How to Find a Career You Genuinely Love

Ali Abdaal, a young man with short, curly dark hair, glasses, and a light-colored hoodie, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"A problem that a lot of people have with their career is that it can actually be a source of stress."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali sits on a red booth in a cafe, typing on a silver MacBook laptop. He has white wireless earbuds in his ears and a focused expression. He is wearing a light grey hoodie.

"Because, you know, as human beings, we like the idea of certainty,"

Setting: cafe — bright, natural light from window, warm accent lighting

Ali, wearing purple scrubs and a stethoscope, stands in a hospital hallway, speaking to the camera. He gestures with his right hand. A medical device is to his left, and a window with a view of trees is to his right.

"but not knowing what actually we want to do with our career or whether we're really going to enjoy it, can actually be profoundly uncertain."

Setting: hospital — bright, fluorescent overhead lighting

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"And even if you know what you want to do and what you enjoy, there's actually no guarantee that you're going to be able to turn that into a well-paying and successful career,"

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali sits at a wooden table in a cafe, writing in a notebook with a pen. He is wearing a light blue long-sleeved shirt and dark trousers. A black backpack rests on the seat next to him. His reflection is visible in the window behind him.

"can actually be profoundly uncertain."

Setting: cafe — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"And even if you know what you want to do and what you enjoy, there's actually no guarantee that you're going to be able to turn that into a well-paying and successful career."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a black t-shirt and glasses, sits at a desk with a large computer monitor displaying a vibrant landscape. He speaks to the camera, his hands clasped in front of him. A piano and sheet music are visible to his right.

"there's actually no guarantee that you're going to be able to turn that into a well-paying and successful career."

Setting: home office — soft, natural light from window, artificial overhead light

Ali, wearing a teal t-shirt and glasses, sits at a desk and holds up a gold YouTube Play Button award with both hands, smiling at it. A large computer monitor is to his left, and a piano is in the background.

"there's actually no guarantee that you're going to be able to turn that into a well-paying and successful career."

Setting: home office — soft, natural light from window, artificial overhead light

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"which again, adds to the stress."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a blue denim shirt over a white t-shirt, sits at a desk with a microphone and camera setup. He adjusts his headphones and looks to the left, then to the right, as if listening or thinking. A plant is visible behind him.

"And so that translates into this career anxiety that a lot of us can feel,"

Setting: office — bright, natural light from window, soft artificial light

Ali, wearing a blue shirt and glasses, sits at a desk in a bright room, looking out a large window. He is typing on a keyboard and appears focused. His profile is visible.

"that a lot of us can feel,"

Setting: office — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing a light blue shirt and glasses, sits at a desk, looking thoughtfully to the left. He is clasping his hands together and appears deep in thought. A water bottle and colorful pens are on the desk.

"a lot of worries and apprehensions and self-doubts about whether we're actually on the right path and whether we're actually truly fulfilled in our current jobs."

Setting: office — bright, natural light from window, soft artificial light

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Now, a little while back, I spoke to a professor of behavioral science,"

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, looks up thoughtfully at a tall bookshelf filled with colorful books. He appears pensive.

"about whether we're actually on the right path and whether we're actually truly fulfilled in our current jobs."

Setting: library — soft, ambient light

Three young men are in a large room with wooden tables and ornate curtains. One man in a red jacket is filming the other two, who are talking. The man in the middle holds a red cup.

"Now, a little while back, I spoke to a professor of behavioral science,"

Setting: event space — bright, natural light from windows

Ali, wearing glasses and a grey hoodie, sits at a table in an office, looking to the right with a thoughtful expression, resting his chin on his hand. Other people are blurred in the background.

"Now, a little while back, I spoke to a professor of behavioral science,"

Setting: office — bright, natural light from windows, artificial overhead light

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Now, a little while back, I spoke to a professor of behavioral science,"

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Grace Lordan, a woman with dark hair and glasses, speaks directly into a microphone. She is wearing a black top and has a thoughtful expression.

"Grace Lordan, who has written a book all about how to find and succeed in a career that you actually enjoy."

Setting: home — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, holding up a white book with a colorful "Think BIG" title. He smiles and gestures with his free hand, looking at the camera.

