Our lives exist on a continuum between two poles: fulfillment and regret. We invest enormous resources of time and energy into staying healthy, being recognized for our achievements, nurturing our relationships, and making money. When we make the right investments, we earn our lives: Our choices, risks, and efforts lead us to a rewarding outcome that we regard as fair and just, regardless of external validation. But how can we know if we’re investing in the right things? How can we ensure that our “earned rewards” add up to an overarching sense of purpose in our lives?

In The Earned Life, pioneering leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith shows us how to live our own lives—not someone else’s version of them. The key to living the earned life, unbound by regret, requires our commitment to a habit of earning and connecting it to something greater than the isolated achievements of our personal ambition. Taking inspiration from Buddhism, Goldsmith implores readers to accept impermanence and avoid the Great Western Disease of “I’ll be happy when…”. He offers practical advice for shedding the obstacles, especially our failures of imagination, that prevent us from creating our own lives. With this book as their guide, readers can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done.

Packed with illuminating exercises and stories from Goldsmith’s storied career as a coach to some of the world’s highest-achieving leaders, The Earned Life is a powerful roadmap for ambitious people seeking a higher purpose.

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized as one of the Top Ten Business Thinkers in the World and the top-rated executive coach at the Thinkers50 ceremony in London since 2011. Published in 2015, his book Triggers is a Wall Street Journal and New York Times #1 Bestseller! He’s also the author of New York Times best seller and #1 Wall Street Journal Business Book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, winner of the Harold Longman Award as Best Business Book of the Year.

With a PhD from UCLA, Marshall is a pioneer 360-degree feedback as a leadership development tool. His early efforts in providing feedback and then following-up with executives to measure changes in behavior were precursors to what eventually evolved as the field of executive coaching. With nearly 40 years of hands-on experience, Marshall Goldsmith is the leading expert on leadership and coaching for behavioral change.