A Life at Work: The Joy of Discovering What You Were Born to Do

Thomas Moore’s eclectic background in spirituality, education, music, and psychotherapy prepared him uniquely to write A Life at Work, and the reader can see the influence each had on Moore’s approach to the book. The book endeavors to take readers on a journey to better know themselves in order to discover the work that will bring them a sense of meaning and fulfillment; to illustrate his points throughout the book, Moore uses an analogy of an alchemist concocting an elixir of life, drawing parallels with life application from the ingredients of the elixir and from the drive with which the alchemist pursues his goal.Moore opens with a brief look at the frustration and disillusionment many people feel with their current careers before describing the challenge and reward of embarking on this quest to find the calling of one’s life. He discusses the soul and spirit of work as understanding the depth of oneself. “Deep,” he says, “is perhaps the best word to describe the experience of the soul…. Soul is there in the most ordinary circumstances of life, but it is their mystery and their depth” (30). From there, Moore challenges readers to confront the pains of their past and use them as a tool to acknowledge the root of what motivates them and stirs their passions. The final chapters of the book address the need for self-care, ways to deal with struggles as they arise, the importance of loving one’s work in spite of (and sometimes because of) those struggles, and the benefit of developing a well-rounded, multifaceted life as a complement to one’s work.Moore has a graceful style that draws upon the deep recesses of spirituality within us all. His poetic tone, in partnership with his continual analogical references to the alchemy process, creates a mystical sense of profundity within the text. Readers who long to find meaning in their lives and work will likely resonate with this intense spiritual approach and be compelled to begin their journey to a state of fulfillment. The book skillfully addresses several common misconceptions about what it means to find one’s life work and provides a general direction of how to achieve it.I had two primary issues with this book: first, it fails to give concrete steps for the reader to take; second, it largely does not apply to me in my particular situation.As with many texts in the self-help genre, A Life at Work pursues motivational goals more than actionable ones. While the book does give guidance that is helpful in a general sense, the underlying message it communicates is that the reader cannot truly understand themselves - and therefore their life work - without the help of an experienced counselor. Given the intimately personal nature of an individual’s calling, there is certainly a measure of truth to this idea, but it feels contrary to the book’s purpose. On the face of it, Moore seems to have promised a guide to discovering the soul and spirit of meaningful work, but the undercurrent of the text itself indicates that no book can accomplish that promise.In addition, Moore’s book failed to connect with me because I am already engaged in a career and role in which I find wonderful purpose and meaning. I do not relate to the feeling of being stuck that he describes in the first chapter, so the rest of the book falls flat against my particular life situation. This is not a knock against the book itself - as I mentioned earlier, it probably resonates well with people in that place in their lives - but I could not find an application in my own life for most of Moore’s recommendations.While I understand the value of the book and its relevancy to the readers for which it was written, I do not fall within Moore’s target audience so the value of the work was, unfortunately, lost on me.

Thomas Moore does not disappoint. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this particular book at this point in my life, but I read the sample and was hooked! Now one of my favorite books.

A must-read d’or anyone soul searching their way to a new career, vocation, life... I love this author and every book I’ve picked up by him has not failed me!

Thomas Moore teaches from a place of experience, knowledge, in depth study, and vunerability. Soul and heart are often missing in people's chosen career paths in today's business climate.A focus on inner work (removing the log from my eye, instead of focusing on the splinter in other's eyes) is required to awaken and implement the profound ideas in this 6 star book.If we don't connect immediately with the message in A Life at Work, sit with it a while; this gem will put a strong foundation under your dream job. If on the other hand, you find yourself saying, "wow, I really get this, enjoy the ride.

This was a great book in helping me find what I needed to know to assist me in obtaining a job that I truely love not just a job for a paycheck. If one does not enjoy what they are doing for 8 or more hours a day it is definitely not healthy. This book will help you find your nick in life.

I think this book is most helpful to those who are thinking of changing their life paths but haven't decided which one yet. I already had, so the benefits were minimal, but passed the book along to a 'wanderer'. Hopefully they will discover what they are meant to do. Well written and enjoyable! I will read more by Thomas Moore!

The book was different than I had expected, but it was still good. The author repeated himself sometimes. I loved his thoughts on being happy at work and got a lot of useful information out of this book.

I ordered this book for a 1 unit class. I am so far finding it very interesting and since I have actually changed life and career directions on numerous occasions it seems to be an easy read that makes sense.

Tom Moore has a 'song to sing' and it is something about allowing your soul to have life and breath - to grow, deepen and be enriched by whatever comes your way on the journey of life. He is a master guide who writes with love and compassion for his readers and an integrity and honesty about himself. In our family, we all say he is 'permission-giving'. I have had this book for a while now, but recently rebought it for my daughter(another fan !) who has reached a stage in life where she is making major new starts and struggling to work out what direction she wants to take, jobs to apply for etc. She found Moore's approach so helpful for regaining perspective and giving herself space to reflect on what matters to her - what is her life 'opus' as he calls it. He is able to bring his unique slant to an area of life that can often get left out of the spiritual arena and breathe new life into our understanding of what we mean by 'work'.

I liked this book. Much more engaging than Care of the Soul. Whether he meant to or not, the author summed up the whole message of the book in three criteria - ie. work needs to be meaningful, ethical and carried out ethically. However I liked the person who was speaking to me through the book, and the anecdotes from therapy held my attention. An original thinker, whose take on one of the parables switched my mind around. I totally get what he is trying to say about bringing the "kingdom of God" into the workplace. It has made me think deeply and is now one of my favourite books - the sort I will dip into again and again.

This book is a thoughtful look at what a life at work is about. I would recommend seekers to use it in conjunction with other books that can be even more specific such as : Please Understand Me 2 and Follow your true colours to the work you love by Carolyn Kalil. Or whatever else helps! It takes time to know oneself and to be in a place to be contemplative about one's life and work experiences....to find the nuggets of wisdom about the way forward

This is a great book for anyone who wants to think more deeply about their work and purpose in life. I had read Care for the Soul and Dark Night of the Soul before reading this book and found it insightful. In fact I liked the book's approach to careers and work so much that it inspired me to set up a business called A Life at Work which offers residential career retreats which have been influenced by the book. For some people for spiritual aspects may not appeal if they are looking for something practical, but there are lots of those sorts of books out there. This definitely offers a different perspective and one that needs time to reflect on.

In the process of reading it, its like having a normal conversation with someone about life. Not sure how its going to end, or if its going to motivate me to finding or working out what my true calling will be. I think I do already know what it is, however I really dont know how to get there or if its just a childhood dream and going to support me!