Grace Hui and Cécile George for Incentre
"Know thyself" – and discover that meaningful work was within you all along.
In the hustle and bustle of London's financial district, city workers may frequently feel an inner struggle. One that straddles between meaning and money, purpose versus job, the daily grind as opposed to fulfilment. At times highly successful professionals – fund managers, bankers, wealth advisors, lawyers, accountants etc – find themselves at a crossroads, questioning whether their considerable achievements on paper translate into genuinely making an impact on the world. Despite commanding impressive salaries and wielding significant influence, many experience what philosophers call "existential emptiness" – the gnawing sense that their work, however profitable, lacks deeper meaning. They may suffer burn out or a lack of motivation while at the same time not knowing what they can to resolve this inner dilemma.
The ancient hermetic principles offer a profound solution to this modern conundrum. Rather than seeking meaning through external validation or the distraction of career pivots, hermetic philosophy teaches that authentic purpose emerges from deep self-knowledge. The maxim "Nosce te ipsum" – know thyself – isn't merely philosophical poetry; it is a practical framework for transforming any profession into a potential vehicle for personal fulfilment and genuine contribution through alignment with the true self.
The Hermetic Map of Self-Discovery
Hermetic philosophy presents the human being as a microcosm of the universe itself – containing all the elements necessary for a meaningful existence. Within each of us is the microcosm of the macrocosm. As the ancient Hermetic saying goes : "As above, so below, as within, so without". This perspective revolutionises how we approach professional fulfilment. Instead of viewing work as something external that either provides or fails to provide meaning, hermetic wisdom reveals that meaning emerges from the alignment between your authentic nature and your professional expression.
The hermetic tradition identifies several layers of self-knowledge essential for this alignment. The first is understanding your fundamental nature – not your job title or social role, but your core characteristics, natural abilities, and deepest motivations. Many finance professionals discover, through honest self-examination, that their attraction to markets isn't primarily about money but about pattern recognition, strategic thinking, or the intellectual challenge of understanding complex systems. Sometimes, it is also about falling into a “safe” profession that would comfortably pay the bills and feeling the grind that comes with that as time wears on.
Consider the fund manager who realizes their deepest satisfaction comes not from generating returns but from the detective work of identifying undervalued companies with compelling stories. Or the wealth advisor who discovers that their true fulfilment lies in helping clients achieve security and freedom rather than simply maximizing portfolio values. These insights don't require changing careers – they require changing perspective through deeper self-understanding.
For others, it is also about recognising the part that your daily grind plays in allowing the system that keeps the economy going to function, providing jobs for others etc. The job’s ability that allows you to provide a good life for yourself and your family, doing nice things for others can also be seen as a form of mastery over the physical life with some inherent meaning in itself.
The second layer involves recognising your unique combination of talents and interests – what hermetic practitioners call your "signature." No two individuals possess identical capabilities, experiences, and perspectives. Your professional meaning emerges from discovering how your particular combination of qualities can serve something larger than immediate self-interest.
Meaning and fulfilment often comes from the self, to be radiated outwards rather than an external source. Your outward actions and a manifestation of your inner world. Meaning and purpose are first and foremost an inside job.
The Alchemical Transformation of Daily Work
Hermetic philosophy views personal development as an alchemical process – transforming base materials into gold. In professional terms, this means learning to transmute routine tasks into opportunities for growth and contribution. The hermetic principle of correspondence suggests that how you approach small responsibilities reflects and shapes your capacity for larger ones. To put it in layman terms, how you do one thing is how you do everything. The foundation of meaning and fulfilment can often come from doing each task, however mundane it might seem to the ego, purposefully and well.
This alchemical perspective transforms mundane professional activities into a spiritual practice. The analyst who approaches each research report as an opportunity to develop precision and insight is engaging in hermetic self-development. The relationship manager who treats every client interaction as a chance to practice genuine service is performing what hermetics call "the Great Work" – the ongoing refinement of character through conscious action. The analyst or trainee who goes through a due diligence exercise with rigour and thoroughness is displaying discipline that is required for the accomplishment of any greater mission.
The key lies in what hermetic practitioners term "active presence" – bringing full attention and intention to whatever task you're performing. Instead of merely completing assignments to advance your career, you begin to see each responsibility as an opportunity to express and develop your highest qualities. This shift in perspective doesn't change what you do; it transforms why and how you do it. It also displays the consistency that leads to success. A greater purpose can only ever be achieved with devotion and dedication.
While all roads led to Rome, Rome was not built overnight – a thought to reflect upon.
Many professionals report that this approach naturally leads to better results. When you're genuinely engaged with developing excellence rather than simply meeting expectations, the quality of your work improves organically. Clients notice the difference between someone going through the motions and someone genuinely committed to providing value. Colleagues recognise authentic expertise developed through passionate engagement rather than mere credential accumulation.
How you perform each task is also an opportunity to get to know yourself better – what motivates you? Why are you motivated by that and is that type of motivation sustainable? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What can you improve upon?
