In my work as a coach, I often meet people who have meticulously built a life that looks perfect on paper. They have the 'right' title, the impressive salary, and the corner office—they have successfully made a career. Yet, they come to me with a quiet, persistent feeling of emptiness. They have achieved everything they were told to want, only to find that it isn't what they wanted at all. They are holding an empty box.
This struggle is at the heart of one of the most profound science fiction novels ever written, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed. The story follows Shevek, a brilliant physicist from a stark, anarchist world called Anarres, as he travels to its twin planet, Urras, a lush world of immense wealth, rigid hierarchies, and suffocating social codes. On Urras, he is offered everything our society equates with success: fame, funding, and luxury. But he sees it as a prison. It's in this conflict that one of Shevek's allies offers him a piece of wisdom that I believe is a masterclass in career coaching:
"You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere."
While the speaker is talking about social change, this quote is a powerful mantra for anyone seeking a truly authentic professional life. It asks us to stop chasing fulfillment and start embodying it.
The Trap of "Making" a Career
Most of us are taught to approach our careers like a construction project. We follow a blueprint laid out by society, our parents, or our industry. We add a degree here, a promotion there, a new skill on top. We are constantly making, doing, and acquiring. This is the Urrasti way—a world built on possessions, on having. The problem with this model is that it treats fulfillment as an external object to be obtained. We tell ourselves, "I'll be happy when I get the promotion," or "I'll feel successful when I'm earning six figures."
But as Shevek discovers, a world obsessed with having is a world of walls. People build walls around their property, their knowledge, and their hearts. In the professional world, this translates to hoarding information, competing for status, and jealously guarding our "intellectual property." We are so busy making a career that we forget to live in it. We build a beautiful house but never feel at home. This relentless pursuit of external validation is exhausting, and it is the fastest path to burnout. It forces us to wear masks, to contort ourselves into shapes that fit the corporate blueprint, and to silence the inner voice that whispers, "This isn't you."
What It Means to "Be the Revolution"
Shevek's "revolution" is his Odonian spirit—a belief in cooperation, free inquiry, and mutual aid. Even when surrounded by the suffocating luxury of Urras, he doesn't change who he is. He continues to share his work freely and question authority. He is his revolution.
So, what does it mean for you to "be the revolution" in your career?
It means shifting your focus from the outcome to the process. It's about identifying your core, non-negotiable values—your personal "revolution"—and finding ways to live them every single day, regardless of your job title.
If your revolution is creativity, you don't need to wait for a "creative" job. You can be creative in how you structure a spreadsheet, how you phrase an email, or how you approach a team meeting.
If your revolution is compassion, you can be compassionate by truly listening to a colleague, offering help without being asked, or choosing kindness in a high-pressure situation.
If your revolution is integrity, you can be your integrity by speaking up when something feels wrong, delivering on your promises, and being transparent in your work.
When you start being your values, a remarkable thing happens. The desperate need for external validation begins to fade. Your sense of worth is no longer tied to your boss's approval or your latest performance review. It comes from the quiet, powerful knowledge that you are living in alignment with your own spirit. This is the source of true, unshakable authenticity.
This doesn't mean you can't have goals or ambitions. Shevek had a massive goal: to complete his life's work. But his goal was an expression of his authentic self, not a substitute for it. The journey and the destination were made of the same material.
Your career should be the place where your spirit comes to life, not where it goes to die. Stop trying to buy or make a career that will make you happy. Start being the person you are, right where you are, and build a career from that foundation of truth. That is a revolution worth living.
Take a few minutes to be mindful
How does this theme present itself in your life?
Take out a journal and draw two columns. In the first, list all the things you are doing in your career to achieve success (e.g., taking a course, working late, networking). In the second column, list the values you want your career to be (e.g., creative, impactful, calm). Look at both lists. Where is the balance? Are your 'doing' activities serving your 'being' values?
What does the quote bring up for you?
Read the quote again slowly: 'It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.' What is the core 'spirit' you want to bring to your work? If you had to describe it in one word (e.g., 'Curiosity,' 'Connection,' 'Excellence'), what would it be? Meditate on that word for three minutes and notice what feelings or ideas arise.
How can you think differently about this?
Instead of setting a goal for your next career outcome (e.g., 'Get promoted'), set an intention for your process. For one week, make your goal to 'be' your core value. For example, 'This week, my goal is to be collaborative.' At the end of each day, write down one instance where you successfully embodied that value. This shifts your measure of success from something external to something you control.
Once we commit to living authentically, we're naturally led to question the very definition of success we've been given. In the next article, we'll explore how Shevek’s journey challenges our ideas of fulfillment and asks whether we are building a career or simply a wall of possessions.
