Book Review: Someday My Ship Will Come In by Alex Fayle

Do you have a Someday? Someday I will write that book. Someday I will learn to paint. Someday I will de-clutter twenty years worth of accumulated stuff.

 For me, it was Someday I will find a job I truly love, and Someday I will pursue a writing career. I had actually gotten to the point that I burst into tears at the thought of going to work in the morning. And my creative side was so malnourished, I felt like a robot.

Then I worked my way through Alex Fayle’s Someday My Ship Will Come In book and associated worksheets. By the time I was done I:

•  identified the job that was right for me,  and switched to it;
• created a personal blog;
• launched Silver & Grace.

Here’s what you can expect to find in Someday My Ship Will Come In:

Personable and Personal

Reading this book is like having a conversation directly with Alex. It’s not preachy, nor does he set himself up on a guru pedestal. As a matter of fact, he is quite honest about his own struggles and foibles.

“I don’t like working hard, I like starting but not finishing projects, and I get distracted easily. Lots of things interest me and I get super-duper excited about new things. The moment it becomes work, however, I get bored and want to move on.”

Bite size pieces

We are all very busy, and if I have to spend thirty minutes reading a chapter, then another thirty minutes doing an exercise, I won’t do it.

The book is divided into nine chapters, each with several sub-sections. I could read a sub-section in less than five minutes, then do the associated worksheet in anywhere from five to twenty minutes. I could also pick up the book whenever I had time and not lose the flow of the lessons.

Different angles

Quite often, when I am working through a problem, I need to have information come at me from different angles. Alex employs several techniques to help it all sink in.

• He discusses the focus of the chapter, adding his own experiences;
• Each chapter has an inspirational quote reinforcing the key concept;
• The chapter summary puts another spin on the ideas;
• The worksheets employ lists, charts, free flowing essays, and diagrams.

No sugar coating

Alex takes a no nonsense approach to self-help. While he is all in favour of self-discovery, he firmly advocates it’s pretty much for naught if you don’t actually take action. So, while my initial reaction was “Ouch!’:to some statements, my follow up reaction was always, “yep, that’s so true”.

eBook format

Someday My Ship Will Come In is an eBook. I still haven’t gotten used to the idea of reading a book online, so I printed it. It is 94 pages, so I highly recommend setting the printer to black and white, as opposed to colour. However, if you don’t mind reading online, you could simply print off the worksheets.

To be honest, when I started the book, I expected to unearth a few more of my weaknesses and make the usual promises to myself to do better. At the end of the book, however, I had a:

• clear vision of what my real Somedays were;
• thorough understanding of what was blocking me from achieving them;
• list of my support networks;
• plan for working towards turning my Somedays into Todays.

I highly recommend this book if you are ready turn a Someday, big or small, into a Today.

Someday My Ship Will Come In is available on this site, by clicking the ‘Stop Waiting.Start Living.’ button.

Your turn

• What are your Somedays?
• What would it take to turn your Somedays into Todays?