I recently heard an interviewer say that everyone essentially wants the right balanced combination of time, money, and meaning (or impact) in their work.
The intersection of these three does seem to be the proverbial Holy Grail of business and life. We work tirelessly to earn enough money to buy back some of our time to do something we love, care about, or find meaningful.
Isn’t this a bit of a backward approach?
Look at the most successful people throughout history. They actually pursued these efforts in reverse order. They sought meaningful work that could make an impact. They devoted ridiculous amounts of energy, investment, focus, and work into that, often at the expense of very impactful other goals. And the result was outsized success that gave them ultimate freedom and control over their lives.
How much else in life do we approach backward? How many times do we start with some version of “how can I earn as much as possible as fast as I can so I can stop doing this and do what I really care about?” Notice, again, the more successful version starts with “how and where can I do something I really care about? How can I make an outsized impact with that, even if it comes at the expense of other interesting and exciting opportunities?”
This is not some silly “find your passion” advice. This is the reality of what successful people have done throughout history. Begin with doing good, meaningful, impactful work. Devote tons of time and energy to those efforts. The results will follow.
James Clear said recently: if you’re not mourning things you’re saying “no” to, you’re not focused enough. He’s exactly right.
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