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  • The Great Work of Your Life

  • A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling
  • By: Stephen Cope
  • Narrated by: Kevin M. Connolly
  • Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (27 ratings)

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The Great Work of Your Life

By: Stephen Cope
Narrated by: Kevin M. Connolly
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Publisher's Summary

Discover the deep purpose hidden at the very core of your being

To know your true calling - your dharma, as the yogis say - is perhaps the greatest desire within each of us. And yet, few can say we know our purpose with absolute certainty. Fortunately, there is a time-tested guide - an ancient map - for discovering and fulfilling your unique calling. In The Great Work of Your Life, Stephen Cope walks you through each step of the journey.

Cope teaches that the secrets to unlocking the mystery of your dharma can be found in the spiritual classic the Bhagavad Gita - a timeless tale about the path to dharma, told through an instructive dialogue between the fabled archer Arjuna and his divine mentor, Krishna. In The Great Work of Your Life, Cope uses Arjuna's journey as a framework for each of us to discover our own dharma, masterfully weaving together stories of both well-known and ordinary Western lives. Throughout the book, Cope explores the "Four Pillars of Dharma", or the stages we move through as we fulfill our own true callings. Each pillar is illustrated with riveting true stories, including:

  • Jane Goodall's ability to follow her heart without question
  • The little-known tale of Walt Whitman's dharma discovery in the second half of life
  • How living your purpose can be like training for the Olympics in the story of Susan B. Anthony
  • Ludwig van Beethoven's triumphs over childhood abuse, depression, and going deaf
  • Gandhi's transformation from tongue-tied youth to leader of the Indian independence movement
  • Understanding how divine guidance works with the life of Harriet Tubman
  • Additional insights and tales from the lives of both famous luminaries and everyday people

"We feel the happiest and most fulfilled when we bring highly concentrated effort to our true calling", teaches Cope. Moving and inspiring, The Great Work of Your Life is a call to action and step-by-step guide for each of us to discover and embrace our dharma.

©2017 Stephen Cope (P)2017 Sounds True

Critic Reviews

" The Great Work of Your Life is itself a great work. This is a wonderfully passionate book about finding your true calling. The stories within are inspiring and moving. I believe it will be of great benefit to all who read it." (Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness)
"Stephen Cope is a national treasure. He is an incredibly rare combination of brilliant spiritual thinker, elegant prose stylist, and empathic, grounded teacher. The dharma stories throughout The Great Work of Your Life are moving and instructive. Keep a pen and paper handy as you read this remarkable book: It's like an owner's manual for the soul." (Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion)

What listeners say about The Great Work of Your Life

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Great read fabulous narration

Not my usual kind of book but thoroughly enjoyed. Well structured, nice concepts. Narration flawless.

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Loved this book

I absolutely loved how this was written, the wonderful examples & the lessons it taught. Fantastic!

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Accessible and rich

I am inspired and nourished - and maybe (hopefully!) wiser. A very clever exploration of the Gita’s teachings through lives of exemplary humans.

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