Cover of Born for This by Chris Guillebeau

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

Born for This — Find the work
you were born to do.

Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do

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By Chris Guillebeau, author of The $100 Startup

About the book

Have you ever met someone with the perfect job?

To the outside observer, it seems like they've won the career lottery — that by some stroke of luck, they've found the one thing they love so much that it doesn't even feel like work, and they're getting paid well to do it.

In reality, their good fortune has little to do with chance. There's a method for finding your perfect job — and it sits at the intersection of three things.

  1. Joy

    What lights you up — the work you'd happily do on a free Saturday.

  2. Money

    What sustains you — the work people will pay you to keep doing.

  3. Flow

    What absorbs you — where the hours disappear and the friction falls away.

Through inspiring stories and practical tools, Born for This is the field guide for finding the overlap — and building a career that feels so right, it's like you were born to do it.

Praise

What people are saying

  • Born for This is chock-full of inspiring yet practical advice to develop new streams of business, build your fan base, and invent the job of your dreams.

    Daniel H. Pink Author of To Sell Is Human and Drive

  • Chris Guillebeau makes getting your dream job seem less of a dream and more of a reality.

    Susan Cain New York Times bestselling author of Quiet

  • Intensely practical and packed with real-life examples, Born for This is the essential guide for a career that will bring you not just a paycheck but true happiness.

    Gretchen Rubin New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before

  • If you've ever wondered, 'What should I do next?' read this book!

    Jon Acuff New York Times bestselling author of Do Over

  • Figuring out our highest point of contribution at work is not 'one more thing to do'—it is the very work of our professional life.

    Greg McKeown Author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

  • It takes real courage to overcome the inertia of your current life to create something better.

    Shawn Achor New York Times bestselling author of Before Happiness

  • Chris Guillebeau was born to write this book. He's delivered an inspirational and absurdly useful step-by-step guide to finding—or creating—your dream job.

    A. J. Jacobs New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically

  • You were born to read this book — and use the powerful insights it shares to do work that wows all witnesses.

    Robin Sharma #1 bestselling author of The Leader Who Had No Title and founder of The Titan Academy

Watch

Joy, Money, Flow — explained

A short introduction to the framework at the heart of the book.

About the author

Chris Guillebeau

Chris Guillebeau is a writer, traveler, and entrepreneur. He visited every country in the world (all 193) before turning 35, and has written eight books along the way — including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller The $100 Startup and the WSJ bestseller Born for This.

His work focuses on unconventional careers, finding meaningful work, and building a life worth living.

Other books by Chris

  • Time Anxiety 2025
  • Gonzo Capitalism 2023
  • The Money Tree 2020
  • 100 Side Hustles 2019
  • Side Hustle 2017
  • The Happiness of Pursuit 2014
  • The $100 Startup 2012
  • The Art of Non-Conformity 2010