On this Live Greatly podcast episode, Kristel Bauer sits down with Benjamin Todd, co-founder of 80,000 Hours and author of 80,000 HOURS: How to Have a Fulfilling Career That Does Good. Kristel and Benjamin discuss why "follow your passion" may not be the best career advice, what actually contributes to meaningful and fulfilling work, and practical strategies to align your strengths, values, and goals with your career. Benjamin also shares insights on pursuing positive impact, and building a career that supports both success and well-being. Tune in now! Key Takeaways From This Episode: Why "follow your passion" can be misleading career advice The key ingredients of meaningful and fulfilling work How to align your strengths and values with your career The impact of volunteering Tips to pursue success, purpose, and well-being simultaneously How to be a multiplier ABOUT BENJAMIN TODD Ben is the founder of 80,000 Hours, a non-profit that has reached millions of people and helped 3000+ people find careers tackling the world's most pressing problems. He's the author of 80,000 Hours: How to Have a Fulfilling Career That Does Good (Penguin May 2026) and writes about how to prepare for advanced AI on Substack. Dissatisfied with the career advice he received at university, Benjamin began researching the guidance he wished he'd had. Over the next ten years, he grew 80,000 Hours from a student society in Oxford into a non-profit that today reaches 4 million people annually, has over 50 staff, and has raised $30m of funding. It has been covered in the Financial Times, Guardian, TIME, Wall Street Journal and BBC, and was one of the first non-profits to go through Y Combinator, the world's top startup accelerator. 80,000 Hours provides free online research, one-on-one advice, a job board and podcast to help people find more fulfilling and impactful careers. Over 10 million people have read their advice online and over 3,000 have switched to more impactful careers. This includes people who helped to pioneer research into AI safety at organisations like Anthropic, DeepMind, RAND and METR, have taken key roles aiming to prevent a catastrophic pandemic, and have pledged billions of dollars to high-impact charities. As CEO for the organisation's first ten years, Ben led strategy, fundraising, and senior management, building an organisation with average annual staff retention of 95%, while also writing the Career Guide, Key Ideas series and over 100 articles. His TEDx talk has been viewed over 6 million times. Before 80,000 Hours, he was the first undergraduate to intern as an analyst at Orbis Investment Advisory, a $20bn fund. He was the first non-founding member of Giving What We Can, pledging to give 10% of his income to effective charities for life. He has a 1st from Oxford in a Masters of Physics and Philosophy, has published in climate physics, and speaks Chinese, badly. Connect with Benjamin: Order his book: https://80000hours.org/book/ Website: https://benjamintodd.org/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-j-todd/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benbentodd/ About the Host of the Live Greatly podcast, Kristel Bauer: Kristel Bauer is a corporate wellness and performance expert, keynote speaker and TEDx speaker supporting organizations and individuals on their journeys for more happiness and success. She is the award-winning author of Work-Life Tango: Finding Happiness, Harmony, and Peak Performance Wherever You Work (John Murray Business November 19, 2024). With Kristel's healthcare background, she provides data driven actionable strategies to leverage happiness and high-power habits to drive growth mindsets, peak performance, profitability, well-being and a culture of excellence. Kristel's keynotes provide insights to "Live Greatly" while promoting leadership development and team building. Kristel is the creator and host of her global top self-improvement podcast, Live Greatly. She is a contributing writer for Entrepreneur, and she is an influencer in the business and wellness space having been recognized as a Top 10 Social Media Influencer of 2021 in Forbes. As an Integrative Medicine Fellow & Physician Assistant having practiced clinically in Integrative Psychiatry, Kristel has a unique perspective into attaining a mindset for more happiness and success. Kristel has presented to groups from the American Gas Association, Bank of America, bp, Commercial Metals Company, General Mills, Northwestern University, Santander Bank and many more. Kristel's work has been featured in Forbes and she has had multiple TV appearances including NBC News Daily, ABC News Live, FOX Weather, ABC 7 Chicago, WGN Daytime Chicago and more. Kristel lives in the Chicago, IL area and she can be booked for speaking engagements worldwide. To Book Kristel as a speaker for your next event, click here. Website: www.livegreatly.co Follow Kristel Bauer on: Instagram: @livegreatly_co LinkedIn: Kristel Bauer Twitter: @livegreatly_co Facebook: @livegreatly.co Youtube: Live Greatly, Kristel Bauer To Watch Kristel Bauer's TEDx talk of Redefining Work/Life Balance in a COVID-19 World click here. Click HERE to check out Kristel's corporate wellness and leadership blog Click HERE to check out Kristel's Travel and Wellness Blog Disclaimer: The contents of this podcast are intended for informational and educational purposes only. Always seek the guidance of your physician for any recommendations specific to you or for any questions regarding your specific health, your sleep patterns changes to diet and exercise, or any medical conditions. Always consult your physician before starting any supplements or new lifestyle programs. All information, views and statements shared on the Live Greatly podcast are purely the opinions of the authors, and are not medical advice or treatment recommendations. They have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. Opinions of guests are their own and Kristel Bauer & this podcast does not endorse or accept responsibility for statements made by guests. Neither Kristel Bauer nor this podcast takes responsibility for possible health consequences of a person or persons following the information in this educational content. Always consult your physician for recommendations specific to you.
