I loved this book. Jeff’s ‘The art of work’ takes you through 7 stages of finding and living your purpose :
1. Awareness
2. Apprenticeship
3. Practice
4. Discovery
5. Profession
6. Mastery and
7. Legacy.
He devotes a chapter to explaining each one. The overall message of the book is about how to find our ‘calling’ (it ‘finds’ us, not the other way round), and how not to miss the opportunities that come our way to live out our calling.
The book is great in that the reader is set free from certain ‘myths’ that surround those who achieve greatness, and who work on something meaningful in their lives.
As he demonstrates through many stories of ordinary people, you’re not always going to be absolutely clear about what your purpose is, and often it will reveal itself during the sometimes zig zag and painful journey of your life. We don’t have to ‘know’ exactly what our purpose is from a young age – and more than that, our destiny can often arise out of a tragedy, setback or great disappointment.
Once we ARE aware of what that purpose may be, though – we are responsible for doing the intense and deliberate practice that is needed to master our craft and then ultimately to leave a legacy.
Jeff shows us that leaving a legacy of something that made a real positive difference in the world is far more important than fame, money or status.
Jeff takes the reader through each of the seven stages, using real life examples in each and ends the book with a summary of the seven stages as well as questions for reflection on each for the reader to further deepen their understanding of the stages.
This was both an inspiring and comforting book – inspiring because when finishing reading it, you will want to take a look at your life with a new perspective (looking for the common themes and patterns that point you to your purpose), and comforting because you will realise that you don’t have to receive a lightning bolt epiphany of what you’re meant to do with your life. It will emerge over time as you pay attention to the things that happen to you and start to thread together the story that your life is meant to be.
*Please note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Booklook bloggers in exchange for an honest review.*
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