Life on Purpose: How Living for What Matters Most Changes Everything

Uncover the keys to longevity and lifelong happiness and fulfilment—Practical tips and science-based evidence for complete personal transformation from a behavioral science pioneer

“Victor Strecher has written what I would best describe as a ‘gift.’ He gifts us the ability to define our purpose and immediately start instilling into our own lives. Make no mistake, understanding this concept is not only good for your health -- it is good for the whole world.” — Sanjay Gupta, New York Times bestselling author and Chief Medical Correspondent CNN

Your life is a boat. You need a rudder. But it doesn’t matter how much wind is in your sails if you’re not steering toward a harbor—an ultimate purpose in your life.

While the greatest philosophers have pondered purpose for centuries, today it has been shown to have a concrete impact on our health. Recent studies into Alzheimer’s, heart disease, stroke, depression, functional brain imaging, and measurement of DNA repair are shedding new light on how and why purpose benefits our lives.

Going beyond the fads, opinions, and false hopes of “expert” self-help books, Life on Purpose explores the incredible connection between purposeful living and the latest scientific evidence on quality of life and longevity. Drawing on ancient and modern philosophy, literature, psychology, evolutionary biology, genetics, and neuroscience, as well as his experience in public health research, Dr. Vic Strecher reveals the elements necessary for a purposeful life and how to acquire them, and outlines an elegant strategy for improving energy, willpower, and long-term happiness, and well-being. He integrates these core themes into his own personal story—a tragedy that led him to reconsider his own life—and how a deeper understanding of purposeful living helped him not only survive, but thrive.

Illuminating, accessible, and authentically grounded in real people’s experiences, Life on Purpose is essential reading for everyone seeking to live more fully, and mindfully, today and for years to come.

Victor J. Strecher is a professor and director for innovation and social entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He has published over 100 articles in scientific journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and Nature Neuroscience and coedited the book Oncology: An Evidence-Based Approach. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.