let all your friends and family members know what you want to do.

In his book, Bolles dispels some popular myths, and lets readers in on the truth based on his exhaustive research through the years. One such example is the myth that the Internet is a good place to conduct a job search. In actuality, the internet offers only a 4% success rate when used as the only means to find a new position.

This much can be said…in this era of unforeseen corporate downsizing and unanticipated layoffs, this is one book that should be on everyone’s shelves!

Dr. Mike Asks some important questions of interest to Hillside residents - Chiropractor Hillside Dr. Mike Asks...

Why is a "slipped disc" unlikely?
Separating each spinal vertebra is a disc. Its fibrous outer ring holds in a jelly-like material. Because of the way a disc attaches to the spinal bones above and below it, it can't actually "slip." However, a disc can bulge, tear, herniate, thin and collapse. But it can't slip.
Are aches and pains good or bad?
While aches or pains may be unpleasant, they're merely warning signs. As a Hillside chiropractor, I see this all the time. The pain is not the problem! It just means a limitation has been reached and something needs to change. That's when we get to work correcting the underlying cause.