Who Cares About the Meaning of Life? And Other Keys to Career Success
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Mon, Dec 28, 2009 @ 09:01 AM
Whenever I get into a conversation about the meaning of life, I immediately roll my eyes. I honestly can't stand that conversation because it seems so irrelevant to me. In my opinion, there is no singular meaning of life and it's not worth our time and energy to discuss it.
Instead, focus on what you can do with your life.
Funny enough, this thought was sparked by a book I just finished, Brazen Careerist. It's a book by blogger/writer/advisor Penelope Trunk on the topic of career advancement. The book and her blog are interesting reads.
One part that really stood out to me was a study she mentioned by Princeton professor of economics Alan Krueger. The study showed that "when it comes to workplace success, it doesn't matter if your get into an Ivy League school, it matters if you apply. Those who applied and those who got in had the same amount of success beyond those who did not apply." The takeaway? "What matters is ambition and self-image, not getting the best grades or having the best test scores."
What I love about this study - and generally what is shown in the book - is that what matters in life are your goals and your ambition to achieve those goals. It's not about WHY you're here, but WHAT you do while you're here.
The book has lots of similar thought-provoking bits. It's nothing so revolutionary that you'll fall out of your chair, but it certainly kept me engaged and kept me thinking. It's a quick and easy read and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in "career development books".
Photo credit: miss blackbutterfly