"And so, in this video, we're going to talk about seven evidence-based techniques that you can use to move more towards a career that you actually enjoy."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful. Text overlay appears on screen.

"And so, in this video, we're going to talk about seven evidence-based techniques that you can use to move more towards a career that you actually enjoy."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Text: "7 Evidence-based Techniques"

A blue screen appears with white text that reads 'Tip 1' and 'TASK OVER TITLE'.

"Tip one, Task over Title."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "Tip 1", "TASK OVER TITLE"

Grace Lordan, a woman with dark hair and glasses, speaks directly into a microphone. She is wearing a black top and has a thoughtful expression, gesturing with her right hand.

"I've noticed a lot of times when I talk to people about careers, they're attached to a label, so they want to be a trader or an investment banker or they want to be a doctor, or they're attached to a lifestyle, so they want to be able to go on a particular vacation or buy a particular car."

Setting: home — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing a black zipped jacket and glasses, sits at a desk with a microphone, looking contemplatively to the left. He has a slight beard.

"or they're attached to a lifestyle, so they want to be able to go on a particular vacation or buy a particular car."

Setting: office — bright, natural light from window, soft artificial light

Grace Lordan, a woman with dark hair and glasses, speaks directly into a microphone. She is wearing a black top and has a thoughtful expression, gesturing with her right hand.

"And the kind of think big journey is really thinking about, if I were to be a doctor, if I were to be a trader, what would be the tasks that I would be doing on a day-to-day basis and would I ultimately end up enjoying those tasks? So the activities that I'm going to spend the time in."

Setting: home — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Now, there's so many studies from the field of psychology that show that a lot of your success in a career actually comes down to your happiness in that particular job."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, is visible in a small inset video on the right while a full-screen image of a research paper titled 'Does Happiness Promote Career Success? Revisiting the Evidence' is displayed. He gestures with his hands.

"Now, there's so many studies from the field of psychology that show that a lot of your success in a career actually comes down to your happiness in that particular job."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "Does Happiness Promote Career Success? Revisiting the Evidence", "Lisa C. Walsh, Julia K. Boehm, and Sonja Lyubomirsky", "Abstract", "Empirical research demonstrates a relationship between happiness and career success. For example, happy people receive higher earnings, exhibit better performance, and obtain more favorable supervisor evaluations than their less happy peers. Researchers have posited that success leads to happiness, but Boehm and Lyubomirsky reviewed the relevant research in 2008 and argued that the alternative hypothesis—that happiness causes success—may be equally plausible. A decade later, we return to the literature to supplement studies we previously cited with new research and to determine whether the results of cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental investigations provide additional support for this hypothesis. We conclude that the evidence continues to persuasively suggest that happiness is correlated with and often precedes career success and that experimentally enhancing positive emotions leads to improved outcomes in the workplace."

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, is visible in a small inset video on the right while a full-screen image of a research paper titled 'Be Happy in your Work: The Role of Positive Psychology in Working with Change and Performance' is displayed. He gestures with his hands.

"actually comes down to your happiness in that particular job."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "Be Happy in your Work: The Role of Positive Psychology in Working with Change and Performance", "Mark S. Allen and Paul J. McCarthy", "Abstract", "This narrative targets the role of happiness (subjective well-being) in change and performance in the workforce. Grounded within the paradigm of positive psychology, we draw on theory and research from several performance-related domains (including sport and physical activity) to describe the development of happiness in organizations and associated benefits to individuals and groups. Our review highlights the physical and mental health benefits of happiness, bidirectional associations between happiness and work-based performance (occupational success), and the contribution of individual differences (genetics and personality) to happiness and well-being. Moreover, we list a series of empirically guided techniques—often utilized in the domain of sport and performance psychology—that might be considered in the development of happiness in organizations. These include positive mental imagery, hypothetical thinking, cognitive reappraisal (and the development of a challenge state), physical activity, and writing-based interventions. We conclude by offering potential avenues for research inquiry as they relate to change and performance in organizations."

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"And what Professor Lordan is saying is that if you focus too much on the title of the job, you can actually forget about what the day-to-day of the thing actually involves."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A young woman with blonde hair, wearing a white sweater, sits in a chair with a pen in her mouth, looking thoughtful. She then starts writing in a notebook. A bookshelf is visible behind her.

