You browse through countless options on Netflix, unable to commit to watching any given show—and losing so much time skimming reviews and considering trailers that it’s too late to watch anything. In a book borne of an idea first articulated in a viral commencement address, Pete Davis argues that this is the defining characteristic of the moment: keeping our options open. Pete talks about being stuck in “Infinite Browsing Mode”—  jumping from place to place searching for the next big thing, and refusing to make any decision that might close us off from an even better choice we imagine is just around the corner. This culture of restlessness and indecision, Pete Davis argues, is causing tension in the lives of young people today: who want to keep options open, and yet yearn for the purpose, community, and depth that can only come from making deep commitments.

Host of Career Buzz, Mark Franklin, read Pete Davis’s book – Dedicated, The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing – and felt like he had to interview Pete for Career Buzz. It’s a book for life, but also, a career book. In it he talks about the counterculture of committers who have made it to the other side of infinite browsing. He shares what we can learn from “long-haul heroes” who courageously commit themselves to particular places, professions, and causes.  His book and hopefully this interview is an inspiring and transformative argument that purposeful commitment can be a powerful force in our age of restlessness and indecision.

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