Benjamin Todd wrote an inspiring book that I am reading now. The title comes from the idea that most people spend about 80,000 hours working during their lives. Todd explains that a good career should not only provide money, but also help a person grow, use their strengths, and make a positive difference in the world. Instead of simply telling people to “follow their passion,” he encourages them to learn new skills, explore different opportunities, and consider which important problems they can help solve.
This book makes me think about who I am becoming and what kind of future I want. I can also work on becoming responsible, curious, kind, and willing to learn from mistakes. The book reminds me that success is not only about having an impressive job or earning a lot of money. It can also mean using my abilities to help other people and contribute something good to my community and the world.
I started thinking about what I could do after many world events changed my relatives' lives. I learned that some technologies I thought would help people can actually cause harm. As a child, I played on Roblox, was interested in flying machines and dreamed of building them to make people’s lives easier. Now I have learned that flying devices exist not only to benefit people, but also for military purposes. For example, the very same drones are used to destroy everything. My relatives live in Ukraine, and my grandfather once told me that a shock wave destroyed his apartment near Kyiv. Such attacks heavily affected the daily life of my relatives. And I am thinking about doing good things that help to prevent harm.
Last summer, I also read Limitless by Jim Kwik and attended one of his free webinars. During the webinar, he asked a question that has stayed with me: “Who am I becoming?” That question feels important because I am beginning to think more seriously about my future, my strengths, and the person I want to be. I thought about it a lot, but although Limitless gave me useful ideas about learning and improving my mindset, it didn't help much with answering that bigger question about my direction in life.
That is why 80,000 Hours: How to Have a Fulfilling Career That Does Good by Benjamin Todd was more helpful to me. The book explains that people have many years of work ahead of them, so it is worth exploring different options instead of rushing to choose one “perfect” career. It encourages readers to learn about their interests, build useful skills, and consider how they can help others through their work. This book helps me see that becoming someone is a process: I can try new things, learn from experiences, and slowly discover where I can make a positive difference. I would recommend it to other students who, like me, are still struggling with questions about their future and who they are becoming.
