What people are saying
"We all seek to build a meaningful career, but that’s easier said than done. Finally, we have a guide that shows us how to do it. Read Arun Gupta and Thomas J. Fewer’s wonderful The Mission Generation to deploy your ambition in service of others.”
—Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard Professor and #1 New York Times bestselling author
“At a time when technology is reorienting what we do for work, The Mission Generation is a reminder that answering why we work is what really matters. This incisive book will inspire people at every level to create impact that strengthens business and communities and helps build a better future for all.”
—Julie Sweet, CEO Accenture
“People are shocked when they find out we're friends given our politics. But we've learned that our most meaningful contributions come when we cross lines others say we shouldn't. Gupta and Fewer give us language for what we've been doing- prioritizing our sense of ‘mission.’ That’s why this is the first book we've endorsed together. Read it to understand the way forward for yourself and your world.”
—Van Jones & David Urban, CNN Senior Political Commentators
“As institutions struggle to keep pace with accelerating change, this book equips individuals to find clarity, experiment boldly, recruit allies, scale their impact, and sustain themselves along the way—transforming disruption into direction. The most meaningful work of my career has emerged at the intersections of the public and private sectors and across political divides, and this book is meant to show rising leaders that such cross-sector, cross-party collaboration isn’t an anomaly—it’s the future.”
—Gina Raimondo, Former Secretary of U.S. Department of Commerce, two-term Governor of Rhode Island, business executive
“If you want to feed the world, you have to start with one plate of food. Then you gather the right people and ingredients, and scale together. The Mission Generation is the recipe for turning ambition into service and skills into impact. The world doesn't need more people waiting to be told how to help. It needs you showing up and taking action today."
—José Andrés, Chef and Humanitarian
“When we established the United States Space Force, we set out to design an organization combining service with innovation, our national security required it. The Mission Generation came running to us in great numbers. This book explains why and provides the guiding tools for those seeking a higher civic purpose.”
—General John W. Raymond (retired), U.S. Space Force
"The challenges we face today demand a generation of leaders dedicating their full-time energy to taking them on. The Mission Generation helps point the way to lives of impact that help put the world on a better trajectory—and why waiting is the only real risk.”
—Wendy Kopp, Founder, Teach for America
"We told a generation to find their calling, then trapped them in career systems built for a world that no longer exists. The Mission Generation shows the way forward: when your skills serve something larger, you gain clarity, confidence to cross boundaries, and credibility that opens up incredible opportunities. Mission isn't sacrifice—it's your competitive advantage."
—Michael M. Crow, President, Arizona State University
“Our top priority is to ensure that the American Dream is available to everyone. There are as many dreams as there are people, and whether that dream unfolds on the corporate ladder, in a world-changing non-profit, in government, or across all of them over a lifetime, this book offers a perfect guide for the journey.”
—Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-Oklahoma) and Gov. Wes Moore (D-Maryland), Chair & Vice-Chair National Governors Association
“The Mission Generation lights a fire in the heart—inviting us to dream bigger, lead boldly, and believe again in the impact one person can make. Arun Gupta gets it and you will too.”
—General Ann Dunwoody, US Army Retired
"The Mission Generation is more than a clarion call—it's moral support to defy convention, research-driven confirmation that purpose matters, and a blueprint for building meaningful careers... at any stage of life. I love this book."
—Ambassador Nate Fick, Tech CEO, Non-Profit CEO, New York Times bestselling author of One Bullet Away
“The Mission Generation is a fresh, instructive playbook for crafting and navigating a purpose-driven career. Gupta and Fewer’s book will inspire a new generation to reconcile what work they choose with what impact they desire, and what tradeoffs they must make.”
—Toni Townes-Whitley, Nasdaq Board Director, Former Fortune 500 CEO & President, Microsoft
“In my world, people returning to work after caregiving, relocating, or ‘un-retiring’ aren’t just chasing a paycheck—they’re craving purpose. Increasingly, they want their next career chapter to make a difference. Lucky for them, The Mission Generation is the guidebook to get them there.”
