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Spirit
of Aloha | Articles
| Books
| November/Decemberr 2002
Books
By Bob Dye
Second
Chances
David
Heenan's Double Lives profiles 10 remarkable people who
followed their hearts to second careers and personal fulfillment
Don't
be deceived by the book's title. Campbell Estate trustee
David Heenan's latest work does not expose secret double
lives, but explores 10 public ones, all of them exemplary.
More revealing of his purpose is the book's subtitle-"Crafting
Your Life of Work and Passion for Untold Success."
The lives
Heenan has selected range from world political leader/author
Winston Churchill to mortician/
poet Tom Lynch. Hawai'i residents Ron Kent (stock-
broker/woodturner) and Chuck Watson (construction CEO/sculptor)
are also among the lives examined, as is former resident Tess
Gerritsen (physician/writer). Readers
may remember Gerritsen as the 1983 first-prize winner of Honolulu
magazine's annual fiction contest. Heenan hopes that
reading their stories "will galvanize you to create purpose
and meaning in your life."
A prediction
is that, in the 21st century, "most Americans in the
contemporary work force will have nine jobs by the time they
are in their mid-30s." The days of specializing are over
and done with, says Heenan. So, too, are companies that award
silver watches to employees who have given a work-life of
service. He points to the "mounting disloyalty of the
institutions that once provided life security for em-
ployees" as yet another example of workplace angst.
The author,
himself a Renaissance man, has juggled top jobs in academia
and business, here and on the Mainland, and published four
previous books. He quotes Henry David Thoreau: "Go confidently
in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've
imagined."
Anyone
can craft a double life, Heenan argues: "All he or she
needs to scale new heights are imagination and drive."
Pursuing double interests contributes to happiness and personal
fulfillment, he claims.
Heenan
warns, however, "a double life is a journey-not
a destination-requiring continuous rediscovery, with
many stops and starts along the way." At book's
end, he gives readers 20 keys to a successful double life,
as exemplified by the folks profiled in his book. The first
key is to Listen to Your Heart, and the last is to Start Now.
Double Lives by David Heenan. Davies-Black Publishing, Palo
Alto, Calif., 2002. $24.95.
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