Description#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Everybody tells you to live for a cause larger than yourself, but how exactly do you do it? The author of The Road to Character explores what it takes to lead a meaningful life in a self-centered world.
Every so often, you meet people who radiate joy--who seem to know why they were put on this earth, who glow with a kind of inner light.
Life, for these people, has often followed what we might think of as a two-mountain shape.
They get out of school, they start a career, and they begin climbing the mountain they thought they were meant to climb.
Their goals on this first mountain are the ones our culture endorses: to be a success, to make your mark, to experience personal happiness.
But when they get to the top of that mountain, something happens.
They look around and find the view .
unsatisfying.
They realize: This wasn't my mountain after all.
There's another, bigger mountain out there that is actually my mountain.
And so they embark on a new journey.
On the second mountain, life moves from self-centered to other-centered.
They want the things that are truly worth wanting, not the things other people tell them to want.
They embrace a life of interdependence, not independence.
They surrender to a life of commitment.
In The Second Mountain, David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community.
Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and execute these commitments.
Brooks looks at a range of people who have lived joyous, committed lives, and who have embraced the necessity and beauty of dependence.
He gathers their wisdom on how to choose a partner, how to pick a vocation, how to live out a philosophy, and how we can begin to integrate our commitments into one overriding purpose.
In short, this book is meant to help us all lead more meaningful lives.
But it's also a provocative social commentar.
| Endorses | To be a success to make your mark to experience personal happiness |
|---|---|
| They realize | This wasnt my mountain after all |
| Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose | To a spouse and family to a vocation to a philosophy or faith and to a community |
Random House Large Print Publishing The second mountain: the quest for a moral life, paperback/david brooks
