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HR practice

The Why Are You Here Café

by Personnel Today 23 May 2006
by Personnel Today 23 May 2006

Book: the why are you here cafe.gifThe Why Are You Here Café
Author: John P Strelecky
Price: £6.99
Publisher: Piatkus
Pages: 130
ISBN: 0-7499-2717-8

Buy this book at Amazon

This book is about a new way of finding meaning in your life and work, told through a journey taken by John (the author). He finds a café in the middle of nowhere, called The Why Are You Here Café, and sits at one of its tables to read. There are three questions printed on the menu: ‘Why are you here?’, ‘Do you fear death?’, and ‘Are you fulfilled?’.

I found this book a little slow to start. This is not the sort of book that you can dip in and out of, but is more about a journey that you need to ‘travel’ through.

I was slow to get into it, but I persevered and came across a little gem. In trying to find his Purpose For Existing (PFE) – the key theme of this tale – John is told the story of a fisherman. This became my ‘aha’ moment, and if nothing else in the book resonates with you, I think this will. I’m sure it won’t be the last time I turn to those pages when work or life in general needs some perspective.

I’m not sure I agree with the gushing reviews on the inside cover, but overall this is an interesting little book which, with a total of 130 pages, can help while away that commute to work or relieve the delay in getting home. Perhaps it will even help you find your PFE.

Useful? 4 stars

Well-written? 3 stars

Practical? 3  stars

Inspirational? 4 stars

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Value for money? 3 stars

Overall 3 stars

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

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