description: A person's longing for significance--which can lead to excessive ambition, moral compromise, and preoccupation with status--often stands in conflict with a longing to be good. In Living a Life That Matters , Harold S. Kushner (the Massachusetts rabbi whose bestselling books include When Bad Things Happen to Good People ) suggests that the most successful lives are the ones that most effectively manage and resolve that conflict. For example, Kushner retells the biblical story of Jacob, in a chapter whose lesson is named by its title, "How to Win By Losing." Hamlet, Dirty Harry, and Exodus are a few of the dozens of examples he cites while elaborating on the essential lesson of this that success and significance converge in every act of love, generosity, and self-sacrifice that we make for our families, friends, and communities. --Michael Joseph Gross
language: English
title: Living a Life That Matters: Resolving the Conflict Between Conscience and Ambition
titlecomplete: Living a Life That Matters: Resolving the Conflict Between Conscience and Ambition
genres: Religion, Philosophy, Spirituality, Psychology, Nonfiction, Jewish, Judaica, Self Help, Personal Development, Judaism
ratings_count: 1330
publisher: Pan Macmillan