Did everyone survive Valentine’s Day? No matter how you feel about it — “what a wonderful day!” or “what a relief it’s over” — Feb. 14 sure seems to take up a lot of space and energy for one day of the year. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if a lot of people woke up this morning feeling out of sorts, cranky even. If that’s how you feel right now, you might appreciate a curmudgeon’s take on how to get ahead in life.
In the book’s introduction, you will find that Charles Murray is up front about his curmudgeonliness: “My wife and children have been calling me a curmudgeon for years because of my crotchety opinions.” This is good to know as it sets the tone, so to speak. The author also says this: “I wrote these tips with some assumptions about you, my reader: You are in or near your twenties.” If you are not a 20-something, please bear with me. While 20-somethings may be the author’s intended audience, yours truly (most definitely a middle-aged reader) wants to emphasize that this wise little book is ageless. You will have no trouble understanding why Murray has targeted his advice to readers who are transitioning into adulthood; you will also discover how multigenerational his advice really is.
Categorizing his words of wisdom under four main headings — On the Presentation of Self in the Workplace; On Thinking and Writing Well; On the Formation of Who You Are; On the Pursuit of Happiness — Murray dispenses concise tips on how to better conduct oneself in work and life.
Some pieces of advice — “leave home” for example — are clearly targeted to newly minted adults (not that there aren’t situations where adults of advanced years — to put it nicely — also need to launch from the nest. You know who you are). And he advises young adults to “recalibrate your perspective on time” which he explains as “… think(ing) of your twenties as a time for doing the things that you won’t be able to do when you have a spouse and children.”
