When to Jump Book Review

Overview: 

The author Mike Lewis talks about his personal journey where he had to take his Jump from working for an investment company to trying to pursue his love of squash and become a professional. He explains that at that point of concern and low confidence he struggled to find inspiration from others who were in the same boat as him, and with detail how it worked out for them. Earning good money with Bain Capital the risk of pursuing his dream had no financial security which if you are like me would be a huge factor. I presume he was earning the money I could only dream of, that would allow me to reach my FI a lot sooner than on my current salary. But he wasn't happy - which is the most important thing in all of this. He then started seeking out people who had made the Jump and for their experiences. This was to give him confidence to pursue his dream and go for it. This then snowballed and before he knew it he had loads of case studies from people walking all ways of life. He presents these stories alongside he own to give you a ridiculous number of examples of people who have followed their dream and made it happen.

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First Impressions:

Compared to a lot of other books I have read in this style the authors have generally started in a position of low risk. They haven't achieved 'success' within their employment and are chasing their dreams partly because of this. Mike on the other hand had a job and salary that would make it very hard to walk away from. This allows you to appreciate the difficulty jumping in his scenario because the salary he was on would allow FIRE to be achieved sooner, and the change in lifestyle by not having this salary available would be huge. This is also however a double-edged sword, because if Mike didn't have this high paying job it would be a lot harder for him to make that jump as he wouldn't be able to save the money to take the plunge. It doesn't detract from his ability to focus on the initial goal of accumulating the money needed to start the project, and then taking that leap of faith, but to try and apply this process to your own could be tough. But this is then put to bed by so many of the other examples in the book where they did not have this luxury. Which is a big point of the book that no two scenarios are the same, and if you truly want your dream you'll figure it out how to achieve it. Mike writes honestly and openly, and his passion for squash rubs off on the reader. You want him to succeed.

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Key features:

The book uses over 40 real life examples alongside the four phases of The Jump. The four phases explain what happens at each point and how you can do the best to help yourself at each one. 

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Phase One: Listen to the little voice - For him it was becoming a pro squash player, what's yours?

Phase Two: Make a plan - Small steps to make your dream a reality. 

Phase Three: Let yourself be lucky - If you've done Phase Two well you eventually need to commit, and hope for some 'luck'

Phase Four: Don't look back - face the challenges and keep your head down. You need some time for the work to take effect. 

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What I learnt:

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1/ There are more people who have done their Jump from all walks-of-life and industries I would not have expected. That you can really perform a 180 on your current path and do something completely different to your current career. It's all well and good when an Instagram post tells you this but it's another thing seeing examples of people who have done. I love when I read or hear stories of people following their dreams, it gives me such confidence and questions why I don't do more of it. These uncomfortable questions are what prompt great decisions and I guess are the start of 'listening to that little voice' of phase 1. 

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2/ I've read enough blogs and books of people doing amazing things and it's truly inspiring to read what we human beings are capable of doing. After a while though having some practical steps to follow is really helpful. Once you have realised you want a change, but not sure how or where to start, some steps from someone (or many people in this case!) who has done it is really helpful. Like any goal in life breaking it down into manageable chunks is key. All too often these books miss this element and are instead just a document of achievement for their ego, which sometimes is great. But if you get to the end of a self-help inspiration book and you are not sure how to apply it to your own life, it's missed something there.  

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3/ The succinct nature of the examples used. They are to the point with not a lot of time wasted. They are also told at a point in the book which correlate to the Phase they are discussing. This allows you to keep interested as the 'story' moves quickly and not get too distracted from the main premise of the book. However reading this book for long periods can become a little repetitive if you read loads of these in a big block. 

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Conclusion: 

This gets a 4/5 from me and I would recommend to people looking for some inspiration to take the plunge - whatever it may be or mean to them.

This is an easy-reading book that would work well on holiday by the pool, or perhaps for someone who can't commit to long periods of reading at home. The nature of the stories all follow the same blueprint and for the large part all have the same outcome. The diversity of the examples ensures that everyone who is reading will be able to find a story that relates to their own situation which is super important and due to the variety it keeps you engaged. I also feel this book would work if you read a phase, went away did some of your own work, came back to the next phase a few weeks later and then repeated this until the book was done. It does inspire you so perhaps spreading the message across a longer period may have a better effect and you won't get numb to the message or advice. Buy this book if you have a little voice in your head - this will give you the confidence to act on this!​