Happiness Of Pursuit

Aremarkablebookthatwillbothguideandinspire，"TheHappinessofPursuit"revealshowanyonecanbringmeaningintotheirlifebyundertakingaquest.Whenhesetouttovisitalloftheplanetscountriesbyagethirty-five，compulsivegoalseekerChrisGuillebeauneverimaginedthathisjourneysbiggestrevelationwouldbehow"many"peoplelikehimselfexisteachpursuingachallengingquest.And，interestingly，thesequestsarentjusttravel-oriented.Onthecontrary，theyreasdiverseashumanityitself.Someinvolveexploration;othersthepursuitofathleticorartisticexcellence;stillothersabattleagainstinjusticeorpovertyorthreatstotheenvironment.EverywherethatChrisvisitedhefoundordinarypeopleworkingtowardextraordinarygoals，makingdailydownpaymentsontheirdream.Thesequestersincludedasuburbanmompursuingawildlyambitiousculinaryproject，aDJproducingtheworldslargestsymphony，ayoungwidowercompletingthetaskshiswifewouldneveraccomplish，andateenagercrossinganentireoceanalone-aswellasado-it-yourselfertacklingM.I.T.scomputer-sciencecourse，anerdturninghimselfintoreal-lifeJamesBond，andscoresofotherswritingthemselvesintotherecordbooks.ThemoreChrisspokewiththesestrivers，themorehebegantoappreciatethedirectlinkbetweenquestingandlong-termhappiness--howgoingaftersomethinginamethodicalwayenrichesourlives--andhewascompelledtocompleteacomprehensivestudyofthephenomenonandextractthebestadvice.In"TheHappinessofPursuit"hedrawsoninterviewswithhundredsofquesters，revealingtheirsecretmotivations，theirselectioncriteria，theroleplayedbyfriendsandfamily，theirtricksforsolvinglogistics，andtheimportanceofdocumentation.EquallyfascinatingisChrisexaminationofquestingsotherside，includingquestersacuteawarenessofmortality，theirstruggleagainstmonotony，andtheirwistfulfeelingsonceaquesthassucceeded.Whathappens"after"thesummitisclimbed，thepaintinghung，theendurancerecordbroken，theatriskcommunitysaved?Abookthatchallengeseachofustotakecontroltomakeourlives""be"about"somethingwhileatthesametimeremainingclear-eyedaboutthecommitment--"TheHappinessofPursuit"willinspirereadersofeveryageandaspiration.Itsaplaybookformakingyourlifecount."