How to Not Waste Your Talent

In this 50-minute session, we’ll explore two readings about finding work that makes good use of our talents.

The first reading is from the recent book Moral Ambition by historian Rutger Bregman. The selection includes the introduction to the book along with the principles that guide Bregman’s new organization, the School for Moral Ambition.

As you read, ask yourself whether you agree with Bregman’s claim that “Of all things wasted in our throwaway times, the greatest is wasted talent.” And, if you do agree, do you think what Bregman calls “moral ambition” is the solution?

The second reading is a classic statement on the meaning of work by the novelist, translator, and playwright Dorothy Sayers. Sayers, who was among the first women to receive a degree from Oxford University, writes during the Second World War. She claims that the war helped reveal a wasteful attitude toward work and that a person “must be able to serve God in his work, and the work itself must be accepted and respected as the medium of divine creation.”

As you read, ask yourself if you agree with Sayers’s claims about work. Pay close attention to areas where Sayers and Bregman might agree or disagree. In class, we will also ask how these writers can help each of us—as learners and as workers—to avoid wasting our talent.

Read This

Reading #1: From Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman

Reading #2: From “Why Work?” by Dorothy Sayers