This much is clear: to get to the top of your field in today’s dynamic and disruptive world, where underemployment is higher than ever and the future of work is ever-changing and uncertain, you need to be incredibly bold and innovative. But what about reality and its often-extreme hardships? Very few people have imagined, let alone experienced, the muzzle of a machine gun piercing their back, or survived an attempted kidnapping on the border of Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Hassan Akmal’s mesmerizing, transformative, and debut story—often harrowing, frequently inspiring —will make you rethink giving up on your career and your lifelong ambitions. With intricate, powerful, and masterly career lessons on how adversity builds character, on the value of collaboration, and on steadfastly maintaining a positive mindset, his book provides new models of determination and outreach to connect you with brilliant, like-minded people in a connection economy. Above all, it is a catalyst for aligning readers and seekers with their true purpose.

How to be a Career Mastermind™ unveils seven secret windows to championing your own career, based on the highly successful “YOU Matter”—Design Your Career Crown program at Columbia University that has helped thousands redefine their “purpose and impact lens”—blending career and life vision with real-life narratives. Akmal audaciously redefines what it means to be a career coach—his reputation, gratitude, and powerful message of how to be your own Career Mastermind™, all consistent with his core beliefs, are unapologetically eye-catching.