How to Live a Meaningful Life: Using Design Thinking to Unlock Purpose, Joy, and Flow Every Day

by Bill Burnett, Dave Evans

The #1 New York Times bestselling authors of Designing Your Life return with a groundbreaking guide to transforming your daily routine into one brimming with joy, purpose, and meaning.

In a world grappling with major societal shifts and increasing isolation, it’s easy to feel like nothing you do matters. Even when we’re at the top of our game in our careers and have reached the personal milestones we’ve always dreamed about, so many of us still feel like something is missing, disconnected, and stuck. There must be more to life than simply surviving each day—but how do we uncover it?

Bestselling authors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, the “empowering” (Publishers Weekly) visionaries behind Stanford’s renowned Life Design Lab, have already inspired millions of readers to use design thinking principles to craft lives and careers they love. Now, in How to Live a Meaningful Live, they take on the most profound design problem of how to make a life rich with meaning and purpose. Evolving their revolutionary framework, Burnett and Evans present the latest research on what makes life worth living, showing us how to bring wonder, coherence, flow, and community into our everyday experiences. Instead of cramming more into an already packed life, they give us the steps we need to extract more out of it, moment by moment.

Through actionable insights and with Burnett and Evans’s signature compassion and warmth, How to Live a Meaningful Life equips you with the tools to turn your ordinary days into an extraordinary life today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help

240 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 3, 2026

About the author

Bill Burnett is an award-winning Silicon Valley designer and the Executive Director of the renowned Design Program at Stanford University.

Bill Burnett is the Executive Director of the Design Program at Stanford. He directs the undergraduate and graduate program in design at Stanford, both interdepartmental programs between the Mechanical Engineering department and the Art department. He got his BS and MS in Product Design at Stanford and has worked professionally on a wide variety of projects ranging from award-winning Apple PowerBooks to the original Hasbro Star Wars action figures. He holds a number of mechanical and design patents, and design awards for a variety of products including the first “slate” computer. In addition to his duties at Stanford, he is a on the Board of VOZ (pronounced “VAWS – it means voice in Spanish) a social responsible high fashion startup and advises several Internet start-up companies.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.

I’ve read the authors’ prior book on designing your work life & found the tips helpful. This book does the same for life.

The concepts presented are powerful and effective.
The steps build on one another and are wholly absorbing.

While “improvement books” are not a new concept, I appreciated how the authors of this experience told their experiences as well as the philosophy with such freshness, intensity and power.

[Kaiju Reviews]

Thanks Goodread giveaways for the promotional copy. I'm sorry to say that I think I'm done with the 'self-help' type of book. I didn't read much of this one, but it was too 'homespun wisdom' for me. Like 'aww shucks' kind of advice. Get back up, dust yourself off, and try again - kind of advice.

But look, I'll be honest. It may not be this book. It may be just the fact that I've hit my limit.

Bill and Dave, I've not rated this, as giving it a rating seems unfair. And I will share this copy with my local book exchange. Hopefully it finds its way into someone's hands that need it.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on how to quit looking for fulfillment and instead start designing a more fulfilling life. Find beauty and satisfaction in the little things.

[Timea Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Overall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Concepts & Practical Tools

ARC provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

How to Live a Meaningful Life is a thoughtful, practical, and encouraging guide that helps reframe how we approach purpose, work, and fulfillment. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans blend philosophy with real-life application, offering actionable tools that feel approachable rather than overwhelming. It’s less about finding one perfect path and more about designing a life that evolves with you.

Overall thoughts (spoiler-free)
I really appreciated how grounded and realistic this book felt. Instead of abstract ideas or motivational fluff, it offers concrete frameworks you can actually use. The tone is reassuring and empowering, especially for anyone feeling stuck, uncertain, or pressured to “have it all figured out.” The authors emphasize curiosity, experimentation, and self-compassion, and that message resonated deeply with me.

⚠️ Spoilers below ⚠️
One of my favorite aspects was the idea that meaning isn’t something you discover once; it’s something you actively design and redesign over time. The reframing of failure as data rather than defeat was especially powerful. I loved how the authors encouraged small, low-risk experiments instead of massive life overhauls. That approach made personal growth feel achievable instead of intimidating.

The emphasis on community, reflection, and alignment between values and daily actions also stood out. It reinforced that a meaningful life isn’t just about career success, but about connection, curiosity, and intentional living.

While I found the concepts extremely valuable, some ideas felt familiar if you’ve read Designing Your Life or similar personal development books. At times, I wished for a few deeper case studies or more diverse real-life examples to further illustrate how these tools can apply across different life circumstances. That said, the clarity and accessibility of the framework make it an excellent entry point, or a reassuring refresher for anyone revisiting questions of purpose and direction.

How to Live a Meaningful Life is compassionate, insightful, and refreshingly practical. Burnett and Evans offer guidance that feels human and flexible, not prescriptive. This book gently reminds you that it’s okay to not have all the answers, and that meaning can be built through small, intentional choices over time. I walked away feeling calmer, more hopeful, and better equipped to design a life that actually feels like mine. A highly respectful and empowering read that I would confidently recommend.

Thank you so much, Simon & Schuster for the copy!

