So we’ve talked about the otter life. Discussed prioritizing the right things, finding time for recreation, and generally living in a way that would make those fuzzy marine mammals proud. But thus far, I feel I’ve mostly rambled on about the “life” part of the work/life balance, so perhaps it’s a good time to focus a little on the other half of the equation.
Here’s the thing: the otter life is not a lazy way of living. The otter is not a lazy animal; it works hard to gather food and make a home, because if it doesn’t, bad things will happen. It’ll go hungry, its offspring will suffer, and it’ll never fully be accepted by its father-in-law. And this is how we must live, as well; we need certain things, and we want certain things, and we have to find a healthy balance between those too. If we want to live a life that’s fulfilling, we need to work to make that happen, because achievement is fulfillment. And it’s good to have the father-in-law on our side.
There’s an old saying that goes, “nothing good comes easy,” and I think that’s mostly true (except for those kids that inherit a bunch of money. That sounds both easy and good to me). But honestly, I have to believe that a self-made life is intimately more satisfying than one that was handed to you, even if the end result is the same. So that’s why we do the hard things. I’ll let Tom Hanks explain.
I love that clip. Great film, great message. The hard is what makes it great.
Last post I talked about quitting my job. Since nobody likes a lazy slob, I thought it wise to find something else to do for work, which has basically amounted to me starting my own business. At times, that has been hard. Generally I’m putting in 11 or 12-hour days, far longer than the (strict) 8 hours a day at Techcomm Systems International, Inc. I’m working more than I did in corporate America, yet it doesn’t really file like it. Why?
The great thing is that if you can find a way to make your work something you care about – something you’re passionate about, rather than just punching the time clock for The Man and keeping your butt in a seat – than it’s not really work. It’s your mission. And when you find your mission, all the other bullshit takes a back seat. Nobody ever complained they had to put in a few extra hours toward their mission. Nobody ever got mad about waking up earlier for their mission. They want to wake up early (or stay up late, you decide), because their mission is what drives them. Their mission is what counts.
When you find your mission, the hard doesn’t feel so hard. It’s just part of the mission.
Now, the key is finding a way to make the mission profitable. That’s the only way this works. But here’s the great news: if you care about it, if you love it, and if you fully commit to it, chances are, it is. All kind of weird things can be profitable with the right amount of effort. Amazon, Google, Apple, Uber – all these things were, at one point, just someone’s mission.
I listened to a Joe Rogan podcast recently because one of my favorite bands was on it. While the man is abrasive, he has a unique way of looking at things. And at one point, they were discussing following passion, and he made this point:
“I can’t believe so many people waste their lives in jobs they hate. It’s like they don’t even know there’s another option. But here’s the thing: what do you like to do? What gets you going? You like to build guitars? Would it be your dream to build guitars for a living? Well somebody fucking does that.”
(My memory isn’t perfect, and there probably were a lot more f bombs in there, but that was the gist.)
Yeah. Somebody does that. Somebody made it their mission, and they put in the hours and paid the dues and did the apprenticeships, until their significant other questioned their sanity and their parents kept telling them to get a real job. They committed everything they had when it didn’t pay off, until one day it finally did. And now they build guitars for a living.
What’s your mission?