“Rick has a gift for conveying deep, thought-provoking ideas.”
- Ellen Kelsay, CEO, Business Group on Health
When work stops working.
Work is woven into the fabric of modern life. It defines us, rewards us, and consumes us. For a while, it feels like the answer…
Until it doesn’t.
The Way of Work is for mid-career professionals who are successful on paper, but suspect work can’t deliver what it promised—essays on meaning, identity, and ambition without the hustle-guru nonsense.
This is not a newsletter about:
productivity hacks
“follow your passion” porn
tidy, cliché career advice
Instead, I look at the real paradox: work can give you status, money, and momentum—while quietly hollowing out your sense of self. Here, we explore:
why ambition works… until it doesn’t
identity loss when you outgrow your old story
reinvention without the performative BS
meaning, without pretending it’s a checklist
“So well written. Sophisticated ideas in refreshingly clear prose.”
- Christopher Morris, PhD, Assistant Professor, George Mason
About Rick Foerster
I’m a recovering startup guy who helped build a multi-billion-dollar company from zero. It’s the kind of career that’s supposed to fill the void and answer questions.
It didn’t, so I stepped away.
Since then, I’ve been exploring what happens after you achieve enough—when the external rewards stop working, the identity starts to wobble, and you realize how much of your life has been shaped by the machinery of work.
If you’ve ever felt successful and still vaguely trapped… this is the right place for you.
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