"And what Professor Lordan is saying is that if you focus too much on the title of the job, you can actually forget about what the day-to-day of the thing actually involves."

Setting: library — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Now, this might sound super boring and obvious, but actually, I've seen so many people, and I I used to fall into this trap myself as well of thinking that like the career title of like, oh, it would be cool to be a neurosurgeon. It would be cool to be a plastic surgeon."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Two men in suits sit at desks in an office. One leans back, looking bored and playing with an orange. The other leans on his hand, looking tired. A bookshelf with red and black binders is behind them.

"Now, this might sound super boring and obvious, but actually, I've seen so many people, and I I used to fall into this trap myself as well of thinking that like the career title of like, oh, it would be cool to be a neurosurgeon. It would be cool to be a plastic surgeon."

Setting: office — bright, artificial overhead light

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Now, this might sound super boring and obvious, but actually, I've seen so many people, and I I used to fall into this trap myself as well of thinking that like the career title of like, oh, it would be cool to be a neurosurgeon. It would be cool to be a plastic surgeon."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing purple scrubs and red sneakers, walks confidently down a bright hospital hallway, smiling. He has a stethoscope around his neck and a yellow lanyard. An 'exit' sign is visible above a door.

"Is it actually as glamorous as the thing potentially sounds?"

Setting: hospital — bright, fluorescent overhead lighting

Ali, wearing purple scrubs, sits at a desk in a hospital office, looking at papers. A female colleague in a black and white polka dot shirt leans over the desk, handing him a document. A 'Welcome to F14' sign is visible.

"Is it actually as glamorous as the thing potentially sounds?"

Setting: hospital — bright, fluorescent overhead lighting

Text: "Welcome to F14"

A man in a dark t-shirt stands on a stage with a large screen behind him. The screen displays a stick figure turning a ship's wheel. He gestures with both hands as if explaining something.

"And this relates to an idea from Tim Urban called Pixel Theory."

Setting: conference — spotlight on speaker, blue lighting on screen

A blurred image of a man on a stage with a screen behind him. White text 'PIXEL THEORY' appears on the screen.

"which is the idea that life is a picture, but we live in an individual pixel of that picture."

Setting: conference — spotlight on speaker, blue lighting on screen

Text: "PIXEL THEORY"

A grid of colorful squares fills the screen, with one white square in the center containing a simple black stick figure. The colors are vibrant and varied.

"which is the idea that life is a picture, but we live in an individual pixel of that picture."

Setting: digital — flat

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"So basically what that means is that we might think of our life as being this broad brushstroke, beautiful painting of like, you know, what's our job title? What are we doing for fun? What are okay, like this this big kind of high-level thing."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"But actually, a lot of your happiness is governed by the day-to-day. Like, what does your calendar look like on a given day?"

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"And so, when it comes to finding a job that you actually love, finding a career that you actually love, thinking about the day-to-day nature of the tasks rather than the broad abstract nature of the job title, is potentially one way to help with that."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A blue screen appears with white text that reads 'Tip 2' and 'VISUALISE YOUR ME+'.

"Tip number two, visualize your Me+."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "Tip 2", "VISUALISE YOUR ME+"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, holding up a white book with a colorful "Think BIG" title. He smiles and gestures with his free hand, looking at the camera.

"Now, this was actually one of my favorite ideas from the book. The idea that you should visualize what Me+ is going to look like."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"And Me+ is basically me, or you, but it's like the the plus version of you, kind of the version that you aspire to be."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A top-down shot of hands opening a book to a page with a table of questions. The book is titled 'Think Big'. A plant and a computer mouse are visible.

"And this is the exercise that she's got in the book on how you can visualize what your Me+ is going to be doing."

Setting: desk — bright, even light

Text: "WHAT ME+ WILL BE DOING", "Complete the following statements:"

A top-down shot of hands opening a book to a page with a table of questions. The book is titled 'Think Big'. A plant and a computer mouse are visible.

"And so, you can fill these questions out for yourself, and I've actually written them in the video description, so you can just have a look there if you feel like it."

