I could see its future so clearly laid out before me and it filled me with dread.

We can easily find ourselves pursuing a career that society considers prestigious, but which we are not intrinsically devoted to ourselves – one that does not fulfil us on a day-to-day basis.

‘Where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation.’

Yet it will also become clear that pursuing a career mainly because it offers the tempting rewards of money and status is an unlikely route to the good life.

The second question threading its way through this book is: how do we go about changing career and making the best possible decisions along the way?

research: the most emotionally corrosive form of regret occurs when we fail to take action on something that matters deeply to us.

Grin and bear it? Forget it. This is a book for those who are looking for a job that is big enough for their spirit, something more than a ‘day job’ whose main function is to pay the bills. It is a guide for helping you take your working life in new directions, and for bringing your career and who you are into closer alignment.

five different aspects of what can make a job meaningful: earning money, achieving status, making a difference, following our passions, and using our talents.

the feeling that we are respected by others for what we do and how we do it is one of the keys to having a meaningful career.