cover image WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S WORK? Answer the Big Questions About What Really Matters... and Reawaken the Passion for What You Do

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S WORK? Answer the Big Questions About What Really Matters... and Reawaken the Passion for What You Do

Bill Jensen, . . HarperBusiness, $22.95 (232pp) ISBN 978-0-06-076686-3

Recent research suggests that 75% of all American workers are disengaged from what they do every day and are seeking new work: they've lost sight (and their employers have lost sight), says Jensen, of what really matters most to them. After advising people on bringing simplicity to their lives, Jensen now uses letters written by people from all walks of life and career stages to show how one can recover that sense of purpose. He presents a wide variety of viewpoints and wisdom illustrating the five discoveries that can come from writing a letter expressing the important life lessons one has learned and taking stock of one's values, from "finding yourself" to "finding joy, serenity and fulfillment." Jensen does a wonderful job of pulling together meaningful, often moving letters gathered in the course of his consulting work, many of them missives to children or grandchildren that reflect hard-earned knowledge: a former police officer and prison guard "bequeaths [her] spirit of unrest"; a one-time Microsoft executive writes to her mentees that "I was so completely seduced by the excitement [of work], the adventure... I often forgot I had a body, that that body had limits...." While not every letter in this book will resonate with every reader, there is an abundance of meaningful philosophy, insight and advice. (May)