Michelle: The worst career advice you've ever received is probably 'follow your passion.' It sounds inspiring, but what if it's the very thing keeping you stuck, miserable, and endlessly scrolling through job postings at 2 AM? Today, we explore a radical alternative. Mark: Okay, you can't just drop a bomb like that and walk away. 'Follow your passion' is on every graduation card ever made. It’s the North Star for an entire generation of lost millennials and Gen Z. What's the alternative? Michelle: The alternative comes from a fascinating book called 'How to Find Fulfilling Work' by Roman Krznaric. And what's interesting is that Krznaric isn't a typical career coach; he's a social philosopher and a founding faculty member of The School of Life. He argues our whole approach to careers is fundamentally broken. Mark: A philosopher, not a recruiter. I like that. It suggests we're going deeper than just resume tips and interview hacks. Michelle: Exactly. He starts by asking a fundamental question: why are so many of us, with more opportunities than any generation in history, so profoundly unhappy and confused about our work? Mark: That’s the million-dollar question, isn't it? We have endless choices, from being a YouTuber to a data scientist to an artisanal pickle maker. Shouldn't that make us happier? Michelle: You'd think so. But Krznaric argues that this explosion of choice is actually the core of the problem. It’s a modern epidemic of career confusion.

Mark: Hold on. Are you seriously saying that having fewer options was better? That my great-grandfather, who probably had the choice between being a farmer or a slightly different kind of farmer, was better off? That sounds crazy. Michelle: It sounds counter-intuitive, but hear me out. It's not about wanting fewer options, it's about the paralysis that comes from too many. Krznaric tells this incredible personal story. He’s at a gallery in Australia with his father, standing in front of a giant, chaotic Jackson Pollock painting called 'Blue Poles'. Mark: I can picture it. A mess of lines and colors. Michelle: Precisely. And his father, who was a Polish refugee, looks at the painting and says the poles look like prison bars, reminding him of the lack of freedom he had in his life. But the author, Roman, has the opposite reaction. He feels like he's the one inside the prison, looking out at an overwhelming, infinite number of paths he could take, and he's completely paralyzed. Mark: Wow. So for the father, the bars meant 'no choice.' For the son, the bars meant 'too much choice.' That’s a powerful image. Michelle: It perfectly captures what psychologists call the 'paradox of choice.' When we have too many options, we get overwhelmed, our expectations for finding the 'perfect' one become impossibly high, and we often end up less satisfied with whatever we choose. It’s why one major European study found that 60% of workers would choose a different career if they could start over. Mark: Sixty percent! That’s a staggering number. It’s a quiet crisis happening at desks all over the world. Michelle: It is. And it can have devastating consequences. The book opens with the story of a man named Rob Archer. On paper, he had it all. Grew up in a tough area, worked his way up to a high-paying management consultant job in London. Big salary, fancy title, the whole package. Mark: The dream, right? Michelle: The supposed dream. But inside, he was, in his own words, "utterly miserable." He felt like an impostor, disconnected from his work, and was burning himself out trying to fit in. He ignored the feeling for ten years until one day, in a meeting, he had a massive panic attack. He thought he was having a heart attack. Mark: Oh man. That’s terrifying. Michelle: It was his body basically screaming what his mind had been trying to whisper for a decade: this isn't working. The panic attack was a brutal wake-up call. He realized that financial success and a prestigious job title were not only failing to make him happy, they were actively destroying his health. Mark: So the very thing that was supposed to be his ticket to a great life was actually a cage. A very comfortable, well-paying cage, but a cage nonetheless. Michelle: Exactly. And like so many people, he felt trapped. He had a mortgage, a comfortable life. The fear of losing that security was just as paralyzing as the job itself. His story is the perfect example of why we need to rethink what a 'good job' even is. If it's not just about the money or the status, what are we actually looking for?

Mark: Okay, so if it's not just about passion or a big paycheck, what is it about? What are the real ingredients for a fulfilling job, according to Krznaric? Michelle: Well, he breaks it down into a few key elements, and some of them are really surprising. He argues that beyond a certain point, more money doesn't lead to more happiness. It’s what economists call the 'hedonic treadmill'—you get a raise, you feel great for a bit, then your expectations adjust, and you're right back where you started, just with a more expensive lifestyle. Mark: I’ve definitely seen that happen. The goalposts just keep moving. So what are the things that actually matter? Michelle: One of the biggest, and most overlooked, is respect. Not status, not being famous, but the simple, human feeling of being valued for your contribution. And the story he uses to illustrate this is just brilliant. It’s about a man named Trevor Dean. Mark: Let me guess, another high-flying executive? Michelle: Not even close. Trevor Dean is an embalmer. Mark: An embalmer? That’s probably the last job I’d think of as 'fulfilling.' It’s dealing with death all day. It’s not glamorous. It’s not something people brag about at parties. Michelle: And that’s exactly the point. Trevor used to be a refrigeration mechanic. He found the work boring. He took the job at a mortuary and eventually trained to be an embalmer. And he found a profound sense of meaning in it. He said his job was to care for people's loved ones on their final journey. He would receive these incredibly heartfelt thank-you letters from grieving families, thanking him for the dignity and care he showed. Mark: Wow. So his fulfillment wasn't coming from a paycheck or a fancy title, but from the gratitude of the people he was serving. Michelle: Precisely. He felt deeply respected for the unique, human contribution he was making. Krznaric contrasts this with the story of Sameera Khan, a corporate lawyer for a hedge fund. She had the dream job she'd wanted since she was sixteen, a huge salary, and her parents were incredibly proud. But after five years, she had an epiphany on her honeymoon. She realized her job was just about "making rich people richer," and it felt completely meaningless to her. Mark: An embalmer finding more meaning than a lawyer... that flips the whole script on what we think of as a 'good job.' Michelle: It really does. And there's data to back this up. A major global study called the Mercer Engagement Scale ranked the top factors for job satisfaction. Guess where base pay came in? Mark: I’m guessing not number one. Maybe number three? Michelle: Number seven. Mark: Seven! What was at the top? Michelle: 'Respect' and 'the people you work with.' It shows that our relationships and our sense of being valued as human beings are far more powerful drivers of fulfillment than the number on our paycheck. It's about making a difference, using your talents, and feeling that what you do matters to someone, somewhere.

