Bailing Out

Richard did.

Richard was all set to become a chemical engineer when he attended a church sermon … and ended up a minister instead … and he was good at it. But a few years later, in a church reorganization, Richard was let go … with a young family to feed it took him six long anxious months to find other work … and that work? was helping coach other ministers/pastors … many of whom told Richard they were thinking of bailing out and leaving the church. Well, because Richard faced the same questions over and over … he decided to make it easy for himself and wrote down all his answers .. then he photocopied it and handed it out to the ministers and pastors he dealt with … but then Richard got to thinking, maybe his suggestions might help others outside the church who were wrestling with the same problem … so he found a small publisher who took a chance on his book … and before long it really took off.

Today, the book Richard wrote, and continues to update annually, has been a bestseller for almost 40 years … its sold over 10 million copies and was named by the Library of Congress One of the 25 Books that helped shaped Reader’s Lives … and its named after what he jokingly told those ministers and pastors who were considering bailing out on the church … What Colour is Your Parachute?

What Colour in Your Parachute is a great idea … knowing who you are and what you want to do is really the first step to long term success.