It's time to ditch your mind-numbing, pointless career
Is it time for us to redefine what we mean by career success? Rutger Bregman thinks so, and his new book, Moral Ambition, makes a brisk and persuasive case for ditching 'mind-numbing, pointless, or just plain harmful jobs' and doing something more meaningful instead. He's aiming this book squarely at the 'idealistic and ambitious' person of any age who works in consulting, law, finance and other well-paid sectors.
Bregman is no ambition slouch himself. The superstar Dutch historian has published several books and essays, including the global bestsellers (2020) and Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There (2017). He went viral on YouTube in 2019 after calling out billionaires at the World Economic Forum in Davos for their tax avoidance tactics: 'It feels like I'm at a firefighters conference and no one's allowed to speak about water.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Billionaire to leave fortune to 100 children he's fathered
Last year, a clinic in Moscow began advertising its supply of Durov's sperm and offering free IVF for women willing to have a child with 'one of the most famous and successful entrepreneurs of our time'. The AltraVita clinic said: 'Pavel Durov is willing to finance all the IVF protocols that use his sperm. It is a very generous contribution to society from someone who wants to help those dreaming of becoming parents.' Durov's 100 children rank him among the world's top sperm donors, though he is not the most prolific. Jonathan Jacob Meijer, a Dutch YouTuber, reportedly fathered 1000 children, according to Netflix, although he insists it is only 550. Durov is not the only technology entrepreneur to advocate having a large number of children. Elon Musk is reported to have at least 14 children, who he has referred to as his 'legion' and has pushed 'smart people' to have more offspring. 'A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilisation faces by far,' Musk said in 2022. In the US, a 'pro-natalist' movement has emerged amongst conservatives urging people to have more children in order to tackle declining birth rates. 'I want more babies in the United States of America,' JD Vance said in his first address as vice president in January. Durov founded VKontakte, known as Russia's Facebook, before he left the business and Russia under pressure from the Kremlin in 2014. He later founded Telegram, an encrypted messaging app used by more than 1 billion people, as well as a cryptocurrency. Telegram has repeatedly faced criticism for its light-touch content moderation and last year Durov was charged in France with complicity in spreading child abuse online and allowing drug trafficking. He has denied the charges and told Le Point they were 'totally absurd'. Durov runs Telegram, which only has around 50 staff, from Dubai, although since his arrest in France he has been barred from leaving the country. Born in the Soviet Union, he now has French and Emirati citizenship. Despite his vast paper fortune, he is known for his minimalist lifestyle, strict diet and veganism. He told Le Point he did not own a 'house, yacht or private jet', although he enjoyed staying in 'beautiful hotels'. Loading The billionaire is also fitness guru. He told Le Point he begins his day with 300 push-ups and 300 squats and posts videos to his Instagram of his ice baths. His arrest last August at Le Bourget airport fractured a previously friendly relationship with the French state. Durov's French citizenship application was fast-tracked by Emmanuel Macron, an active Telegram user, who had previously personally spoken with the billionaire over the app.
The Age
2 days ago
- The Age
Billionaire to leave fortune to 100 children he's fathered
Last year, a clinic in Moscow began advertising its supply of Durov's sperm and offering free IVF for women willing to have a child with 'one of the most famous and successful entrepreneurs of our time'. The AltraVita clinic said: 'Pavel Durov is willing to finance all the IVF protocols that use his sperm. It is a very generous contribution to society from someone who wants to help those dreaming of becoming parents.' Durov's 100 children rank him among the world's top sperm donors, though he is not the most prolific. Jonathan Jacob Meijer, a Dutch YouTuber, reportedly fathered 1000 children, according to Netflix, although he insists it is only 550. Durov is not the only technology entrepreneur to advocate having a large number of children. Elon Musk is reported to have at least 14 children, who he has referred to as his 'legion' and has pushed 'smart people' to have more offspring. 'A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilisation faces by far,' Musk said in 2022. In the US, a 'pro-natalist' movement has emerged amongst conservatives urging people to have more children in order to tackle declining birth rates. 'I want more babies in the United States of America,' JD Vance said in his first address as vice president in January. Durov founded VKontakte, known as Russia's Facebook, before he left the business and Russia under pressure from the Kremlin in 2014. He later founded Telegram, an encrypted messaging app used by more than 1 billion people, as well as a cryptocurrency. Telegram has repeatedly faced criticism for its light-touch content moderation and last year Durov was charged in France with complicity in spreading child abuse online and allowing drug trafficking. He has denied the charges and told Le Point they were 'totally absurd'. Durov runs Telegram, which only has around 50 staff, from Dubai, although since his arrest in France he has been barred from leaving the country. Born in the Soviet Union, he now has French and Emirati citizenship. Despite his vast paper fortune, he is known for his minimalist lifestyle, strict diet and veganism. He told Le Point he did not own a 'house, yacht or private jet', although he enjoyed staying in 'beautiful hotels'. Loading The billionaire is also fitness guru. He told Le Point he begins his day with 300 push-ups and 300 squats and posts videos to his Instagram of his ice baths. His arrest last August at Le Bourget airport fractured a previously friendly relationship with the French state. Durov's French citizenship application was fast-tracked by Emmanuel Macron, an active Telegram user, who had previously personally spoken with the billionaire over the app.
Perth Now
14-06-2025
- Perth Now
‘Fantastic': Australia's big gender gap win
Australia has recorded its best ever gender equality ranking in a major global report, but the government is being warned not to rest on its laurels. After placing 24th last year in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report, Australia has jumped 11 places and is now 13th out of 148 countries. It is Australia's best result since the report began in 2006 and a far cry from our country's record low 50th place in 2021. The ranking jump is attributed to improvements in female political empowerment, economic participation and educational attainment. Australia ranked well in education, with joint first in literacy rate, primary education enrolment and university enrolment. Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said it was a 'fantastic result' for Australia. Minister for Women Katy Gallagher celebrated Australia's result. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'When the Albanese Labor Government was first elected in 2022, we said that improving the lives of women and girls was one of our key focuses, and today's result – our best ever – shows we are delivering on that commitment,' Senator Gallagher said. 'Whether it is investing in women's wages and economic opportunities, investing in sexual and reproductive healthcare, or investing in policies to address women's safety and tackling gender-based violence, our government is backing up words with action.' Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent celebrated the 'meaningful' changes by the government, but called on them to continue the 'significant work' still to do on measures such as parental leave. 'These results show us that government policy can and does make a tangible difference in achieving the goal of true gender equity and they underscore the need for us to go further,' Ms Dent said. CEO of The Parenthood Georgie Dent called on the government to continue reforms to maintain the progress. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'We're calling on the Albanes Labor Government to build on this progress by increasing paid parental leave entitlement to 52 weeks at replacement wage, with superannuation included – bringing us in line with international best practice.' Ms Dent also called on the government to cement its promised universal childcare reforms. 'These measures will bring us closer to achieving true gender equity in Australia and in doing so will improve outcomes for children, boost workforce participation, support families and strengthen communities and our economy,' Ms Dent said. Senator Gallagher acknowledged there would still be more work to come, but insisted the result showed that the Albanese government was 'shifting the dial'. 'We know there is always more work to do, and this report will help to inform our work on gender equality over the next three years,' she said.
