About

Hillary Rettig is an author, productivity/career/life coach and workshop leader who specializes in helping activists, artists, students, entrepreneurs and other “ambitious dreamers” use their time better, create more rewarding careers, and overcome procrastination, perfectionism, fears, and blocks.

She is the author of three books, The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way (Lantern Books, 2006); The Little Guide To Beating Procrastination, Perfectionism, Fears and Blocks: a Manual For Artists, Activists, Entrepreneurs, Academics and Other Ambitious Dreamers; and The HIAPy Guide to Finding Work in a Tough Job Market. Chapters from The Lifelong Activist, and the entire texts of the other two books, may be downloaded here

Ms. Rettig honed her coaching strategy and techniques as head of two Boston-area microenterprise programs, where she and her teams assisted more than a thousand people from diverse backgrounds, including immigrants and refugees from more than thirty countries, achieve their business and artistic dreams. She also founded, and for many years ran, an Entrepreneurship for Artists program that won wide recognition, and has lectured on that topic at the Massachusetts College of the Arts and other venues.

Prior to entering the microenterprise field, Hillary founded and ran a successful technology consulting firm in New York City, and was also a technology and business journalist, publishing hundreds of articles in magazines including Wired, Working Woman and Inc. Technology.

Hillary is a sought-after public speaker who has given talks at many nonprofit, activist, educational and corporate venues. She has been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other newspapers, and has appeared on WBUR public radio (Boston), WBAI community radio (New York), and many other radio broadcasts, as well as on CBS-TV network news and other television programs.

Hillary’s mission is to foster the happiness and productivity of – and prevent burnout among – as many progressive activists, artists, students, entrepreneurs and others as possible. She has previously worked in the labor, feminist and other activist movements, but her current focus is on vegetarianism and animal activism. She has also done significant volunteer work with Massachusetts’ refugee community, and is the foster mother of four South Sudanese refugees, now all adult and living independently.

Hillary is available to lead workshops on the topics covered in The Lifelong Activist, or for personal coaching, and may be contacted at lifelongactivist@yahoo.com. Her blog, which lists upcoming workshops and other events, and also offers articles, advice and other resources, may be found here.

About The Lifelong Activist

“Global warming, poverty, homelessness, or other pressing problems; take your pick—and then use the organizing and time-management tools in The Lifelong Activist to change the world.” —Adam Hochschild, author of Bury The Chains and King Leopold’s Ghost

“People often ask how I manage to continue devoting myself to progressive activism (such as the free software movement) for years without burning out. The best way I can answer is by recommending…The Lifelong Activist.” — Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software movement and MacArthur Fellow

“If I had but one book to spend hard-earned cash on this year, The Lifelong Activist would be it, hands down.” — Review, Daily Kos, 12/4/06

The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way (Lantern Books, 2006) teaches liberal activists, artists, organizers, volunteers, students, teachers, human service workers, and others how to live a joyful and productive life that includes a strong social or political mission. It offers simple and clear instructions that help you figure out the form your authentic life should take, and live that life with a maximum of joy and productivity, and a minimum of fear, guilt and shame. The book’s sections are:

  • Managing Your Mission (Figuring out your authentic mission)
  • Managing Your Time (Building a schedule that allows you to realize that mission)
  • Managing Your Fears (Beating perfectionism, procrastination and blocks to success, so you can follow your schedule), and
  • Managing Your Relationships (Leveraging your strengths with those of others)

Anyone will find The Lifelong Activist useful, but it should especially be useful to young people at the beginning of their careers; those contemplating a career or path change; and those at risk for burnout.

To order The Lifelong Activist, visit the Lantern Books website or call 800-856-8664.

  • Hillary Rettig helps activists, artists, students, entrepreneurs and other ambitious dreamers use their time better, create more rewarding careers, and overcome procrastination, perfectionism, fears, and blocks.