Understanding Your Essential Contribution
The hermetic concept of "right livelihood" suggests that every individual has a unique contribution to make – something that emerges naturally from their authentic nature when properly understood and developed. For finance professionals, discovering this contribution often involves looking beyond immediate transactions to understand the deeper purpose your work serves in the broader economic ecosystem.
For example, fund management, at its essence, involves channelling capital toward productive uses – identifying and supporting enterprises that create genuine value. Wealth management helps individuals achieve security and freedom, enabling them to contribute to causes they care about. Investment banking facilitates the capital formation that drives innovation and economic growth. These aren't merely abstract benefits; they're concrete ways your professional skills serve human flourishing.
Another example would be engineers, lawyers, accountants who provide solutions to problems that people or businesses face.
The hermetic approach to finding meaning involves identifying the specific aspect of this broader purpose that resonates with your authentic nature. Some professionals discover their deepest satisfaction in supporting emerging companies that address environmental challenges. Others find fulfilment in helping retirees achieve financial security. Still others are energised by the intellectual challenge of understanding market dynamics and inefficiencies. And yet others might find purpose in mentoring others who wish to enter into their professions.
This process requires honest self-examination about what you feel passionate about versus what you think should energise you based on social expectations or financial incentives. The hermetic tradition teaches that authentic purpose feels naturally compelling rather than forced – you're drawn toward it rather than pushing yourself toward it through willpower alone. It is also important to recognise that it is perfectly possible and in alignment with hermetic principles that you are able to make a good living from doing what it is that invigorates you. The two are not mutually exclusive. How we navigate this is also through the hermetic philosophy of knowing yourself.
The Practice of Conscious Professional Development
Hermetic self-knowledge isn't achieved through one-time revelation but through ongoing practice. The ancient tradition provides specific methods for developing the self-awareness necessary for meaningful work. These practices adapt readily to professional contexts, allowing you to deepen self-understanding while advancing your career.
The first practice involves regular self-observation – paying attention to what types of activities genuinely engage your interest versus those you perform merely from obligation. Most professionals operate on autopilot, rarely noticing which aspects of their work feel energizing and which feel draining. Conscious observation reveals patterns that point toward your natural strengths and authentic interests.
The second practice involves what hermetics call "contemplative analysis" – regularly reflecting on your experiences to extract deeper insights. Instead of simply moving from task to task, you periodically pause to consider what you're learning about yourself, your capabilities, and your values through your professional experiences. This reflection transforms daily work into ongoing self-discovery. In this process, it is important to judge yourself or to be swayed by feelings that are fluid in nature. It is the ability to see reality without jumping to attribute blame.
The third practice involves "experimental alignment" – consciously seeking opportunities to express your authentic nature within your current role. Rather than waiting for the perfect position, you begin to shape your existing responsibilities to better match your developing self-understanding. This might involve volunteering for projects that utilize your natural strengths, proposing initiatives that address issues you genuinely care about, or finding ways to serve clients that align with your values. This process is one that must be undertaken with the acceptance that no one or no thing is ever going to be perfect. It is about constant improvement through consistency. At times, when there is no better solution, do your best and from there, the alignment begins to come.
Integrating Purpose with Practicality
One common concern about seeking meaning at work involves the fear that focusing on purpose will compromise practical success or the misplaced belief that money and genuine purpose cannot co-exist. Hermetic wisdom suggests the opposite – that authentic engagement with work that aligns with your nature typically produces better results than forced effort in directions that don't suit you.
The hermetic principle of polarity teaches that apparent opposites often represent different aspects of the same reality. Meaning and financial success, purpose and practical achievement, authentic expression and professional advancement – these aren't competing forces but complementary aspects of a well-integrated professional life.
The key lies in what hermetic practitioners call "right action" – making decisions based on understanding your authentic nature rather than external expectations or short-term pressures. This doesn't mean ignoring practical considerations, but rather making practical decisions from a foundation of self-knowledge rather than confusion about what you really want.
Many professionals discover that when they align their efforts with their authentic strengths and interests, they naturally become more skilled and therefore more valuable. The analyst who genuinely enjoys research becomes exceptionally good at it. The advisor who cares deeply about client outcomes develops superior relationship skills. The manager who understands their natural leadership style becomes more effective at motivating teams.
The Ripple Effect of Meaningful Work
Perhaps most significantly, the hermetic approach to finding meaning at work creates positive effects that extend far beyond individual satisfaction. When you're genuinely engaged with your professional responsibilities, you naturally provide better service to clients, contribute more effectively to team efforts, and model authentic engagement for colleagues.
The hermetic understanding of interconnectedness suggests that individual transformation inevitably influences the broader system. As you develop greater self-knowledge and align your work with authentic purpose, you contribute to a more conscious and purposeful professional culture. This influence operates not through preaching or advocacy but through the natural magnetism of authentic engagement.
Clients sense the difference between someone performing a role and someone expressing their authentic capabilities in service of genuine value creation. Colleagues recognize the contrast between someone driven by external validation and someone motivated by internal alignment with meaningful purpose. These subtle but powerful influences contribute to elevating the overall quality of professional relationships and outcomes.
