Nobodies to Somebodies: How 100 Great Careers Got Their Start Hardcover - 2005

by Han, Peter

Peter Han cofounded a software company soon after college and sold it a few years later. By any measure he was already successful, but he still was curious about how others found long-term meaning in their work. So he set out to learn what a diverse group of influential 'somebodies' had done back when they were still 'nobodies.'

Nobodies to Somebodies is based on Han's interviews with one hundred fascinating people who figured out how to find and pursue big opportunities. They span a wide range of fields, including politics (former Senator Bill Bradley), business (Reebok CEO Paul Fireman), acting (John Lithgow), activism (Sierra Club president Larry Fahn), writing (Tom Clancy), science (Nobel Prize physicist Anthony Leggett), and the nonprofit world (Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp).

Han synthesizes fourteen big lessons that anyone can apply, including:
á Pay the rent first, conquer the world later
á Become the big fish by mastering the small pond
á Learn when to stay and when to go

Nobodies to Somebodies blends inspiring stories with the proven wisdom of one hundred somebodies who haven't forgotten what it was like to be nobody.