Bill Burnett - Designing Your New Work Life

Acknowledgments

Designing Your Work Life grew out of the worldwide response to Designing Your Life, and would not have been possible without the collective contributions of many amazing people.

Our writer, chief confessor, literary conscience, and ever-patient listener, Lara Love. Lara helped us find our voice and continues to reliably ensure we speak with it. This book would a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y not have happened without her effort.

Our editor, Vicky Wilson, who informed us that Its not a book; its a movement. You simply have to keep it going and write the next book. So we did. She decided which of eight books it should be. She advocated for all the frustrated workers. She pressed to ensure we spoke to everyone. In short, she played the role of editor brilliantly. Again. You had us at darlings four years ago and youve still got us.

Doug Abrams, our agent, provocateur, and publishing-world docent. Doug got this magic carpet ride started and he continues to be our genie in a bottle. We happily depend on his extraordinary powers to bring big ideas to the world in meaningful ways.

Doug also brought us our great international team (Camilla Ferrier and Jemma McDonagh) at the Marsh Agency and our U.K. team (Caspian Dennis and Sandy Violette) at Abner Stein.

Poppy Hampson and the entire U.K. force at Vintage. Thank you for your brilliant and devoted attention. You had us at the cactus.

Savannah Peterson, our media maven extraordinaire. Every movement is driven by community and community doesnt happen by itself. Someone makes it happen. Our someone is our dear Savvy, a true believer in this work and a global catalyst if there ever was one.

Kim Ingenito and her team at the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau. We had no idea how many miles youd have us flying to literally hundreds of venues worldwide to engage with tens of thousands of people. Thanks for making the book business the people business, and for doing so with such grace.

Kristin Jensen, who makes our workshops happen seamlessly and lets us do what we loveteach.

Trainer Super Pro Susan Burnett is a triple assetadvancing womens empowerment through life design, delivering the goods to corporate clients, and conceiving and delivering our trainer training. You simply do well at all the things we cant or wont. You make us both bigger and better.

Our international collaborators all over the world and especially in Japan, where Manami Tamaoki is leading the charge to bring Designing Your Life workshops to Japanese workers who have one of the most challenging office cultures on the planet, and to Permsit Lamprasitipon, our courageous Thai coach and design thinking workshop leader, who is working hard to make sure that everyone in Thailand has the opportunity to build a well-lived, joyful life.

Stanford Life Design Lab Managing Director Kathy Davies. In the early days, people didnt think this work could survive beyond Bill & Dave. You are the proof that life design is a Big Idea and it can be taught by lots and lots of people, at Stanford and elsewhere. You caught the leadership baton from us with a flourish. We are so grateful for how youve grown the work and freed us to serve our readers beyond the campus.

To our amazing Stanford d.Life Fellows. First, a special shout-out to Gabrielle Santa-Donato for her amazing work in creating the Life Design Studio to empower more than a hundred universities serving more than a million students. Talk about getting the word out! And to our superlative team of teachers and designersJohn Armstrong, Emily Tsiang, and Chris Simamorayou continue to wow students and everyone who gets the privilege of collaborating with you. Well done.

The terrific team at Creative Live, whose careful crafting of a personalized online experience has finally made the answer to the question Can I take the course? be YES! for anyone anywhere anytime.

Special friend Dan Pink, an amazing author, thought leader, and mentor. You have been instrumental in assisting us newbies by generously sharing your experience and insight. We are most grateful for the help.

To all the dozens of great bosses and collaborators who we have worked with and for over our combined seventy-five-plus-year careers. You have taught us so much, and your wisdom (and forgiveness) is the solid ground underneath this book.

And to these terrific communities of life designers, supporters, and mentors:

The more than three hundred educators whove participated in the Stanford Life Design Studio and are dedicated to advancing the mission of higher education.

The more than one hundred dedicated life and executive coaches who have been certified to coach effectively and help groups and individuals make real changes and realize the well-lived and joyful life.

The nearly two hundred event hosts who have invited us to come and speak to you and your communities all over the world. You made the connections that have made all this real and personal for so many people, including us.

The more than three hundred community leaders and more than thirty thousand members of our online community. Your dedication, persistence, and support are the rocket fuel of this movement.

Thank you.

Also by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Designing Your Life

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Designing Your New Work Life

Bill Burnett is the executive director of the Stanford Design Program and was a product leader for Apples groundbreaking PowerBook business. He directs the undergraduate and graduate programs in design at Stanford.

Dave Evans is the codirector of the Stanford Life Design Lab and a cofounder of Electronic Arts, one of the worlds largest interactive entertainment companies. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from Stanford.

designingyour.life

creativelive.com/DYL

Are We There Yet?

Dysfunctional Belief: Good enough isnt good enough, I want more.

Reframe: Good enough is GREATfor now.

T heres a sign over the Design Studio at Stanford that says You Are Here. We love that sign, so much so that we made it a chapter title in our first book. The idea behind that sign is simplebefore you can figure out where you are going, you need to know where you are, and once you know and accept where you are, you can design your way to where you want to be.

Are We There Yet? is different. As the title suggests, its about not being content with where you are. Its the same question you hear from kids in the backseat during a long car ride.

Are we there yet?

Are we there?

Are we now?

When will we be there?

Are. We. There. Yet?

Theres no joy in that family car ride. Its just a boring means to an end. Getting there. Once there, wherever there is, thats when they will be happy. Not there yet? Then not happy!

Were not discontented kids in the backseat of the family minivan, but how many of us live our lives, especially our work lives, as if we are?

How often do we find ourselves waiting to get there ? That magical place that we wait and wait forthe place where we will finally be content and happy. We think once we have a better job, or more money, or that promotion, we will have finally arrived at the place where things are new and different and magically better. And how many of us make ourselves deeply unhappy thinking this way? The truth is, when we live our lives waiting to get somewhere, the only place we get is stuck.

We have something important to say to you: Wherever you are in your work life, whatever job you are doing, its good enough. For now.

Not forever.

For now.

Isnt that a relief? Good enough for now is one of the big reframes of this book. Cultivating this attitude doesnt mean life or work cant get better, or that things never change, or that you stop learning and growing. On the contrary, changing our internal narrative to good enough for now makes it possible for everything in our external situation to transform.