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1-Page Summary of The Charge

Overview

Do you feel like your life is running on autopilot? You wake up and go to work, then come home and eat dinner. The weekend is a chance for some rest before the cycle repeats itself again.

It’s time to change your life and live it fully. Even if you’re relatively content with your life, there are probably things that you wish you could do more of or differently. You might even feel like there is a cage around you that keeps you from doing what really matters to you. This book will help you change the way that feels by activating 10 human drives and living a lifestyle that brings happiness and fulfillment for long-term success.

In this article, you’ll learn the differences between goals and challenges, how creative you are, and how to be who you think you are.

Big Idea #1: There are three types of life you can lead: caged, comfortable or charged.

What does it take to be happy? Is it working a well-paying job, owning a house with a white picket fence and taking the kids to the beach on Sundays? Well, that’s what society would have you believe – that happiness is about material things. But society’s math is faulty.

It’s a fact that the lives we live are prescribed by others. We all want to be accepted and loved, so we follow the rules of our parents when growing up, which leads us to have jobs that make them proud.

We might be unhappy, but we won’t break out of our cage because we’re afraid of losing what we’ve worked so hard to gain: acceptance.

Now, some people feel like they’re stuck in a cage. They don’t live the life that they want to live or think that their lives are meaningless. However, there’s another group of people who aren’t as lucky and feel trapped by society. These chargers are always looking for something more out of life and realize how limited their lives really are because of the choices that they’ve made.

People who are great at what they do feel that the world is their oyster. They don’t care about others’ expectations and live life on their own terms. You should be a charger like them if you’re living in fear or following someone else’s path, because it’s time to make your own way through life.

Big Idea #2: Take control of your approach to life and work.

Regardless of whether your life is caged, comfortable or charged, everyone wants to be happy. People who live charged lives are happier because they’ve activated their ten human drives.

Our basic needs are not essential to survival, but we all want them. We may be able to experience happiness without fulfilling our desires, but it is only through fulfilling those desires that we can achieve a truly happy life.

The first five drives are control, competence, congruence (sense of belonging), caring and connection.

Let’s start with control. Most events in life are beyond your control, but you can control how you react to them. For example, you can’t always control the flow of traffic or what strangers will say to you, but you can choose how to react.

If you live a life that’s too sheltered, then any negative event will seem like the last straw. But if you’re more open and adventurous, then negative events won’t seem so bad because they’ll just be one piece of information among many.

The author’s father is a great example of someone who maintained his control in the face of adversity. He was diagnosed with leukemia, but he remained positive and friendly, even when dealing with hospital staff. He frequently told his family how proud he was of them, and made jokes to lighten the mood during such a difficult time. In addition to maintaining control over himself, he also taught his children how important it is to maintain control over their lives as well. This can be done by taking ownership over projects at work that you are passionate about so that your contributions will have an impact on others around you.