All the usual suspects are in my bookcase: The 4-Hour Workweek, Escape From Cubicle Nation, The $100 Startup. I’ve also got a bunch of lesser-known books such as The Millionaire Fastlane (ignore the title — I highly recommend it), Book Yourself Solid and The Magic of Thinking Big. Most of the key lessons I have learned (outside of my own practical experience) have been gleaned from these books.
A couple of weeks ago I read through a book that most of you have never heard of. Despite that, I quickly discovered that it offers one of the most compelling reads I’ve experienced. From a more practical perspective, it contains the kind of advice that can open your mind to a whole new way of thinking and greatly accelerate your progress towards leaving work behind.
That book is The Escape Manifesto, and in this post I am going to give you the opportunity to grab yourself a free copy.
The Escape Manifesto
I could attempt to synopsize what this book can offer you, but it is far easier (and revealing) to refer to the mini manifesto that accompanies it:
Sound familiar? I have to remind myself that I didn’t write it — this manifesto is eerily reminiscent of my own.
Although The Escape Manifesto it is primarily geared towards British professionals looking to escape unfulfilling corporate jobs in London, the chapters within have far wider applications. Having finished the book, the best endorsement I can give it is that I wish I had read it back in May 2011, when I was just starting out down this road. I know it would have made my life a whole lot easier.
The book was written by Rob Symington and Dom Jackman, co-founders of Escape the City — an online community that “connects talented professionals with non-corporate opportunities” (to steal from their tagline). Their mission aligns very closely with the concept of Leaving Work Behind, which is why the book will more than likely offer you a wealth of invaluable advice.
Put simply, I consider this book required reading for those who are interested in leaving work behind.
The Giveaway
Upon reading the book and with the last statement in mind, I knew that The Escape Manifesto was a prime candidate for a giveaway here on Leaving Work Behind. It is my hope that the winners of this giveaway will benefit greatly from reading the book and I hope that others will be inspired to read it too.
There’s just one “catch.” In order to secure your chance of winning one of three paper copies of The Escape Manifesto that Rob and Dom have so kindly offered to Leaving Work Behind readers, you must first head over to the Leaving Work Behind Community Forums and get involved.
It’s this simple: just register for the forums and start creating threads (existing forum members are of course also eligible). Feel free to Share Your Story, ask relevant questions in one of the many specific forums available, share your goals with us so we can hold you accountable to them, or just share your thoughts on just about anything over at the Everything Else forum. It’s all fair game, and the more threads you create, the better your chances of winning.
To ensure that the giveaway is fair, the three winners will be picked completely at random. It should go without saying that people who create threads of little or no value solely to gain a chance of winning (as adjudged by me) will not be considered for the giveaway — only those people who have something of value to contribute will be eligible for the prize draw. As for a definition of “value,” please do not feel like you have to be an “expert” in order to take part — in my opinion, sharing your frustrations and worries is just as valuable to the community as offering salient advice on any particular topic.
This giveaway is open to absolutely everyone — Rob and Dom have kindly made three copies of the book available and I am covering any crazy postage costs in the event that you live in Antarctica or somewhere similarly remote 😉
The giveaway went live as soon as this post was published so please feel free to get involved in the forums now! It ends at 11:59pm (EST) on Sunday 1st December — no new threads will be considered after that time. The winners will be picked shortly thereafter and announced in the forums that following week.
Rules for Entry
For clarity’s sake, here’s a quick re-cap of the “terms and conditions” of this giveaway:
- In order to secure your chance of winning a copy of The Escape Manifesto, register on the Leaving Work Behind Community Forums and create at least one thread.
- Existing forum members are eligible.
- The more threads you create, the more likely you are to win.
- Threads that do not offer value to the community (as adjudged by me) will not count.
- Replies to other people’s threads do not count.
- As long as you have a physical address where the book can be sent to (regardless of your location in the world), you are eligible to win.
- The giveaway ends at 11:59pm (EST) on Sunday 1st December. No new threads will be considered after that time.
- The winners will be picked shortly thereafter and announced in the forums that following week.
Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts in the comments section below. Good luck!