Mark: This is all great, but it still feels a bit abstract. I get it: find work with meaning and respect. But how do you actually find that job without quitting your current one and ending up broke? How do you go from being the miserable consultant to the fulfilled embalmer? Michelle: This is where Krznaric offers his most radical, and maybe most controversial, piece of advice. He says the traditional model of career change—the 'plan then implement' model—is broken. Mark: What do you mean by that? The idea of taking personality tests, making lists of pros and cons, researching for months... Michelle: Exactly that. He argues that you can't think your way into a new career. Introspection has its limits. You can't discover if you'd be a good baker by just thinking about baking. You have to actually get your hands dirty. His principle is simple and powerful: 'Act first, reflect later.' Mark: Act first? That sounds terrifying. It sounds like 'leap before you look.' Michelle: It's more like 'take a small, calculated hop before you look.' He's not saying you should impulsively quit your job. He's advocating for real-world experimentation. And he tells the story of Laura van Bouchout, a woman in Belgium who was stuck in a career rut. So she decided to try thirty different jobs in the year before her thirtieth birthday. Mark: Thirty jobs in one year? What did she do? Michelle: Oh, the list is amazing. She shadowed a fashion photographer, a creative director, a member of the European Parliament, she even tried being the owner of a cat hotel. Mark: A cat hotel owner! That’s incredible. But that's an amazing story, but it sounds like something only a person with a huge safety net could do. What about the rest of us who can't just take a year off to run a cat hotel? Michelle: That’s the most common and valid criticism. And Krznaric addresses it. Laura's story is an extreme example to prove a point. For most people, he recommends two much more accessible strategies. The first is 'conversational research.' Simply talking to people who do jobs you find interesting. Not to ask for a job, but to hear their story. Like Andy Bell, who was working on a building site, got inspired by conversations with hippie tradesmen, and ended up traveling the world and starting his own organic farm. Mark: So just having a conversation can plant a seed. I like that. It's low-risk. What's the other one? Michelle: It's called a 'branching project.' This is where you test a potential new career as a side project, without leaving your main job. The author himself did this. He was working at a foundation but dreamed of running workshops on the art of living. He was terrified of the risk. Mark: Of course. The fear of failure is huge. Michelle: So his partner gave him some brilliant advice: "Stop talking and start doing." He ran a tiny, free workshop in his own kitchen for a few friends. It went well. So he took another small step and ran a class at a local club. It grew, his confidence grew, and eventually, he had enough momentum to leave his day job. He didn't leap; he built a bridge, one plank at a time. Mark: So it’s about creating small, low-stakes experiments to test your 'possible selves.' It’s like dating a career before you marry it. Michelle: That's the perfect analogy. You don't know if there's a spark until you go on the date. You can't find fulfillment by staring at a spreadsheet of potential partners. You have to get out there and interact with the real world.

Michelle: When you put it all together, Krznaric’s argument is a powerful antidote to our modern career anxiety. Our confusion stems from the paradox of too much choice, which leads us to chase the wrong goals, like money and status. And the only way to break that cycle is to stop overthinking and start experimenting. Mark: It’s a complete re-framing. The goal isn't to find your one true calling, as if it's some treasure you'll unearth after digging through enough personality quizzes. Michelle: Exactly. He says a vocation is not 'found' like a lost wallet. It is 'grown' like a garden. It requires patience, it requires getting your hands dirty, it requires trying things and seeing what flourishes. You grow into it through sustained, meaningful effort. Mark: So the big takeaway is to stop waiting for a lightning bolt of epiphany and just... try something small. A tiny experiment. It could be a conversation, a weekend workshop, a small side project. Michelle: That's the heart of it. Action creates clarity. You learn who you are by testing reality, not by looking inside. So for everyone listening, what's one small, un-risky experiment you could try this week to test a different path? Mark: That's a great question to end on. It's not about changing your whole life tomorrow, but about planting one small seed. If you've ever felt stuck in your career, we'd love to hear what small experiments you're thinking of trying. Join the conversation and let us know. Michelle: It's a journey of a thousand miles, but it starts with a single, curious step. Mark: This is Aibrary, signing off.