17. The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Recommended by:
Author: Chris Guillebeau
Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Improvement, Happiness
Info: 304 pages, published September 9, 2014
Format: Book
Summary
The Happiness of Pursuit is all about quests and the people who set them. Chris Guillebeau, the author, became interested in quests when he set out to visit all of the countries in the world by age thirty-five. The people and quests he profiles are fascinating and diverse: exploration, athletics, artistic pursuits to name a few. The “questers” profiled included a suburban mom pursuing a wildly ambitious culinary project, a DJ producing the world’s largest symphony, a young widower completing the tasks his wife would never accomplish, and a teenager crossing an entire ocean alone – as well as a do-it-yourselfer tackling M.I.T.’s computer-science course, a nerd turning himself into real-life James Bond, and scores of others writing themselves into the record books. The Happiness of Pursuit also explores the connection between questing and long-term happiness, i.e. how going after something in a methodical way enhances our lives.
Quotes
“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.”
“Not everyone needs to believe in your dream, but you do.”
“a quest can bring purpose and meaning to your life,”
“Your comfort zone may be more like a cage you can’t escape from than a safe place you can retreat to.”
“Don’t just do something “fun.” Find a way to create structure around a project and build in a timeline.”
“What’s the difference between a hobby and a quest? You can stop thinking about a hobby, but a quest becomes a total fascination.”
“If you want to make every day an adventure, all you have to do is prioritize adventure. It has to become more important than routine.”
“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.” So, too, for a quest. The most important thing is continuing to make progress.”
“A good plan allows for plenty of spontaneity and room for change – but without a plan at all, it’s difficult to work toward something significant over time.”
“Discontent is the first necessity of progress. —THOMAS A. EDISON”
“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.”
My Take
The Happiness of Pursuit inspired my thousand book challenge. After reading this book, I thought to myself, “I want a quest too!.” Reading has always been a passion and huge source of enjoyment for me, so I decided to embark on my quest to read 1000 books during my 50’s (I had just turned 50 on December 21, 2015, so my fifth decade seemed like a good time frame to achieve my quest). After almost a year into the quest, I can report that it has been a uniformly positive experience, bringing additional happiness and purpose into my life, and inspired me to start this blog as a way to track my progress. If you are interested in starting your own quest (which I highly recommend), definitely check out The Happiness of Pursuit.
