Runnin' Down a Dream

Brought to you by Penguin.

Humans spend an estimated 80,000 hours of their lives at work. Shouldn’t that time be spent doing something you love? How can you avoid the trap of career regret?

Today, Bill Gurley is known for his successful investments in companies like Uber. But before he found his dream job in venture capital, Gurley came close to falling into a trap that affects millions: “career regret.” Family pressure and a broken education system push too many young people onto a conveyer belt where the destination is a small subset of idealized “safe” jobs. But, as new research by Gurley and the Wharton School of Business shows, 6 in 10 people are likely to regret their career choice years down the road.

For the past two decades, Gurley has observed people who have climbed to the top in fields ranging from technology to hospitality to entertainment—and who radiate joy in their chosen field. Why did they thrive while others floundered? Is there a formula to finding your dream job?

In Runnin’ Down a Dream, Gurley breaks down the components of success, identifying six key tenets that will set young people up for flourishing, purpose-filled careers. From chasing your curiosity and honing your craft to going where the action Is to always giving back, Gurley brings them to life - through his own captivating, straight-talk voice and revealing stories of a handful of iconic individuals who epitomize them.

'Life,' as Gurley’s writes, 'is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition.' A much-needed corrective to talk of 'lazy jobs' and 'quiet quitting,' this book will inspire a new generation to step off the conveyer belt, find the things that make them insatiably curious, and turn those fascinations into a thriving career—where the work doesn’t feel like work at all.

© Bill Gurley 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026