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What does it take to live a moral life? Jeff Haanen and Dustin Moody talk with David Brooks, New York Times columnist and best-selling author, about his latest book, The Second Mountain. David shares about his personal journey of faith and what it means to live a "second mountain" life through commitments to family, a vocation, a community, and a philosophy.

On character:

"Character formation is not really about individual self-control, it's about devoting ourselves to a higher love and serving that love."

On the definition of "commitment":

"It's falling in love with something and then building a structure of behavior around it for those moments when love falters."

On communities of faith serving well:

"It's when they act out of the truth they're supposed to be living out, to be honest. It's where they put selfless love at the service of their life. It's where they show themselves, defining themselves by how they treat the least amongst us, how they treat the stranger."

On the difference between a career and a vocation:

"A career is something you choose with your rational minds: 'I've got a bunch of skills and here's the marketplace. How can I get the highest reward for the marketplace?' A vocation is something you're called to do. You feel a summons from outside."

Purchase The Second Mountain, by David Brooks.*Hear more from Anne Snyder in our previous podcast.Learn more about David's collaboration with the Aspen Institute, Weave: The Social Fabric Project.Dustin mentioned an article by Derek Thompson in The Atlantic: The Religion of Workism is Making Americans Miserable.Support The Faith & Work Podcast.Download the episode transcript.

*–Purchase with purpose. Amazon donates to Denver Institute when you shop at smile.amazon.com.