Setting: desk — bright, even light

Text: "WHAT ME+ WILL BE DOING", "Complete the following statements:"

A top-down shot of hands writing on a book page with a table of questions. The answers written are 'PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL/THOUGHT-LEADER', 'ENTREPRENEUR+WRITER', 'PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT', and 'MY OWN'. A plant and a smartwatch are visible.

"But we're asking, you know, the overall big thinking goal for Me+ is dot dot dot. What is Me+'s job title? Which industry will Me+ be working in? What's the company that Me+ is going to be working for?"

Setting: desk — bright, even light

Text: "WHAT ME+ WILL BE DOING", "Complete the following statements:", "The overall big-thinking goal for ME+ is ... PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL/THOUGHT-LEADER", "ME+'s job title will be ... ENTREPRENEUR+WRITER", "ME+ will be working in the ... industry PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT", "The company ME+ will be working for is ... MY OWN"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, looking down and to the right while speaking. He holds a pen in his right hand and gestures with his left. His expression is thoughtful.

"But we're asking, you know, the overall big thinking goal for Me+ is dot dot dot. What is Me+'s job title? Which industry will Me+ be working in? What's the company that Me+ is going to be working for?"

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A top-down shot of hands writing on a book page with a table of questions. The answers written are 'PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL/THOUGHT-LEADER', 'ENTREPRENEUR+WRITER', 'PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT', and 'MY OWN'. A plant and a smartwatch are visible. Text is being written in the 'Provide a list in response to one of the following statements:' section.

"It might be your own. Me+ will be running or working in a company that has the following characteristics."

Setting: desk — bright, even light

Text: "WHAT ME+ WILL BE DOING", "Complete the following statements:", "The overall big-thinking goal for ME+ is ... PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL/THOUGHT-LEADER", "ME+'s job title will be ... ENTREPRENEUR+WRITER", "ME+ will be working in the ... industry PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT", "The company ME+ will be working for is ... MY OWN", "Provide a list in response to one of the following statements:", "ME+ will be in a similar role, but my responsibilities have expanded to include: WRITING, TEACHING, PODCAST INTERVIEWS, WORKING WITH STUDENTS"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, looking down and to the right while speaking. He holds a pen in his right hand and gestures with his left. His expression is thoughtful.

"And you can add in what sort of responsibilities you would want your Me+ role to have."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, looking down and to the right while speaking. He holds a pen in his right hand and gestures with his left. His expression is thoughtful.

"And then on the following page, we've got a few examples of what sort of tasks you might want your Me+ to actually be doing."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A top-down shot of hands highlighting tasks in a book with an orange marker. The tasks are listed in a grid, with some highlighted in pink/orange. A plant is visible in the top right.

"And then I've gone through and I've highlighted some of the stuff that's most relevant to me, like, I want to be disrupting how people think about things."

Setting: desk — bright, even light

Text: "ME+ will be engaged in the following activities", "Disrupting how people think about things"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, looking down and to the right while speaking. He holds a pen in his right hand and gestures with his left. His expression is thoughtful.

"Writing consultation advice to others, coaching and developing others, solving problems,"

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A top-down shot of hands highlighting tasks in a book with an orange marker. The tasks are listed in a grid, with some highlighted in pink/orange. A plant is visible in the top right.

"Writing consultation advice to others, coaching and developing others, solving problems,"

Setting: desk — bright, even light

Text: "ME+ will be engaged in the following activities", "Writing consultation advice to others", "Coaching and developing others", "Solving problems"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, looking down and to the right while speaking. He holds a pen in his right hand and gestures with his left. His expression is thoughtful.

"updating and drawing on relevant knowledge, teaching and training, performing for the public, creating and selling art, all of these different things that I will I like the idea of being in a career where I'm doing these sorts of activities."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A top-down shot of hands highlighting tasks in a book with an orange marker. More tasks are highlighted, including 'Updating and drawing on relevant knowledge', 'Teaching and training others', 'Performing for the public', and 'Creating and selling art'. A plant is visible in the top right.

"updating and drawing on relevant knowledge, teaching and training, performing for the public, creating and selling art, all of these different things that I will I like the idea of being in a career where I'm doing these sorts of activities."

