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

Several years ago, I wrote a list of dreams and goals with
dates assigned to each. On that list at the ten-year mark was
the goal, “Write and publish a book.” A year later, the goal
was realized. After a year of late nights and early mornings,
of fighting with my wife about when I would come to bed
and often breaking that promise, of countless
misunderstandings with colleagues and arguments over
where my allegiances lay, and three hundred days of
doubting myself, I had finally done it. I’d written a book.
And I was proud.
When the big day arrived, nothing went right. Visiting
the local Barnes & Noble, I failed to find a single copy of
my book on the shelves. Within a few hours, Amazon ran
out of its short supply, and people I had told to go buy the
book were telling me they couldn’t find it anywhere.
Embarrassed and feeling sorry for myself, I left the house to
run some errands and to get a drink with a friend. We were
supposed to be celebrating, but instead I wanted to
commiserate.
A few hours later, he dropped me off at my house.
Crossing the threshold, I stepped into a house full of people
who shouted, “Surprise!” My wife had thrown me a party
with twenty of my closest friends. After walking around,
greeting and thanking everyone, I reached for a cupcake
and saw on our dining room table a small white envelope
with a card inside. The card, which was from my wife, said,
“It was never a question of if. It was always a matter of
when.” She who had pledged to be my biggest fan had been