Carol Fishman Cohen, CEO and Co-founder, iRelaunch
“We need more than breakthrough technologies—we need breakthrough mindsets. This book offers the blueprint for those ready to scale impact across entire systems, not just companies. It reminds us that public service and entrepreneurial spirit aren’t opposites. They’re the core ingredients of durable change.”
—Jigar Shah, Former Director of DOE Loan Programs Office, Serial entrepreneur, TIME 100 '24
“A mentor once described life as having three chapters: you learn, you earn, you give back. Said differently, study hard, work hard, and then, only then can you serve. The Mission Generation shows us that blending learning, earning and serving at all stages will not only build a more meaningful and fulfilling life, it will build stronger societies as well.”
—Barbara Humpton, CEO USA Rare Earth
“America was founded on independence, and the future will be built on interdependence. This book serves as both a compass and a catalyst, showing how purpose, trust, learning, and lived experience can power a generation to rebuild what comes next. It invites us to move from the sidelines of history and become active participants in shaping America’s future.”
—John Hope Bryant, CEO Operation Hope, author of Financial Literacy for All
“The magic our nation is seeking is found in the missions that we embrace together. I have spent my life alongside people committed to something larger than themselves, and I've seen both individuals and outcomes improve most powerfully when they are fueled by a bold mission. The Mission Generation provides the formula for bringing a purpose-driven approach to our toughest problems—and this is the path to victory.”
—Justin Fanelli, Chief Technology Officer, US Navy
“As one of the first, if not the first, successful black female tech entrepreneur in the world, my journey has not been easy. The ‘mission mindset’ was how I kept going for the past forty years as a tech leader, all while impacting billions of people around the world and working with founders in over fifty countries. As Arun says: ‘The Mission Generation isn’t defined by age or background—it’s defined by orientation…and the refusal to accept work that feels empty.’”
—Tiffany Norwood, Global Serial Tech Entrepreneur, Author of Vote Like a Boss
“This generation is rewriting the rules of work—choosing alignment over achievement, meaning over motion. The Mission Generation reminds us that purpose isn’t the end of ambition, it’s what gives it direction.”
—Alison Moore, CEO, Chief
“It’s difficult to follow your life’s mission when social momentum pushes you into pigeonholes and stereotypes, predicting your future based solely on your past. By anchoring your life on a problem to solve, you become sector and role-agnostic. Arun Gupta and Thomas J. Fewer offer a practical playbook for doing exactly that in The Mission Generation, showing how to move thoughtfully between government and the private sector as a ‘dual citizen’ in service of a more perfect union.”
—Geo Saba, former Chief of Staff to Rep. Ro Khanna
"In my career from the CIA & DHS to Wall Street & founding my own company, the most fulfilling work has always been driven by mission. Arun Gupta provides the essential blueprint for leaders to harness purpose & redefine success. The Mission Generation is the definitive roadmap for a new era of leaders who refuse to choose between purpose and profit."
—Chad Sweet, Co-Founder and CEO, The Chertoff Group
"This book puts words to what so many of us struggle with: we want to make a difference but are clueless where to begin. The Mission Generation helped us connect innovation to our purpose and changed everything… it turns out that mission isn't something you work toward later in life, it’s the starting point right now.”
—Esperanza Campbell and John Wright Martin, Business Majors ‘26, Rutgers University
“We encourage our students to seek purpose, yet too often place them within systems designed for stability rather than possibility. The Mission Generation reframes this reality, showing how mission-driven engagement cultivates cognitive resilience, relational depth, and the adaptive capacities required to thrive in complex environments. The ideas and practical applications in this book translate key elements of flourishing research into accessible, actionable pathways. Inspiring individuals across the career course to align their skills and energy with meaningful impact is not only aspirational—it is one of the most strategic and evidence-supported routes to flourishing in modern life.”
—Meg Small, Professor, Penn State, Director of the Health and Human Development Design for Impact Lab