The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do

all the freedom in the world, I thought I had arrived, finally
doing what I loved and getting paid for it. So why, after
only a few months of self-employment, was I burnt out and
ready to quit?
Work, for me, was always a necessary evil, something to
do to take care of myself and pay the bills. Certainly work
was good and worthwhile and I liked most of my jobs, but if
I didn’t need money, there would be no need to get a job. I
was wrong. And this was the reason why after working for
myself for only a few months, I was ready to throw in the
towel. What I had ignored was the true meaning of work.
During that crisis, the question I had failed to ask myself,
the one that we all need to ask at some point, was, “What is
my work for?” Is it to make a living? That’s the typical
attitude and approach toward work, as a means to an end.
We work to live, but we do not live to work. If the purpose
of work is wealth and prosperity, what happens once you hit
your goal of making enough money? Do you retire early?
Some do. But even then, the goal seems small and somehow
petty. If self-gratification is the ultimate reward, why are
those with more often less happy? And why do people like
Bill Gates and Bono take what they’ve accumulated and
give it away? If it’s not for fame or riches that we strive,
then what are we working for?
During World War II, British writer Dorothy Sayers
wrote a compelling essay called “Why Work?” and in it, she
addressed the motivation for vocation. She posed a
particular challenge that was appropriate for her context,