The Mattering Effect: Creating a Life of Meaning and Worth

A NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB MUST-READ BOOK

“Millions feel adrift and purposeless, despite having outwardly successful lives. John R. Miles shows why this happens―but more importantly, how to fix it in your own life.” ―Arthur C. Brooks, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Meaning of Your Life

A call to address the urgent crisis of our time―the loss of significance in our lives―by restoring mattering as the missing link between personal well-being and collective repair.

If you’ve ever wondered, If I stopped performing, producing, fixing, achieving, proving, would I still matter? then this book is for you. As John R. Miles explores The Great Erasure happening in our lives―the sense of loneliness and disengagement despite outward success--he also provides a way for you to remember that you mattered before any professional or personal titles or achievements. 

Drawing on research in psychology, neuroscience, social science, and contemplative traditions, as well as deeply personal stories, Miles examines the cultural shift that has replaced human significance with human usefulness, resulting in exhaustion, self-erasure, and quiet despair. Where others have also diagnosed the symptoms, Miles identifies a deeper cause and offers a solution through M.A.T.T.E.R., a research-based framework grounded in six elements―meaning, autonomy, trust, time, energy, and reciprocity―that, when used together, can restore sustainable significance, dignity, and spiritual coherence. Inspired by hundreds of conversations with today's researchers and thought leaders, the framework helps you gain clarity on why success doesn’t erase emptiness; offers practical tools to restore significance in your work and relationships, and shows what it takes to build a life of meaning, reciprocity, and genuine mattering. 

John R. Miles is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, and thought leader at the intersection of behavioral science and spiritual formation. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Navy officer, he also holds an M.S. and M.B.A. and spent over two decades as a Fortune 50 executive and four-time CEO, leading global transformations in cybersecurity, digital transformation, culture, and strategy. He is the creator and host of the podcast “Passion Struck” and the author of a book by the same name. He lives in Clearwater, Florida.