📚 Should You Read This?
Toby's Rating: 9/10
The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd is a must-read for leaders seeking to redefine their approach to work and life. It offers a transformative perspective on abandoning traditional career paths in favour of a more fulfilling, self-directed journey. Leaders questioning the conventional metrics of success and a more meaningful life might find this the catalyst they need to make the change happen.
✅ Toby's Top Takeaway From The Pathless Path
I love chatting with random people.
This weekend, I started talking to a very interesting couple.
Coincidently, it was the perfect story to summarise this book.
Sitting next to me on the Liverpool to Leeds canal is Myles and Karen.
On the face of it, an average 50-something couple. It turns out, they are living on the Pathless Path.
"What's your story?" I ask (I love starting with the big questions)
"8 years ago we stuck two fingers up to the system."
Since then, now nicknamed the “Motoroamers”, they've been living full-time in a motorhome, travelling Europe.
After a short visit back to the UK their stops this summer are Turkey, Albania and Montenegro.
I described this as Pathless Path because it’s the book I just finished by Paul Millerd.
The book describes that there are two paths in life.
The "Default Path" that many of us travel. Graduate, Work a Long Career, Retire. Common, often predictable, sometimes joyful, for some downright horrible.
In contrast, the "Pathless Path" is less well-trodden. There is no playbook. There is risk, and uncertainty but potential rewards.
For Paul, Myles and Karen this Pathless Path appears to have brought many rewards. A freedom to do what they want. The flexibility to live life to the full. It’s certainly not easy and many wouldn’t be prepared to make the sacrifices.
What path are you on? And is it the one you want to be on?
💡 3 Big Ideas from The Pathless Path
Find Your “Enough”: The concept of "enough" is central to the Pathless Path. Instead of chasing endless growth, Paul advocates defining what is sufficient for happiness and success. This includes having enough income to live comfortably, meaningful work that aligns with personal values, and fostering deep connections with others. For leaders, this means focusing on sustainable growth and prioritising well-being over perpetual expansion, at home and work.
Embrace the Pathless Path: Few people question the path they are on. The "Default Path" as Paul Millerd describes it is so common for many high-performers. Graduate, Work a Long Career, Retire, Die. This path is comforting. It has an element of certainty and safety. For many folks this is the perfect life, for others it can be soul-destroying. Paul describes an alternative, the Pathless Path. Less travelled, it can have more risk and uncertainty. Earning less money and gaining less conventional success. However, for Paul, it has brought more joy and happiness.
Prioritise Agency and Deliberate Action: The Pathless Path underscores the significance of taking deliberate actions to shape one's life. Paul highlights the power of agency in transforming how we work and live. Leaders are encouraged to continuously learn, experiment, and adapt to create a life that resonates with their true selves. It was from the smallbets community where I first learned of the Pathless Path. This community promotes the idea that business success comes from a portfolio of small bets, rather than focusing on one idea. This is very much embodied in the Pathless Path. Rather than having one career for 30 years, try out different things that bring you the most joy.
💬 Best Quotes from The Pathless Path
"Enough is the antithesis of unchecked growth because growth encourages mindless consumption and enough requires constant questioning and awareness."
"If we don’t define 'enough,' we default to more, which makes it impossible to understand when to say no."
"On the pathless path, the goal is not to find a job, make money, build a business, or achieve any other metric. It’s to actively and consciously search for the work that you want to keep doing."
"The secret of the world is that it is a very malleable place, we must be sure that people learn this, and never forget the order: Learning is naturally the consequence of doing."
"You must be a little crazy to go against the grain of what most people think. Yet we should remind ourselves that these 'experiments in living' are vital to pushing culture forward."