The Monk and the Riddle: The Education of a Silicon Valley Entrepreneur »

Randy Komisar is a Virtual CEO who has worked with companies such as WebTV and Mondo Media. He was CEO of LucasArts Entertainment and Crystal Dynamics, and one of the founders of GO and Claris.

What would you be willing to do for the rest of your life . . . ?

It's a question most of us consider only hypothetically-opting instead to "do what we have to do" to earn a living. But in the critically acclaimed bestseller The Monk and the Riddle, entrepreneurial sage Randy Komisar asks us to answer it for real. The book's timeless advice-to make work pay not just in cash, but in experience, satisfaction, and joy-will be embraced by anyone who wants success to come not just from what they do, but from who they are. At once a fictional tale of Komisar's encounters with a would-be entrepreneur and a personal account of how Komisar found meaning not in work's rewards but in work itself, the book illustrates what's wrong with the mainstream thinking that we should sacrifice our lives to make a living. Described by Fortune.com as "part personal essay, part fictional narrative and part meditation on the nature of work and life," The Monk and the Riddle is essential reading on the art of creating a life while making a living.

Author BiographyS: Randy Komisar is a Virtual CEO who has worked with companies such as WebTV and TiVo. He was CEO of LucasArts Entertainment and Crystal Dynamics, CFO of GO, and one of the founders of Claris Corporation. Kent Lineback is a writer, producer, and consultant. He has produced seventeen film and video programs for Harvard Business School and is currently collaborating on a book about L.L. Bean and writing a screenplay.

"Belongs in a category by itself . . . The best thing I've read all year."
-San Francisco Examiner

"A timely book."
-USA Today

"A self-help manual and business fable rolled into one."
-The Times, London

Times London

A self-help manual and business fable rolled into one.

Acknowledgments
Prologue: The Monk and the Riddle
1. The Pitch
2. The Rules of the Game
3. The Virtual CEO
4. The Deferred Life Plan
5. Romance, not Finance
6. The Big Idea
7. Beyond the Bottom Line
8. Who Will Lead?
9. The Gamble
10. The Whole Life Plan
Epilogue: The Road
About the Author