What's the Point? Turning Purpose Into Your Daily Superpower

A Next Big Idea Club "Must Read"

"A gobsmackingly powerful work. What's the Point? might be the most important book you'll read this year."
— Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drive and When

Is everything you've been taught about finding fulfillment wrong? For decades, we've been told to follow our passion, find our purpose, and chase happiness. Yet even when you do everything right, work can still feel hollow. And in a world where AI can do more of what once made us valuable, the old playbook is not just outdated—it can point you in exactly the wrong direction.

In What's the Point?, #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Rath—whose books from How Full Is Your Bucket? to StrengthsFinder 2.0 and Eat Move Sleep have shaped a generation—argues that fulfillment does not come from looking deeper inside yourself. It comes from what you contribute to other people. Your greatest daily superpower is not your title, your salary, or your personal brand. It is your ability to make life better for someone else—in ways no algorithm can replace.

Drawing on three decades of research and a life lived on borrowed time since a cancer diagnosis at age fifteen, Rath delivers his most personal and provocative book yet. He shows why passion is overrated, how old dreams can quietly hold you back, and why purpose is not something you find once and for all. It is something you build every day—in every meeting, every task, every role, and every relationship.

In this book, you'll learn how to:
* Stop chasing abstract purpose and start creating it through daily contribution
* Redesign your work around the people you serve
* Protect yourself from burnout by focusing less on constant self-optimization and more on useful impact
* Turn ordinary tasks, meetings, and projects into opportunities for meaning
* Make smarter career decisions by asking who needs you most, not just what looks best on paper
* Build a legacy through small choices that outlast your job title

This is not a feel-good pep talk. It is a direct challenge to stop sleepwalking through your career and start doing the work only you can do. Whether you are just getting started, rethinking your next chapter, or determined to make your work matter more, What's the Point? is a practical guide to building purpose into everyday life—starting today.

Tom is an author and researcher who studies how careers impact health and wellbeing. He has written 12 books that have sold more than 10 million copies and made hundreds of appearances on global bestseller lists. Tom's new book, WHAT'S THE POINT? TURNING PURPOSE INTO YOUR DAILY SUPERPOWER, will be released on April 28, 2026.

Tom’s first book, How Full Is Your Bucket?, was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. His book StrengthsFinder 2.0 was listed as Amazon’s top selling non-fiction book of all time. Tom’s other bestsellers include Strengths Based Leadership, Wellbeing, Eat Move Sleep, and Are You Fully Charged?

Tom is currently co-founder and CEO of CareerSight. He previously led Gallup’s workplace business and served as a Senior Scientist. Tom was also a Vice-Chair of the VHL cancer research organization. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania, where he has also been a guest lecturer.