I presently work at Kellogg School of Management which is the business school at Northwestern University. As such, we have access to top rated faculty and have opportunities to see them present their work at lunch events and the like. It’s a pretty neat built-in professional development opportunity. As such, Dr. Pearce presented an event for staff the other day. Though I wasn’t able to attend, I did find out from colleagues that they received free books and I was like WHAT. FREE BOOK?! Luckily, there were extras and I snagged a copy. Plus the people I knew that attended felt that his presentation and material was very beneficial, in addition, I’m presently on a quest to define/capture/tame my career and love any inputs on that line, so I dove in.
This was a quick read that I devoured over the weekend.
Pearce is a triple threat in that he is a consultant, Kellogg faculty, and pastor. He from an early age identified and later defined his path and has created a career that allows him to follow what he feels is his god-given reason for being on this earth. His passion is evident, and this book is an interesting collection of compelling anecdotes from his on life, and those in his circle, plus public figures combined with well-researched backing. I turned down corners of pages I wanted to go back to and there are many bookmarked with interesting tidbits. I particularly liked the point he made about our obsession in America with productivity, and his counterpoint that we are “human BE-ings, not human DO-ings” which was a nice note.
This book is largely based on his strong faith, in that he feels that your vocation is your answer to the calling sent to you by God, so, if like me you are not a person of faith with that belief system, it could feel a little hopeless (because there isn’t a point that “and if you don’t think this, here is your path to success). That being said, because it was evident early on, I chose to read this to glean out of it what resonated with me, and with that in mind, it was successful. It gave me another way to frame the work I am trying to do with my career, and I’ll be suggesting it to other people on that path.