What Should I Do with My Life? The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question

By: Po Bronson

Narrated by: Po Bronson

What should I do with my life?

It's a question many of us have pondered with frequency. Author Po Bronson was asking himself that very question when he decided to write this book - an inspiring exploration of how people transform their lives and a template for how we can answer this question for ourselves.

Bronson traveled the country in search of individuals who have struggled to find their calling, their true nature - people who made mistakes before getting it right. He encountered people of all ages and all professions - a total of 55 fascinating individuals trying to answer questions such as: Is a career supposed to feel like a destiny? How do I tell the difference between a curiosity and a passion? Should I make money first, to fund my dream? If I have a child, will my frustration over my work go away? Should I accept my lot, make peace with my ambition, and stop stressing out? Why do I feel guilty for thinking about this?

This audiobook is like listening in on an intimate conversation among people you care about and admire. Even if you know what you should do with your life, you will find wisdom and guidance in these stories of people who found meaningful answers by daring to be honest with themselves.

"We all have passions if we choose to see them," Bronson writes. "Most of us don't get epiphanies. We don't get clarity. Our purpose doesn't arrive neatly packaged as destiny. We only get a whisper. A blank, nonspecific urge. That's how it starts."

With humor, empathy, and insight, Po Bronson probes the depths of people who learned how to hear the whisper, who overcame fear and confusion to find a larger truth about their lives. A meditation, a journey, and a triumph of storytelling, What Should I Do with My Life? is a life-changing audiobook.

©2003 Po Bronson, All Rights Reserved (P)2003 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

"Brimming with stories of sacrifice, courage, commitment and, sometimes, failure, the book will support anyone pondering a major life choice or risk without force-feeding them pat solutions." (Publishers Weekly)

Real and tangible examples!

I enjoyed this book because it opened my mind that some of the decisions we face about what to do with our life is not all that complicated of a decision to make. Gerring story after story of real life examples of this decision being made was refreshing!

Could somone else have read it?

The author writes like a weepy highschool student but the basic content of this book is good. The only reason to buy this book is to see how other people have changed their lives, basically small autobiographies. Don't buy this book expecting to gain any insight in how to change your life.

I rated it low because the author reads it himself in a horrible sappy voice and I think most people will never listen past the first chapter. I almost didn't. I took an effort on my part to listen to the whole thing because I found myself constantly irritated by the authors voice and writing style. Really a shame because I liked the stories. Overall I would put it low on my list of books to buy.

A bit childish

The good part is that it has a collection of interesting stories about how others have resolved their career dilemma, at least temporarily. It gives voyeuristic pleasures. A few of the stories are quite wonderful and seem worhty of emulation. The bad part is that Po Bronson butts in way too much with his own conclusions, opinions,or advice to the interviewees, and much of these seem outright wrong. I often wonder what the heck he is thinking. He also talks too much about his ONE job offer that he turned down that COULD HAVE paid him $300K, soon out of college without any training or advanced degrees and without an established client list, to be a bond salesman for an investment bank. Sure successful bond salesmen make $1 million a year or more, but usually they have a solid client list and have spent many years building that list. Many of them also have MBAs or other advanced degrees from top schools. And the wash-out rate is extremely high for this profession... so COULD HAVE is not remotely the same as IT DID. There's a good NY Times Book review on this book (the reviewer also slams it).

Po Bronson

I disagree with the other reviews. Perhaps it is because I heard an excerpt of Po's book on NPR and knew it to be what it is. It not a self-help book, but a personal journal of his experiences with people as they make life decisions. I found it rather interesting and enjoyable. One additional note: I began my career in public accounting and found Po's narration on his first job at a litigation consulting firm to be eerily similar to my experience.

It's a storytelling book.

The book was just stories which I didn't expect. there were 15-20 stories about people who were struggling to answer the question.

The chapters dont line up with the hardcopy

I own the hard copy and am following along for a college class, but i realize they skip around the books content and the audio order doesnt exactly match the hardcopies story order. Chapter 2 is actually the 9th story in the books first sections. So be aware this audio is out of order if you're listening to it for a class. They should have dont the chapters as either full sections or labeled each story a chapter. Still worth the fre

Helped for English class

Good listen. It wasn't the full book though. Had many chapters missing. Listening did make it more enjoyable.

Journey

This is very encouraging. It's inspirational to see and learn from others. Thank you!
Janae Swe

It's ok

It's ok
No overall lesson or organization, but some interesting stories and occasional lessons from the career changes people made in their lives.

A touchy-feely book

This book is a chronicle of the author's discussions with different people from different walks of life, and how he FELT about them, and how he FELT they FELT about themselves. In short, it's a book about feelings, how normal it is to be confused about "What should I Do with My Life", but it offers no real insight. It is read in an emotive, gooey style and I'm sure that the author intended the reader to weep at the touching insight he provided into "everyday" lives. I fast forwarded through some of the stories as they were, at times, repetitive. If this book were half the length, I'd recommend it. At full length...you'll get cavities.