Setting: desk — bright, even light

Text: "ME+ will be engaged in the following activities", "Updating and drawing on relevant knowledge", "Teaching and training others", "Performing for the public", "Creating and selling art"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"And so, really the point here is that on this first page, when you're defining this Me+ thing, you are kind of thinking about what's your job title and what kind of what's the big picture of what you're going to be doing in this career that you really enjoy."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A top-down shot of hands quickly flipping through pages of a book. The book is titled 'Think Big'. A plant and a computer mouse are visible.

"But then, on the next page, you're kind of drilling more down into what are the specific tasks that you personally enjoy doing."

Setting: desk — bright, even light

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"And once you know that, then you can start taking small steps towards achieving that particular thing and hopefully work towards the career that you actually enjoy."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Grace Lordan, a woman with dark hair and glasses, speaks directly into a microphone. She is wearing a black top and has a thoughtful expression, gesturing with her right hand.

"A lot of the jobs that look exciting, they look exciting because on TV they're glamorized."

Setting: home — bright, natural light from window

Grace Lordan, a woman with dark hair and glasses, speaks directly into a microphone. She is wearing a black top and has a thoughtful expression, gesturing with her right hand.

"I mean, law always is is one that comes into my mind. And I think I would be a terrible lawyer because the commitment to a day-to-day that's like 6:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the evening is absolutely something that you still need today, sadly."

Setting: home — bright, natural light from window

Grace Lordan, a woman with dark hair and glasses, speaks directly into a microphone. She is wearing a black top and has a thoughtful expression, gesturing with her right hand.

"But people don't know about that before they go in. And I think when it comes to your think big journey, it's about what would the tasks that I would be doing in 10 years time? How would I spend my Monday morning? How would I spend my Tuesday morning?"

Setting: home — bright, natural light from window

A blue screen appears with white text that reads 'Tip 3' and 'AUDIT YOUR TIME'.

"Tip number three, audit your time."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "Tip 3", "AUDIT YOUR TIME"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Now, again, this is a pretty simple strategy that you can use to move more towards a career that you actually enjoy, and it involves auditing your time."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Grace Lordan, a woman with dark hair and glasses, speaks directly into a microphone. She is wearing a black top and has a thoughtful expression, gesturing with her right hand.

"During the week, writing down what you're you're actually doing, which you probably do already, but writing down whether or not you actually enjoy doing them. Did you feel first the sense of purpose that it was kind of leading you to a better place in five years time or did you feel fun in the moment?"

Setting: home — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Okay, so how does this actually work in practice?"

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Okay, so what I'm going to do is I'm going to screenshot my calendar."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, is visible in a small inset video on the right. A full-screen image of a digital calendar for November 2022 is displayed, showing color-coded blocks of activities. He gestures with his hands.

"And then I can use the screenshot to audit how I feel about how I'm spending my time."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "November 2022"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, is visible in a small inset video on the right. A full-screen image of a digital calendar for November 2022 is displayed, showing color-coded blocks of activities. He gestures with his hands. A blue '++' icon appears on a calendar block.

"And so, if something on my calendar is really taking me towards Me+, I can do a double plus on there."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "November 2022"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, is visible in a small inset video on the right. A full-screen image of a digital calendar for November 2022 is displayed, showing color-coded blocks of activities. He gestures with his hands. A blue '+' icon appears on a calendar block.

"Then if something is taking me somewhat towards Me+, I can put a plus."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "November 2022"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, is visible in a small inset video on the right. A full-screen image of a digital calendar for November 2022 is displayed, showing color-coded blocks of activities. He gestures with his hands. A blue '+-' icon appears on a calendar block.

"If something doesn't really help me get closer to Me+, then I can write plus minus."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "November 2022"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, is visible in a small inset video on the right. A full-screen image of a digital calendar for November 2022 is displayed, showing color-coded blocks of activities. He gestures with his hands. A blue '--' icon appears on a calendar block.

"And if there's something that's actively taking me away from the thing that I want, then I can do minus minus for that."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "November 2022"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, holding up a white book with a colorful "Think BIG" title. He smiles and gestures with his free hand, looking at the camera. Text '"Time Sinkers"' appears on screen.

