The Earned Life

Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment

By: Marshall Goldsmith, Mark Reiter

Narrated by: Marshall Goldsmith

Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Discover the steps to earning your path to fulfillment and living without regrets—from the world-renowned executive coach and New York Times bestselling author of Triggers and What Got You Here Won't Get You There

ONE OF SUMMER’S BEST BUSINESS BOOKS: Inc., Society for Human Resource Management • “My life changed for the better when I started working with Marshall Goldsmith. The Earned Life is a wonderful book.”—Dr. Jim Yong Kim, served as president of the World Bank

“We are living an earned life when the choices, risks, and effort we make in each moment align with an overarching purpose in our lives, regardless of the eventual outcome.”

That’s the definition of an earned life. But for many of us, that pesky final phrase is a stumbling block: “regardless of the eventual outcome.” Not being attached to the outcome goes against everything we’re taught about achievement and fulfillment in modern society.

But now, in his most personal and powerful work to date, world-renowned leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith offers a dazzling but simple approach that accommodates both our persistent need for achievement and the inescapable “stuff happens” unfairness of life.

Taking inspiration from Buddhism, Goldsmith reveals that the key to living the earned life, unbound by regret, requires committing to a habit of earning and, crucially, connecting that habit to something greater than the isolated achievements of careerism. By grounding our achievements in a higher aspiration, he shows, we can avoid the easy temptation to wallow in regret.

Goldsmith implores listeners to avoid the Great Western Disease of “I’ll be happy when. . . .” He offers practical advice and exercises aimed at helping us shed the obstacles, especially the failures of imagination, that prevent us from creating our own fulfilling lives. With this book as their guide, listeners can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done—and avoid the trap of existential regret, the kind that reroutes destinies and persecutes our memories.

Packed with illuminating stories from Goldsmith’s legendary career as a coach to some of the world’s highest-achieving leaders as well as reflections on his own experiences, The Earned Life is a road map for ambitious people seeking a higher purpose.

“Marshall Goldsmith is a wonderful coach, educator, and author.”—Albert Bourla, CEO, Pfizer

©2022 Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“For anyone who wishes to align their efforts with a life of meaning, Marshall Goldsmith is a fabulous companion, guide, and cheerleader.”—John Dickerson, chief political analyst, CBS News

“Filled with stories from some of the world’s top leaders, Goldsmith expertly weaves guidance and gentle nudges to get you to take the reins of your life and drive it toward fulfillment. Heart, soul, and decades of experience with top CEOs make The Earned Life the perfect blueprint for those yet to feel fulfilled.”—Ruth Gotian, Forbes

“The advice in this book can help you keep on achieving and, at the same time, do a better job of finding peace and happiness in the process.”—Amy Edmonson, professor, Harvard Business School

it's a decent book.

good for a business book. kind of a life retrospective. it kind of repetitive but the author tells it with enthusiasm. I got a few nuggets of wisdom from it.

Marshall Goldsmith Offers Us Another Gem

Marshall Goldsmith has written another treasure. If you want to earn a life full of meaning and impact, this book is for you. There’s an added bonus with the Audible version of The Earned Life – You get to hear the author reading the book for you. Life is Good!

There is so much to take away from The Earned Life. I’ll highlight two that stood out for me:
First, we can benefit from adopting and owning a new acronym – YCBM. When you actively challenge yourself to acknowledge the You Can Be More, you go a long way to working toward an earned life. And when you engage your community to remind you just how you can, you raise the chance to achieve this for yourself. Marshall encourages us to adopt this Exercise: Keep a log that captures when someone says they see potential in you that you may be overlooking or not leveraging enough. This can be in the form of specific praise, a suggestion, or tough love feedback. Keeping a log elevates your awareness and appreciation for how You Can Be More, and encourages you to create a plan to do just that.

One more takeaway – Marshall encourages us to stop often and ask ourselves: Am I being the person I want to be - Right Now? He suggests that when you, “do this once and you’ll discover you have earned the moment. Do this habitually and continually, and you will create a string of many earned moments. Stretching into days into months into years, that adds up to an earned life.” Not a bad way to encourage yourself to make the best of you and your earned life!

An interesting audiobook.

Goldsmith's premise is that one needs to choose fulfillment for an earned life. Mixed with stories, examples, and exercises, The Earned Life is a relatively quick read that is geared at self help. Overall, I think it's a great read.

very helpful to talk to yourself

good for recover your energy and design new strategy to understand the world and your own mind

life changing guide

this book gives you much to think about and action. I found it very helpful.

Marshall’s best book yet? Feeling grateful!

Love the book and messages directly spoken from Marshall, as always his content is very authentic.

The input he gives is clear, easy to understand and to implement. Some stories from older works are repeated yet never too much, it is always good to have a reminder.

Thank you Marshall!

5/5

Impactful Audi

The book opens your eyes to methods that will help you see the you that had been missing in your life.

Insightful

Recommend this book for anyone that is trying to figure out what is next that you want to do in life.

Great Book

A great book to help you understand what is important in life. And to understand that we are changing breath by breath.

Inspiring and practical!

A gift for one who aspires to lead a life worth living!

Many good books tell the reader what to do to succeed. But The Earned Life is great because it guides the reader through the journey of right-thinking. To earn their life, not settle into one.

And The Earned Life is unique because it speaks to the heart, not solely the head. By gently and firmly urging the reader to perceive their experiences as doors of opportunity, and gain the courage to walk through them.

A fantastic read!

~Aké S.