Hipster Monk

A friend of mine graduated from college last year with a degree in business administration. His dream was to major in engineering and pursue a career in designing high-tech electronics. But his father, the owner of a bakery chain franchise, convinced him a business degree was a more realistic and sensible decision.

My friend now manages his father’s business. He makes good money and drives an expensive car. He made the “sensible” decision. The problem is he gets no satisfaction or any sense of fulfillment from his occupation. He confided to me that he hates the company and only does it for the money. Pleasing his father also plays a big role, I would guess. Joseph Campbell, the brilliant mythologist and author, would say that my friend failed to “follow his bliss.”

In the 1988 PBS documentary, The Power of Myth, as well as in the book of the same title, Campbell relates the following story: [click to continue…]

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