"And so, what Grace says in the book is that once you've figured out what these, in particular, what these minus minus things are, these are the things you actively want to avoid. These are the time sinkers."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Text: ""Time Sinkers""

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"I'm pretty lucky because I have built a career for myself that I actually enjoy, and so I have I basically have zero minus minuses on my calendar."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a grey t-shirt and glasses, sits at a desk, writing on a tablet with a stylus. A large computer monitor displaying a calendar is to his left. He looks focused.

"But back when I was at university, back when I was working as a doctor,"

Setting: home office — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing purple scrubs, stands in a hospital supply room, reaching into a shelf filled with medical supplies. He looks focused and has a stethoscope around his neck.

"But back when I was at university, back when I was working as a doctor,"

Setting: hospital — bright, fluorescent overhead lighting

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"a lot of my stuff on the calendar would have been minus minus, and I've slowly worked to kind of eliminate those things that drain my energy, that don't actually get me towards a career that I actually enjoy."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A blue screen appears with white text that reads 'Tip 4' and 'INVEST 13 MINUTES PER DAY'.

"Tip number four, 13 minutes a day."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "Tip 4", "INVEST 13 MINUTES PER DAY"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful. Text 'ME+' appears on screen.

"And so, the other side of the coin here is that we also want to be investing in activities that take us closer towards Me+, i.e. closer towards this career that we actually enjoy."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Text: "ME+"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful. Text 'COMPOUNDING' appears on screen.

"And when it comes to thinking about this, Professor Lordan talks a lot about the idea of compounding."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Text: "COMPOUNDING"

Grace Lordan, a woman with dark hair and glasses, speaks directly into a microphone. She is wearing a black top and has a thoughtful expression, gesturing with her right hand.

"So, when people are choosing to invest, we accept compounding very very easily, right? So, we accept the idea actually that, you know, if we leave money in for a very long period of time, it's going to compound, so we're probably going to be okay in our pensions. And it's exactly the same here when it comes to your career. Like those very small things that you're going to do today, and I ask for a commitment of 90 minutes a week, which for most people, regardless of how pressurized you feel, is very very possible."

Setting: home — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful. Text '90 minutes a week = 13 minutes a day' appears on screen.

"And when you do the maths, this is actually very doable. 90 minutes a week is just 13 minutes a day."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Text: "90 minutes a week = 13 minutes a day"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"We can all invest 13 minutes a day in trying to invest in skills or abilities that are going to help us develop a career that we actually enjoy."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A close-up shot of computer code on a dark screen. The code is written in a programming language, with various colors highlighting different elements.

"And so, for example, if for you, part of building towards this career you enjoy is, for example, learning how to code,"

Setting: digital — screen light

Text: "var lastScrollY = window.scrollY;", "var lastWindowHeight = window.innerHeight;", "var lastDocumentHeight = $(document).height();", "var ticking = false;", "function onScroll() {", "lastScrollY =", "requestTick();", "function functionName() {"

A person with dark skin and a bracelet on their left wrist is typing on a tablet with an attached keyboard. The tablet screen displays code. The person is wearing a dark t-shirt.

"you can probably find 13 minutes a day to learn how to code."

Setting: workshop — bright, artificial overhead light

A close-up shot of a silver MacBook laptop with code displayed on the screen. A white coffee mug is next to the laptop. The person's hand is visible on the trackpad.

"you can probably find 13 minutes a day to learn how to code."

Setting: desk — soft, ambient light

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Yes, you probably can't become absolutely pro in just 13 minutes a day, but it's definitely a skill that compounds over time."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Cal Newport, a man with short brown hair and a blue button-up shirt, wears headphones and speaks into a microphone. He gestures with his right hand.

"Now, recently, I also had the chance to interview Cal Newport, who is a professor of computer science and who's written a bunch of books called including Deep Work and So Good They Can't Ignore You,"

Setting: podcast studio — soft, even light

Two book covers are displayed side-by-side. The left book is titled 'DEEP WORK' by Cal Newport, with a yellow and black cover. The right book is titled 'SO GOOD THEY CAN'T IGNORE YOU' by Cal Newport, with an orange and black cover. Ali's hands appear from the bottom, holding up a white board with the book covers.

"including Deep Work and So Good They Can't Ignore You, about this sort of like study skills, productivity type stuff."

