What is Your Life's Work?: Answer the Big Question about What Really Matters...and Reawaken the Passion for What You Do [Paperback]

Bill Jensen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2006

For twenty years, Tim Dobbins was a parish priest, performing weddings and funerals and ministering to his South Florida parishioners. He took these compassionate values to the corporate world, where he is now an executive coach to senior executives and CEOs. He helps them grapple with big decisions, including, how to groom their successor, and how to foster a more positive corporate culture. Dobbins believes individuals have the power to make the workplace more humane. From the most senior executive, to the lowest hourly temp, everyone makes choices. With this book, Dobbins has created an elegantly simple, entirely secular approach to making positive decisions at work and in life. Decisions are important because doing the right thing is the only way to imbue your life with meaning, he says. The five basic choices are: Standing still, Stepping aside, Stepping back, Stepping on someone, and Stepping up. People often do the wrong thing by stepping aside or stepping on someone. But Dobbins advocates stepping up, or taking responsibility, even if it means having a difficult conversation with a colleague or a spouse, or experiencing the discomfort of doing something for the first time. With his gentle, comforting, profoundly moral approach to the world, Dobbins has created a secular language for bringing moral and spiritual concerns into the workplace.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“The candor and human decency expressed in this book should be benchmarks for every decision made on every job.” (Karen Katen, President, Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals )

“The most powerful book about life at work that I have ever read.” (Stephen C. Lundin, aka The Big Tuna, Ph.D., author of the best-selling FISH! book series )

“Unique, heartfelt, and practical approach to finding the courage to do more of what’s important and less of what isn’t.” (Julie Jansen, author of I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This )

“What Is Your Life’s Work? reminds us how short and precious our lives are, helping us recover our own wisdom...” (Oriah Mountain Dreamer, author of The Invitation and What We Ache For )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060766875
• ISBN-13: 978-0060766870
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,588,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Really Matters to You?, May 3, 2005

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What is Your Life's Work?: Answer the BIG Question About What Really Matters...and Reawaken the Passion for What You Do (Hardcover)

Here's the basic situation: Jensen contacted several hundred people and invited each to compose a letter to a loved one...or to several, perhaps children or grandchildren. BUZZ eventually generated several thousand submissions. (Mine was among them but not selected.) Jensen requested that each letter respond to a very basic but critically important question: "What would you tell your kids or your grandkids or dearest friends about what really matters at work?" Presumably the letters would share life lessons learned from poor choices made as well as greratest achievements, proudest moments, regrets, current concerns, hopes and dreams, etc. Everyone knew that her or his letter could perhaps eventually appear in print.

Jensen carefully read and re-read all the letters received, eventually selecting 64 for inclusion in this book. He then organized them within five "Discovery" sections:

1. Finding Yourself
2. Finding the Lessons to Be Learned, the Questions to Be Asked
3. Finding the Choices Which Really Matter
4. Finding the Courage to Choose
5. Finding Joy, Serenity, and Fulfillment

Jensen is correct: "In their letters, we see ourselves" and "In their struggles, we see our own."

In his recently published Creating the Good Life, James O'Toole explains what we can learn about "getting it right" from a Greek philosopher, Aristotle, who lived almost 2,400 years ago. In one of the most interesting sections in his book, O'Toole's discusses what he calls "The Deathbed Test": "Aristotle's test of true happiness is the degree to which one is free of deathbed regrets about his or her unfulfilled potential. He says that the realization at the end of one's days that 'I coulda, woulda, shoulda and mighta' is the definition of unhappiness. When Gandhi was in his forties and engaged in the practice of business law, he asked himself what he was likely to be able to say about his life at the end if he continued on his present course. He then decided to change his life and to realize his full potential."

O'Toole then explains that Aristotle offers "a useful set of questions that serve us as a self-assessment of whether our current actions and goals will ultimately lead to satisfaction with our life as a whole. The bottom line is that the time to start planning for a happy and fulfilling future is now, the perfect time to start asking 'what's next?' In my experience, Aristotle offers a lot more useful and practical advice than is found in most of the texts we assign in business school."

I thought about O'Toole's comments as I read this book. Both he and Jensen seem determined to help as many people as possible to ask the most important questions... and then answer them with honesty and courage. In his Introduction, Jensen points out that, according to more than 40 Gallup studies, about 75% of us feel disengaged from our jobs; according to the most recent U.S. Job Retention Survey, 75% of all employees are now searching for new employment opportunities; and according to the New American Dream Survey, about 83% of us wish we had more of what really matters in life. Obviously, a substantial majority of us (whatever the percentage) are experiencing a disconnect of some kind between what we are required to get done at work and what truly matters. Much of the material in this book indicates that.

