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

camp just outside of Mombasa, Kenya. Work, it seems, was
never meant to be something we do just to make a living. It
was meant to be a means of making a difference—in our
own lives and in the lives of others. The problem today is
that many of us see our jobs just as a duty, something we’re
obligated to do to pay the bills. Or we see it as a means of
improving our lives, of making so much money we can buy
all the things we’ve ever wanted. But neither option will
satisfy.
This me-first way of looking at vocation doesn’t work.
When you look around at the world, you see a curious trend
in the lives of some billionaires and movie stars. They aren’t
content to simply savor the fruit of their labor, but neither do
they let their largesse lead to unproductive guilt. They
understand that feeling guilty, in and of itself, doesn’t
accomplish anything. Instead, they’re using their resources
and influence to improve other people’s lives. Leveraging
their connections and celebrity, understanding that people
will listen to them, they’re trying to do something good.
A few generations ago, men went to work or war and
rarely got to see life beyond their careers. A generation ago,
our parents had to answer the question of what they would
do with the last third of their lives. How would they spend
their retirement? Would it be squandered on silly things or
invested in significance?
But now, the question of legacy isn’t a matter of if you
live long enough or when you retire; it’s a matter of what
you will do with what you have right now. You don’t have