At school, we are hypnotized into believing that there exists a clear distinction between “work” and “life.” As figures, we call it work-life balance.
But I believe that there does not have to be a clear distinction between what we do for “work” and what we do with the rest of our life.
I believe in one thing – just life. We all have 24 hours in a day. We all get to decide how to spend those hours. We do not know if we will be around 10 weeks from now to make those decisions. We have to live in the moment and make the most out of every single day.
I literally cannot afford to spend my time doing things that are not:
- helpful
- valuable
- fun
If they are not one of those..why do it? There are so many things out there in this world! So much to do! So much to see! So much to build…
Derek Sivers shares in this article the real problem:
The problem:
People with a well-paying job ask my advice because they want to quit to become full-time artists.
But full-time artists ask my advice because they’re finding it impossible to make money.
(Let’s define “art” as anything you do for expression, even just blogging or whatever.)
The solution, he says, is very simple:
The solution:
For both of them, I prescribe the lifestyle of the happiest people I know:
-
Have a well-paying job
-
Seriously pursue your art for love, not money
I think it can often be that simple – be passionate about something. And then chase that really fucking far. Be the most passionate about whatever it is that you care about and sooner or later you will be the best at it. A professional if you will.
And if you are the best. Actually, if you are the only one who can do or cares to do what you do ~ there is a good chance you can make money doing it. And if you cannot make money doing it ~ maybe you think of how to incorporate that same passion in a different way.
Testing. Iterating. Always.