[Maj · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve ever wondered whether life came with a user manual, How to Live a Meaningful Life might just be the closest thing—minus the confusing assembly instructions. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, the dynamic duo behind Designing Your Life, return with another gem that doesn’t preach about finding meaning in some far-off mountaintop moment. Instead, they invite you to design it, right here in the messy, marvelous middle of everyday living. Their style is breezy, witty, and refreshingly down-to-earth—like having coffee with two very wise friends who also happen to know their way around a whiteboard.

Rather than nudging readers toward lofty epiphanies, Burnett and Evans roll up their sleeves and hand us tools to turn ordinary days into awe-filled experiences. Their clever exercises aren’t your average self-help homework; they’re creative blueprints for noticing joy, experimenting with what lights you up, and celebrating the small wins—like discovering that “doing the dishes” can actually be an act of mindfulness if you’re paying attention (and maybe humming). The authors remind us that life design is less about perfecting our existence and more about playing with it—iteration by delightful iteration.

By the end, you don’t feel like you’ve been told how to live a meaningful life—you feel like you’ve been dancing with it. Burnett and Evans make meaning feel wonderfully attainable, woven into glimmers of connection, laughter, and curiosity. In a world obsessed with chasing fulfillment, they hand us permission to pause and say, “Wow, this moment right here is pretty amazing.” Highly recommended for anyone ready to stop overthinking life and start joyfully designing it—pun very much intended.

[Chapter.whispers.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book got delivered on one of the Indian festivals (Diwali) and felt it as a gift for me to change and enhance more about life. When I started this book I thought to read it very slowly . But in one go I read around 66 pages out of 210 pages. I felt amazed.
The authors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans are director and co fonder of Life Design lab at Stanford University.
Finding meaning and purpose of life is so important which leads us for a peaceful life.
I have been slowly understanding how much purpose of life is impact on the lifestyle we choose and move forward in the life.
The reframing activity is what our professor used do for our final project in my master's. He used to suggest us to go level wise and ask questions how the details are helpful to showcase the project.

I love the concept of three views of an individual. Normal, Curiosity and wonder . Once we start seeing thing from wonder angle things will be much amazing. Feel the amazing things that surround us.
Curiosity + mystery = wonder

Having a coherent life. Stabilizing things and having key elements that are aligned and interconnected.
Like who are we , what we do and what we believe in.


Engage reflect and story telling practice (ERS) . Develop formtive community which helps in becoming ourselves.


There is nothing called late. Life is a flow world and there is only now. Each and every moment is a valuable for opportunity to design life. Let's design it well.

[Farnham68 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 5/5 stars! Great work Bill & Dave!

If you felt like Designing Your Life was the compass you needed to navigate your career, How to Live a Meaningful Life is the map for your entire existence. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans have done it again, taking the high-concept ambiguity of "meaning" and breaking it down into a practical, actionable, and deeply empathetic framework.

They stay anchored in Design Thinking and argue that a meaningful life isn’t something you find, but something you create, through intentionality and experimentation. It’s not just a book you read, but a book you will “do”. Each chapter is packed with exercises that will transform you in ways you never imagined. It will not only pack your bags for the trip, but show you which roads to take.

By the time you’re done reading this book , your life will feel as good on the inside as it might look to others on the outside! Isn’t that really all any of us are looking for? That inner peace we think others are seeing when they look at our smiling faces on social media? This book will help you find your flow, and I bet you didn’t even know it was lost!

I’d like to thank Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Simon Element through NetGalley.
The two authors offer thoughts and guidance for using Design Thinking in our lives. Each chapter offers informative text and ends with exercises to incorporate the ideas in our reality. The concepts build on each other so by the end, readers have the needed tools to move toward designing a life that works for them - to move from the transactional to the flow style.
Books like this are not new but this one offers a more relaxed writing style. The two authors refer to themselves by their first name and provide examples and anecdotes to make their points. This worked well for me as I was reading this during a stressful time in the year. I chose to read a chapter a day and process what was written rather than move through quickly. The beauty of this book is that you can read it straight or read it at a slower pace. The exercises are your choice as well.

[Mel Mal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most profound books I have read this year! The idea of applying design thinking to life was the tool I think a lot of us don’t realize we need. This book approached the perspective objectively with no bias toward spirituality or science which is so beautiful and unique to find in the world of books today. This book is life-changing and I am so grateful I had the chance to read and experience this book. I think everyone in adulthood should read this book. There are takeaways for everyone!

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took care of my mother in law for 11 years. For 7 years her Alzeimers kept getting worse. We became isolated from every single thing we had done and enjoyed before. Then the pandemic came and things have never been the same since then. So many changed in the 7 years we were away from them. We are now trying to adjust and make changes that will helo move forward in our life that mean something to us which is what this book talks about. This is the first time we have been alone as a couple. We are older now and things mean more to us than ever.

[Beth-Charlotte Kovacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Dave and Bill's first book, Designing Your Life, this is a wonderful addition to their work. If you've not read the previous book, no worries, this book will inspire you to find purpose and meaning in the everyday.

[Dr G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and worthwhile

[Neelakandan NC]

₹

[Glenn Stenquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good philosophy