Narrator: What if the most common question typed into Google isn't about celebrity gossip or the latest news, but a deeply personal, almost desperate plea: "What should I do with my life?" This quiet, universal search for purpose reveals a widespread feeling of being lost, of working hard at something that fails to ignite a sense of meaning or excitement. Many people feel trapped in a cycle of discontent, believing that work is simply a means to an end, a source of income but not of joy.

In his book Sparked, author and Good Life Project founder Jonathan Fields proposes a new framework for answering this fundamental question. He argues that the key to a fulfilling work life isn't about finding a singular, elusive "passion," but about understanding our own unique "source code" for work that makes us come alive. Sparked introduces a system of ten archetypes, or "Sparketypes," designed to provide clarity and give individuals the tools to build a life of purpose, engagement, and expressed potential.

Narrator: The book begins by addressing a pervasive modern anxiety: the feeling of being unfulfilled at work. This isn't a niche problem; it's a silent epidemic of disengagement. Fields illustrates this with the simple but powerful story of the Google search bar. When someone types "what should I do," the top autocomplete suggestion is often "with my life." This reveals a collective yearning for direction and purpose that traditional career advice often fails to satisfy. The book argues that this feeling of being lost stems from a fundamental misalignment between the work we do and our intrinsic nature. To solve this, Fields introduces the concept of being "Sparked," a state that exists at the intersection of purpose, engagement, meaningfulness, expressed potential, and flow. It’s the feeling of being fully absorbed and energized by an activity, and the book's central premise is that everyone has a unique imprint for work that can generate this state.

Narrator: To move from abstract feelings to concrete action, Sparked introduces its core framework: the Sparketype Profile. This profile is not another personality test but a blueprint for the type of effort that energizes an individual. It consists of three key elements. The first is the Primary Sparketype, which is the core driver that generates the strongest impulse to act and makes a person feel most alive. The second is the Shadow Sparketype, a secondary impulse that often supports and amplifies the Primary. For example, the author describes his own profile as a Maker Primary with a Scientist Shadow. His core impulse is to create things, but when he hits a roadblock, his Scientist impulse kicks in to solve the problem, allowing him to get back to making. The final element is the Anti-Sparketype, which represents the work that is the most draining and demotivating. Understanding this "lead weight" is just as crucial as knowing what energizes you, as it helps explain why certain tasks, even if you're good at them, leave you feeling depleted.

Narrator: The framework is built upon ten distinct Sparketypes, each representing a fundamental driver of purpose and engagement. These are the Maven, Maker, Scientist, Essentialist, Performer, Sage, Warrior, Advisor, Advocate, and Nurturer. To illustrate the diversity of these impulses, the book contrasts two of the most common types: the Maven and the Maker.

The Maven is driven by a deep, almost primal need to learn. Their slogan is "I live to learn." The book tells the story of author Neil Pasricha, a classic Maven with a broad fascination for everything. His insatiable curiosity about what makes people tick fuels his writing and speaking, as every interaction becomes a moment of discovery. In contrast, the Maker is driven by the impulse to create and manifest ideas into tangible forms. Their slogan is "I make ideas manifest." The story of Max Levi Frieder, co-founder of the organization Artolution, shows this impulse in action. Initially a fine artist, Max discovered that his Maker impulse was most fulfilled not by creating alone, but by building an organization that facilitates large-scale, collaborative art projects with children in refugee camps, combining his drive to create with a desire to serve.

Narrator: While some Sparketypes are process-driven, others are service-driven, finding their energy in elevating others. The Warrior and the Advisor exemplify this. The Warrior's impulse is to gather, organize, and lead people on a meaningful quest. This is powerfully illustrated by the story of Linda Blair. A natural leader from a young age, she transitioned from nursing to a consulting role at Deloitte, eventually becoming Chief Experience Officer. In this role, her Warrior impulse allowed her to lead a large team, rally them around a shared vision, and transform patient care on a mass scale, all while using her Advisor Shadow to guide and empower her team members.

The Advisor, meanwhile, is driven to guide and mentor others through sustained, personal relationships. They create a safe space for growth. The book highlights the work of high-performance psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais, who coaches elite athletes and CEOs. Gervais has a pact with himself: he doesn't give advice. Instead, he acts as a conduit for insight, asking powerful questions that help people arrive at their own solutions. This approach fosters self-efficacy and independence, which is the ultimate goal of a true Advisor.

Narrator: Two of the most empathetic Sparketypes are the Advocate and the Nurturer. The Advocate is driven to champion a cause and give a voice to an idea or a community that needs to be heard. This impulse is often dormant until an "inciting incident" awakens it. This is shown through the story of Deborah Owens, who worked in corporate leadership for years. After experiencing a prolonged period of discrimination, she was galvanized into action. The experience was devastating, but it activated her Advocate impulse. She left her job and launched her own agency, Corporate Alley Cat, to champion equality and diversity within organizations, ensuring no one else would have to endure what she did.

The Nurturer is driven by the impulse to give care and uplift others. They are deeply empathetic and feel a powerful call to ease the suffering of those around them. The book introduces Jen Pastiloff, a writer and teacher who embodies the Nurturer. She has an almost supernatural ability to see and feel what those around her are experiencing. Her life's work, leading workshops on creativity and freedom, is centered on her capacity to make people feel seen, held, and valued. For the Nurturer, this act of providing comfort and care is what allows them, and those they serve, to come most fully alive.

Narrator: A core message of Sparked is that discovering your Sparketype doesn't mean you must immediately quit your job and "blow up your life." The book cautions against this, instead offering a more sustainable path through three "Activation Keys": Express, Reimagine, and Expand. The most powerful of these is to reimagine your current work. The story of a woman named Sally perfectly illustrates this. Facing a cancer recurrence, she took a job at a media network solely for the health insurance. The work itself was unfulfilling. However, after discovering her Primary Sparketype was the Advisor, she began to see opportunities to express it. She started mentoring younger teammates and offering guidance to her boss. This felt so natural and rewarding that she pursued a coaching certification and eventually convinced her company to create a formal coaching role for her. When she was later laid off during the pandemic, she had already built the skills and reputation to launch her own successful consulting firm, with her former employer as her first client. Sally transformed a job of necessity into a career she loved by finding ways to activate her Sparketype right where she was.

Narrator: The single most important takeaway from Sparked is that finding fulfillment at work is not about discovering the perfect job title, but about understanding the essential nature of the work that energizes you. It’s a shift from a noun-based approach—"I am a lawyer"—to a verb-based one—"I am energized by solving complex problems (Scientist)" or "I come alive when I guide others (Advisor)." By identifying your Primary, Shadow, and Anti-Sparketypes, you gain a powerful vocabulary to understand your own motivations and depletions.

The ultimate challenge presented by the book is to move beyond mere discovery and into intentional action. It asks you to look at your life not as a series of fixed roles, but as a canvas. How can you paint more of your Sparked work onto it? This might not require a dramatic overhaul, but rather a series of small, deliberate choices to express, reimagine, and expand the work that makes you, and by extension the world, come more fully alive.