“Star Trek” legend William Shatner has boldly gone where no starship captain has gone before. He’s written a business advice book.
The star, famous for his role as Capt. Kirk, has plotted a course for his latest mission, “Catch Me Up,” a book aimed at helping people find career success later in life.
Shatner, 83, said this sense of purpose developed out of frustration at seeing so many people over the age of 50 suddenly thrown out of work and struggling to find fresh opportunities.
“America is
a throwaway nation, and one of the things thrown away most is older people in the workforce,” he said. “I think it’s just awful how so many great, talented workers are let go after they turn 50. Conservation is important to me and the conservation of talent especially so.”
The book aims to show such people how to leverage their skills and experience to become entrepreneurs and start businesses while embracing new technology.
“My premise is that if you can’t get the job you want, then you should advertise your skills and use those skills to go into business for yourself,” he said. “That takes catching up with social media, which is nothing to be frightened about.”
It was a lesson Shatner had to learn himself. Initially nervous of new technology and even reluctant to use email, his grandchildren had to initiate him to the world of Facebook. Now he is one of the most popular public figures on social media with more than 2 million Twitter followers.
Not afraid
“You have to allow yourself to learn new things at any age and not be afraid to feel stupid. Social media is not that hard to grasp,” he said, “and once you’ve got that knowledge of how it all works, it’s a great tool for new career opportunities.”
Shatner is following his own advice, turning to the Web to finance the book.
“I’m encouraging my readers to use crowdfunding as one way to start businesses,” he said. “I dispensed with the publisher’s advance system I’d used on previous books I’d written and decided to self-publish this one by launching a website for it, CatchMeUp.com, and drawing on social media to crowdfund the book on Kickstarter.”
Shatner raised $60,000 in 50 days, surpassing his goal by $10,000. The campaign closed six weeks ago and the book will be available for online order this month. It features advice and stories gleaned from interviews Shatner did with people who reinvented themselves in business.
“I’ve met a range of people who left the rat race to become their own boss, using their passions and skills to do so in a variety of areas,” he said of the noncelebrity subjects he spoke to for the tome. “I even met a clerk who used his love of alpacas to become an alpaca farmer. What these people all have in common is the courage to follow their dreams and skills.”
The Canadian actor and author, who splits his time between Los Angeles and a horse farm in Kentucky, said the process inspired him to launch a flurry of projects.
“This whole experience has tickled my creative itch. I’m designing watches, a motorbike, a comic book and getting new ideas all the time as the creative juices flow,” he said. “It’s not difficult. Everything is possible.”
But Shatner also knows that many skilled workers who lose their jobs over the age of 50 are struggling to see possibilities.
“A lot of the people suffering in this economy are older people who have been victims of layoffs and can’t find jobs elsewhere,” he said. “There’s all this talent out there aching to work and not being given the chance. But you can create work for yourself and I’m an example of that.”
Typecast
Being typecast as James T. Kirk made him struggle to get other acting work in the years immediately after “Star Trek” left TV screens. He lost his home and in the early 1970s lived in a truck camper in the San Fernando Valley, but was prepared to take humbling jobs, including personal appearances at private parties, to make money until acting jobs picked up again.
In recent years, he has leveraged his fame from “Star Trek” and TV hits like “TJ Hooker” and “Boston Legal” into a string of acting jobs and sidelines as celebrity pitchman, talk-show host, singer, documentary maker, horse breeder and author.
“I’ve been unemployed hundreds of times and had to reinvent myself hundreds of times to get rehired by TV and movie producers and even Priceline.com when I was over 60,” said Shatner, who since the late 1990s has starred in a series of lucrative commercials for that travel website for which he has been paid in stock options.
Shatner also finds novel ways to support his favorite charities. In 2006, he sold his kidney stone for $25,000 and donated the money for homebuilding efforts to Habitat for Humanity.