Noteworthy is the fact that so many of those who wrote these letters cite that disconnect. They share with the letters' recipients (and with those who read Jensen's book) what caused each disconnect in their lives, its nature and extent, its impact, and what they learned from it. Also noteworthy is how candid the letter-writers are. The thoughts and feelings seem (to me at least) authentic but seldom self-serving. For most of those whose letters are included, it was probably quite difficult to confront errors of judgments, betrayals of trust, behavior which was hurtful to others, etc. In a sense, they take the reader into their confidence. Yes, as with a person sitting next to them during a long-distance airline flight, there is a degree of "safety": the letter-writers and the reader will have no further contact. I still think it takes courage to acknowledge one's imperfections, especially insofar as they have negatively affected others. It takes even greater courage to allow themselves to be identified when the acknowledgments appear in print.

For the most part, however, the letters in this book celebrate humanity (warts and all) while affirming that lessons can be learned from the experiences of others (no news there). What sets this book apart from any others I have read is that, almost immediately, I began to establish a rapport with the letter-writers, aided significantly by Jensen's narrative during which he helps to create an appropriate context without getting in the way. In the "Endnotes & Stats" section (pages 220-222), he shares the five most important lessons he has learned. This material is, for me, a personal letter from Jensen which he wisely includes at the end of his book.

I do strongly disagree with his recommendation that his book not be read cover-to-cover. Some readers will. Others won't. So what? Just as each letter-writer describes a process of personal discovery, so must each reader embark on one of her or his own...reading the book as she or her wishes. Straight through. Hop around. Cherry pick. Lock in on one of the "Discoveries." Whatever.

Jensen has allowed himself to be described as a "practical simpleton, tough-love gadfly, passionate speaker, researcher, father, and friend." No doubt he is all of that...and more. In this instance, his primary function is to introduce several people who share the most important lessons they have learned. It remains for each reader to select those lessons which are most relevant to them...and then benefit from them in ways and to the extent appropriate to their own circumstances.

Long ago, Voltaire suggested that we cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it. Jensen and his 64 associates make no such claim. Their search continues...and so does ours, guided and informed by theirs.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introspection and Experience, May 13, 2005

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What is Your Life's Work?: Answer the BIG Question About What Really Matters...and Reawaken the Passion for What You Do (Hardcover)

"Work is not just an eight-hour interruption in our day. Most of us will spend most of our adult lives and most of our waking hours focused on our jobs. Whether we like it or not, we are defined by the choices we make at work." ~Bill Jensen

What is your life purpose?
Are you living your dream?

Reading inspirational stories about how individuals achieved their dreams tends to motivate me in the direction of my own dreams. Bill Jensen asks us an important and life changing question.

What Is Your Life's Work will help you to:

Find Yourself
Make Choices That Really Matter
Have the Courage to Choose
Experience Joy, Serenity, and Fulfillment

I loved reading the letters from women who explained why you should "speak your truth" and from men who explain why "You are who you Choose to be."

One of the best sections in the book is a letter from Kristi Dinsmore. She works in executive education and writes a letter: "Dear Person Who is Hungry For That Thing Called Joy."

In this letter she shows why you should have realistic expectations, have patience, ask for what you really want, compete smart and establish priorities.

I also enjoyed reading Mark Ritzmann's comments in his letter to Lucy. He explores the more pleasant aspects of work, making friends, laughing, having great hobbies and exploring life through changing jobs.

The conclusion of this book is a "Field Guide to Getting Started." In this section, you get to map out your own journey. After taking notes throughout this book, you should have a good idea of what you want out of life.

Practical Application: I started a new journal with the following sections: Quotes (continuing the eternal collection), Words (Single words I find interesting), Moments (Beautiful experiences), Books (lists and quotes), Descriptions (what really matters), Rules (life principles), Why (Entries of important decisions and why I made them), Movies (beauty and art), Misc (casual observations and things I don't want to forget). This will be a book about what matters to me this year. Then I'm going to make a book each year and have quite a collection.

You could start a Journal, write a letter to a friend or family member or even decide to find a new job or start your own business. This book is almost more about "What Is Your Life" than what is your work. Through finding out what you love about life, you can discover work that is more of a pleasure than a painful daily occurrence.

~The Rebecca Review

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soulful Letters of Balancing Work & Life, July 10, 2005

By 

Cynthia Sue Larson "www.realityshifters.com" (San Francisco bay area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: What is Your Life's Work?: Answer the BIG Question About What Really Matters...and Reawaken the Passion for What You Do (Hardcover)

If you've ever wished you had a parent or mentor who would have shared with you what it is that matters most in life, because you've noticed that people who get such mentoring seem to have some kind of natural edge in the world... you're in luck. Bill Jensen's book WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S WORK contains some of the most powerfully moving written exchanges between people that you are likely ever to find, and these gems of real life stories will set you on fire with their honesty and love. Every counselor, life coach, parent and child can benefit from reading WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S WORK, as some of the most important life lessons are touched upon in deeply personal ways.

In an age when it's been said that the art of letter writing is dead, this book dares to raise the subject of we can best find a balance between work and the rest of our life. The intense passion conveyed in most of the letters helps bring this subject to life in a way that is sure to help anyone rekindle their own inner fire, and regain a sense of what it is we're all working for that really matters.