As with all reviews on this website, our goal is not to provide a complete overview of the book, but rather to examine how the book relates to the meaning of life. About the book: Meaning of Life by Marshall Brain was first published in 2012. With that said, the book is extremely short at just 21 pages. So it is a work that you can breeze through in less than an hour.
The book is broken down into four sections on “ways to create meaning” which include: generosity, designing your life, projects, and heaven on earth.
In the opening, the author makes a compelling argument that people create meaning and value. Take for example the idea of the US dollar vs Monopoly money. One has value, while the other is virtually worthless—both have some level of meaning in the right context. A blank piece of paper on the other hand may lack both value and meaning.
Three great quotes from the book include:
Your life is a series of choices. Your life is a series of opportunities. Your life is a series of decisions. Your life is a series of actions. You control your life, and its meaning, with your daily actions. We often ignore that. Many people often go through life and completely miss it. What is the meaning of your life? In answering that question you give your life meaning. You can give it far more meaning than you can imagine. You get to design your life.
What is the meaning of life? There are several ways that we can each create meaning. We create meaning by helping others. We create meaning by consciously choosing what we will each do with our existence. We create meaning by undertaking significant projects that benefit humanity. And we can also, at a higher level, create meaning for ourselves as a species.
Overall, if you are looking for a quick read that does not veer off-topic, this is a great book to help give your life a bit of meaning.
We rate the book the following: Overall - 8 Meaning of Life Relevance - 10 Uniqueness – 6 What did we miss? Do you agree with the author that the meaning of life is love, work, and play? =