The Happiness Of Pursuit

By: Chris Guillebeau


The Happiness of Pursuit book cover

Chris Gulliebeau has written a handful of books about entrepreneurship and the challenges that face us all.

The happiness of pursuit is all about extraordinary people striving to achieve extraordinary goals.

Chris does a great job of explaining what a quest is and what it is not.

A quest must be extremely difficult to complete, it must be time-bound, and it must be something that requires sacrifice.

Throughout the book, Chris mixes in anecdotal stories about his quest to visit every country in the World. These mini-stories are excellent and tell about the nightmare travel days he has, the cultural difference he encounters, and the feeling of accomplishment when he finally makes it to places he planned months in advance to visit.

The format of the book is enjoyable. Nearly every chapter a new story about an individual on a quest is presented. In addition, the chapter covers some aspects of the mentality and struggle that someone goes through when on that quest. Some examples, their family not believing in them, getting sick, wanting to give up, laws getting in the way, finding true love, and a lot more.

Biggest Insights

After reading the happiness of pursuit I felt compelled to challenge my way of thinking about life. I wanted to start on a quest. But it’s not easy to think about selling all of your belongings and hiking across the country.

For me, a quest might not be something I foresee in my immediate future, but reading stories of those who wanted something more in life was inspiring.

I would recommend this book to anyone who feels stuck in life or has an incurable sense of adventure and wonder.

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