Nick Williams used to have a "real" job. He worked in a high-powered computer company, had a good salary, an expensive car and a nice home in a trendy part of London. From the outside, it looked as if he had it all. But sitting on a beach in Antigua with a can of cold beer in his hand, it suddenly dawned on him that he was profoundly unhappy and dreading going back to work.

Williams could have pushed these feelings underground and got on with fast-forwarding his career. But he was only 30 at the time and retirement was a long way off. So he chucked his job, sold his flash car, moved house to a less upmarket neighbourhood and set about finding a life outside the fast lane.

He has since become a business consultant and trainer who helps those feeling trapped in their jobs to find a new direction. He also works with the corporate sector advising companies and individuals on transforming their world of work.

"Although in many respects I had been very successful, I still couldn't hide the fact that the real and authentic me - my heart, my inspiration, creativity, love and passion - were largely absent in my daily life,["] Williams says. "Because I was hiding behind masks and roles, I was getting and achieving a lot, but I was receiving very little. And the real me was starving . . . I was bored and frustrated in my work, as though I was caught up in a materially comfortable prison."

Williams says that making the leap from the corporate comfort zone into the unknown was not easy and at times it was materially difficult. But he reckons the inner peace he has found since leaving the rat race has made up for the sacrifices involved.

Work may be part of the human condition, but it doesn't have to be an endurance test or something which is so dominant it unbalances all of the other aspects of our lives, he argues. In Williams' view, one should "find the work you love, love the work you do". If you're bored, frustrated or even scared by your working environment, you should move on.

Williams maintains that people tend to stay with a job come hell or high water because they've been brought up to believe that work should be boring and difficult. He begs to differ and believes that people should be able to harness their natural gifts and talents to find a job which is fulfilling, rather than settling for a way of working which limits their potential.

To aid the cause Williams has written a book called The Work We Were Born To Do. This substantial volume sets out his thoughts on how to overcome the traditional conditioning, stereotyping and expectations of work which have kept people locked in a particular working pattern for decades.

He refers a lot to the "inner" self and to finding where the heart really lies so anyone who is uncomfortable with this type of terminology may not like his style. But gaining self-knowledge is often difficult and Williams himself had to undergo a period of therapy to lay the ghosts of how he used to think about work.

He has boiled his philosophy down to 12 key principles. Rules are out - they make us feel guilty when we break them - whereas principles are in as they are intentions or values by which we chart our lives. The essential difference between the two he says is that when one breaks with a principle there is correction rather than punishment.

Williams peppers the text with interesting case studies, illustrative vignettes and self-help exercises to help readers clarify their thoughts on relevant issues such as money. He also deals with undoing our conditioning, discovering the spirit of work and bringing about transformational change.

If you're one of those people who goes to work but isn't really there or someone whose work leaves no time for a life outside, you might find the inspiration to change in Williams' story. It is published by Element and the ISDN number is 186204 5526.

If you would like to hear what Williams has to say in person there is an opportunity to do so on March 25th when he comes to Dublin for daylong workshop. The venue is the Shelbourne Hotel and the cost is £60.

Williams was invited to Dublin by Michael Daly of the Barnabas Project who has been interested in Williams' philosophy for some time. Daly is a former youth worker who now helps people feeling unfulfilled in their jobs or lives to find a new direction.

"I think Williams' ideas are good in principle and I thought it would be interesting to see how he makes his ideas work in practice. Hopefully the workshop will provide the answers," Daly says. Bookings for the workshop can be made with Michael Daly at (01) 842 0544.