Making Sense of Purpose (Paperback)

Before you can make sense of your purpose, you have to make sense of yourself.

“Making Sense of Purpose is grounded in evidence, rich with real human stories, and designed to do the quiet, important work that most leadership and self-development books skip entirely."—Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach and New York Times bestselling author

Making Sense of Purpose is a grounded, practical companion for that work. It meets you where you are, whether you’re at a crossroads, building momentum, or ready to reconnect with what matters, and it gives you a clear way forward.

The book moves through three steps.

Gain clarity: uncover the patterns, strengths, and values that shape who you are.

Build momentum: move forward with small steps that stick, through footholds, flow, and intention.

Find your kiran, your ray of light: reconnect with what gives you energy and meaning, and build a path that feels honest and alive.

Every chapter gives you something to do, not just something to think about. A prompt to work through. The research behind it. A real human story. A song. And a moment of light to carry with you.

Kiran is a Sanskrit word for a ray of light. It was also the name of the author’s father. This book is built on the belief he lived: purpose is accessible to all of us. It’s not something you chase. It’s something you arrive at, through self-awareness, experimentation, and iteration

Making Sense of Purpose gives you the space, grace, and clarity to make sense of your experiences, reconnect with what energizes you, and move toward a future that feels like your own.

Suneet Bhatt  is the author of Making Sense of Purpose (2026), a coach, certified EOS Implementer, and lecturer at Rutgers University. Over 25+ years, he has worked with thousands of individuals and dozens of organizations across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. His Find and Evolve Your Purpose framework, originally developed through coaching engagements with executives and leadership teams, is now taught as a course at Rutgers and is a pillar of the university’s strategic plan. Through his EOS Implementation practice, he helps the leadership teams of growing companies get more of what they want from their business. Making Sense of Purpose is that philosophy and framework, codified for the first time, for people who know there is more, better, and greater to be done and want a way to get there that sticks. The book’s title carries the word Kiran (Sanskrit for ray of light, and the name of Suneet’s father), the very thing the book helps you find. Suneet lives with his wife and children in New Jersey.