Authentic engagement can also often contribute to overall fulfilment, meaning and purpose.
How Hermetics can help with Financial Success
As already mentioned, financial success can very much be a part of our foundation or contribute to helping us to achieve our purpose and/or meaning.
For example, the hermetic concept of correspondence teaches us that understanding one level of reality provides insight into all others. This gives us the ability to see what others may miss. Consider how the most successful hedge fund managers operate. They don't simply react to market news; they anticipate it by recognizing recurring patterns that others fail to see. Ray Dalio's "Principles" echo hermetic thinking when he discusses understanding the "machine" of markets – seeing beyond surface-level events to identify the underlying mechanisms that drive asset prices. When you understand how human psychology manifests in market cycles, you can predict not just what will happen, but when. The dot-com bubble, the housing crisis, and even recent crypto volatility all followed patterns visible to those trained to see reality's deeper structures.
Another example would be clarity – the ability to see through complexity to essential truths. This is perhaps the most valuable asset in modern finance. Hermetic wisdom teaches that clarity comes not from accumulating more information, but from developing the mental discipline to separate signal from noise. The ancient principle of mentalism holds that "all is mind" – that the quality of your thinking determines the quality of your outcomes. Great investors like Warren Buffett exemplify this principle without necessarily naming it. His famous advice to "be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful" reflects the hermetic understanding that surface appearances often conceal opposite realities. The clarity to see beyond mass psychology to underlying value is what separates exceptional returns from mediocre ones.
Further, the hermetic concept of polarity teaches that apparent opposites are actually different degrees of the same thing. In investment terms, this means understanding that bear and bull markets are simply different phases of the same underlying process. This perspective allows you to maintain strategic focus while others are whipsawed by emotional reactions to temporary market conditions.
Perhaps most crucially for finance professionals, hermetic wisdom provides a framework for perseverance that transcends simple willpower. The principle of cause and effect – that every effect has a cause, and every cause an effect – means that consistent application of sound principles will inevitably produce results, even when short-term outcomes appear random.
This understanding transforms how you approach inevitable periods of underperformance. Instead of second-guessing your strategy based on temporary results, hermetic wisdom teaches you to evaluate your process based on principle rather than outcome. Are you following sound analytical methods? Are you maintaining emotional equilibrium? Are you thinking independently rather than following the crowd?
In an industry obsessed with the latest technological edge, the deepest competitive advantage may come from humanity's oldest wisdom traditions. Hermetic principles don't compete with modern analytical tools – they provide the philosophical foundation that allows you to use those tools more effectively.
In a world where information is abundant but wisdom is scarce, the ancient art of seeing reality clearly becomes the ultimate alpha generator. The question isn't whether these principles work – successful investors have been applying them intuitively for centuries. The question is whether you'll develop them consciously and systematically, or leave this powerful advantage to chance.
Creating a Space that cuts out Distraction
In the fast paced corporate world, we sometimes focus on the end result rather than the foundation that can help us to better achieve that result. We get distracted by conference calls, spreadsheets and the opinions of our peers or management. Often, this can distract us from actions that are taken in alignment with our true self. This is where the ability to create a container for ourselves that cut out the distraction of others becomes helpful.
Sacred Geometry serves particular well in this. Through working with the purity of the basic shapes of creation (the triangle or pyramid, the square or cube, and the circle or sphere), distraction and density is cut through to create a space that allows us to commune with our higher wisdom.
For the driven individual who wants inspiration in alignment with their higher purpose within their corporate framework, the ability to create a sacred space for themselves becomes and very important tool in the toolkit.
Conclusion: The Inner Source of Professional Fulfilment
The search for meaning at work often leads professionals down countless external paths – different companies, alternative career tracks, additional credentials, or complete industry changes. Hermetic wisdom suggests that while external changes sometimes prove necessary, the foundation of meaningful work always lies within – in deep understanding of your authentic nature and conscious alignment of your professional expression with that understanding.
The ancient maxim "As above, so below" applies powerfully to professional life. The quality of your inner relationship with yourself directly reflects in the quality of your outer professional relationships and achievements. As you develop greater self-knowledge, your capacity for meaningful contribution naturally expands.
In London's competitive financial environment, the professional who combines technical expertise with authentic self-understanding possesses a distinctive advantage. You're not merely performing a role but expressing your unique capabilities in service of genuine value creation. This alignment produces both personal satisfaction and professional excellence – not as competing priorities but as natural companions.
The path to meaningful work doesn't require abandoning your current profession or waiting for perfect conditions. It requires the courage to know yourself deeply and the wisdom to express that self-knowledge through conscious professional engagement. In the hermetic tradition, this is called "the Royal Art" – transforming ordinary experience into golden opportunity through the alchemy of awareness.
"The treasure you seek lies hidden in the very ground where you stand." Your meaningful career isn't somewhere else – it's in the conscious transformation of your current professional life through deep self-knowledge and authentic expression.
In a world that is saturated with information but starved of wisdom, working with the principles of Hermetics with an understanding of sacred geometry could well be the antidote to mediocrity – helping us to not just cope but to thrive.