Reasonably Happy
Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger
Searching for Meaning at Work (w/ Bruce Feiler)
0:00
-1:13:46

Searching for Meaning at Work (w/ Bruce Feiler)

Bruce Feiler is a seven-time New York Times best-selling author of books such as Life is in the Transitions, Walking the Bible, and The Council of Dads, Bruce's 2008 account of his battle with bone cancer and the contemplation that his then three-year-old twin daughters would grow up without a father. The book birthed a documentary hosted by Sanjay Gupta, a drama series on NBC, and a wildly popular TED Talk.

In his book, The Search: Finding Meaningful Work in a Post Career World, Bruce argues that the truths about work with which so many of us Boomers / GenX’ers were raised no longer apply and that today’s economy is “meaning based” as opposed to “means based.”

We discuss what implications this has for employers, workers, and those of us trying to understand just what is going on out there. We talk about why Bruce dedicated the book to Pat Conroy, why that means something to Paul, how our expectations of a linear world and career stress us out, and why it is critically important to “stop chasing someone else’s dream (or, in Paul’s case, the approval of Sheryl Sandberg). Special thanks to 2x Crazy Money guest and occasional listener, A.J. Jacobs for connecting me with Bruce.

Reasonably Happy is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Are you really still reading?

Discussion about this episode

User's avatar