Setting: digital — soft, ambient light

Text: "DEEP WORK", "CAL NEWPORT", "SO GOOD THEY CAN'T IGNORE YOU", "CAL NEWPORT"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful. Text 'CAREER CAPITAL THEORY' appears on screen.

"about this sort of like study skills, productivity type stuff. And he talks a lot about Career Capital Theory."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Text: "CAREER CAPITAL THEORY"

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Basically, the idea is that if you want a career that you actually enjoy, it's not just something that's going to fall into your lap. It's something that you have to earn. And the way you earn it is by developing career capital. And the way you develop career capital is by developing rare and valuable skills."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a grey t-shirt and glasses, lies on a weight bench, lifting dumbbells. He is focused on his exercise.

"It's something that you have to earn. And the way you earn it is by developing career capital. And the way you develop career capital is by developing rare and valuable skills."

Setting: gym — bright, artificial overhead light

Ali, wearing a grey t-shirt and glasses, stands in a gym, performing bicep curls with a cable machine. He is focused on his exercise.

"It's something that you have to earn. And the way you earn it is by developing career capital. And the way you develop career capital is by developing rare and valuable skills."

Setting: gym — bright, artificial overhead light

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"And this ties into this idea of like, if you genuinely want a career that you enjoy, you've got to actually have the skills for the job."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a teal t-shirt and black trousers, adjusts a large softbox light in a modern living room. He then sits down at a glass table and begins typing on a laptop. A grey sofa and guitar are visible.

"And so, if you can invest this 13 minutes a day into the development of your skills, then you're going to be winning on that front."

Setting: living room — artificial overhead light, warm accent lighting

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"And so, if you can invest this 13 minutes a day into the development of your skills, then you're going to be winning on that front."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a teal t-shirt, plays table tennis in a gym. He is focused on the game, hitting the ball with a paddle. Another person is visible on the opposite side of the table.

"And so, if you can invest this 13 minutes a day into the development of your skills, then you're going to be winning on that front."

Setting: gym — bright, artificial overhead light

A blue screen appears with white text that reads 'Tip 5' and 'YOU DON'T NEED TO GO (BACK) TO UNI'.

"Tip number five, you probably don't need to go back to university."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "Tip 5", "YOU DON'T NEED TO GO (BACK) TO UNI"

Grace Lordan, a woman with dark hair and glasses, speaks directly into a microphone. She is wearing a black top and has a thoughtful expression, gesturing with her right hand.

"For people who do not know what they want to do, I would avoid committing to a four-year degree or an expensive master's program and really use the resources that are out there that are either cheap or free because there's so many things that we can actually learn now without having to set foot in in into a traditional classroom."

Setting: home — bright, natural light from window

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"Now, I found this point pretty surprising, given that Professor Lordan is a university professor and is therefore at least somewhat, you know, biased towards in favor of university education."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"But to be honest, these days, you know, university is not completely worthless. I've massively benefited from a uni degree and I genuinely do recommend that people go to college or university or whatever that is, at least it gives you backup options."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A small inset video shows three men sitting at a table, talking and laughing. Below it, a hand points at a notebook filled with handwritten notes and diagrams. Another inset shows Ali, in purple scrubs, organizing medical supplies on a shelf.

"at least it gives you backup options."

Setting: various — various

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"at least it gives you backup options."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful.

"But especially when people are like a little bit further on in their career, it's often like a very easy thing to be like, oh, I need to do the thing, therefore I'm going to go back to uni. I'm going to get a degree in the thing."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

Ali, wearing a light-colored hoodie and glasses, sits at a desk, gesturing with both hands as he speaks directly to the camera. His expression is serious and thoughtful. An animation of graduation caps flying upwards and people cheering appears, with a small inset video of a young boy giving a 'thumbs up' while looking at a computer.

"So, don't necessarily default to thinking, let me let me get a traditional qualification in the particular thing because you can learn almost anything on the internet and through books and libraries and stuff these days."

Setting: home office — warm, soft, from behind and sides

A blue screen appears with white text that reads 'Tip 6' and 'EMBRACE U-TURNS'.

"Tip number six, embrace U-turns."

Setting: digital — flat

Text: "Tip 6", "EMBRACE U-TURNS"

"Okay, so at this point, we know what tasks we might want to do on a day-to"