My Life

It’s the ultimate question: “What should I do with my life?” It’s a question posed by author Po Bronson in a best-selling book by the same title, and answered by the prophet Micah.

It was an afternoon that changed a life forever. Here’s the story:

Rick Olson stood with his son Patrick on a hill overlooking a panoramic view of downtown Pittsburgh with its three rivers and tall buildings. As they gazed over the railing on the Mt. Washington observation deck, Patrick pointed to the barges floating up and down the three rivers, a blue-and-gold bridge and a host of other scenes there laid out in front of them, all the while asking questions — “What kind of boat is that? How do they get the sand out of the railcars and into the barges? Which river goes south to north? Is it that one or that one?”

Rick had been living in Pittsburgh for 22 years and had never really paid attention to things like that. For two hours Patrick made observations, asked questions, and Rick could only say, “Hmmmm.”

Then Patrick asked his dad to point out the building where he had been working every day for five years as a corporate lawyer specializing in radio station mergers. There in that...