Former Tech CEO Jeff Westphal Finds Meaning in A Work Life Worth Living

Former tech CEO, entrepreneur, and thought leader Jeff Westphal announces the release of A Work Life Worth Living: Your Guide to Creating a Meaningful Career (River Grove Books, June 2, 2026), a deeply personal and practical guide to creating a more meaningful relationship with your work and career.

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A Work Life Worth Living is available everywhere books are sold.

A Work Life Worth Living is available everywhere books are sold.

“Most of our waking hours are spent working, yet many of us find ourselves unfulfilled by what we do,” said Westphal. “In the age of AI and continually shifting workplace dynamics, your future can seem uncertain and bleak. But what if it’s possible to create a more meaningful work life starting right now.”

After spending over two decades leading his father’s start-up sales tax software company to become a global industry leader, Westphal achieved the kind of success many aspire to. Behind this success story is another, more complex story of how a leader found, then lost and found again, meaning in his life and work – and how, by helping his employees find meaning in work as seemingly meaningless as sales tax software, he helped his company survive challenges and thrive.

“Jeff Westphal doesn’t preach from the mountaintop. He writes from the wreckage—failed products, a 3-out-of-7 trust score, rehab at fifty, and more,” said Daniel H. Pink, New York Times best-selling author of The Power of Regret and Drive. “His honesty about what he got wrong is precisely what makes his insights about meaning, mentorship, and listening land so hard.”

In A Work Life Worth Living, Westphal shares candid reflections from his own career, offering readers an honest look at the realities of achievement, fulfillment, and identity. Through personal stories, insights, and actionable guidance, the book invites readers to examine their own work lives and take intentional steps toward greater meaning.

Today, Westphal continues his mission through his new business ventures – including MeaningSphere® where he focuses on helping individuals create meaning in their work and careers. His work centers on the belief that meaningful work is not a luxury, but a critical component of a fulfilling life.

A Work Life Worth Living is a road map for working and living, a must read for anyone under forty!” said Dan Rather, legendary journalist and author of What Unites Us.

Pick up your copy of A Work Life Worth Living on Amazon and other leading book selling platforms and stay updated on Jeff Westphal’s endeavors by visiting www.jeffwestphal.org.

ABOUT JEFF WESTPHAL

In the mid-1990s, Jeff Westphal took over his father’s upstart sales tax software business and over the next two decades built it into a dominant industry leader with nearly one thousand employees and over $300 million in annual revenue. Under Jeff’s leadership, Vertex became an essential cog in the commerce machine, relied upon by more than ten thousand of the largest companies in the world.

Today, Jeff is an author, seasoned executive, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and conservationist. In addition to leading Vertex for two decades, he has founded two new ventures—MeaningSphere® and Mosaic™—as he continues to give back and encourage others to find meaning in their learning and working lives.

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