Money Vs. Meaning: Is the Struggle Real or Imagined?
If you’ve been around Medium for any length of time or even the internet, you’ll likely have come across the do what you love, you’ll never work again BS. And woven in there is the idea that loving what you do is what gives your life its meaning.For a large part of my career, I loved what I did so much, I ate, slept, and breathed it. But it was the work. Hard work. Routine 80-hour weeks, honing my craft.It got stopped by a life-changing accident, that I’m still recovering from, some five years later. I simply couldn’t/can’t do what I did before. No more 80-hour weeks for me.When what you’ve known for 20 years is suddenly removed from your list of life options, it leaves you in a bit of a weird, alien place.
I took more of a role with a client I knew I could impact more, as much for the money on offer as for the need to do something with other people. I love this client’s CEO. But the area his business is in is not professional services which was always my stock in trade, dealing with questions that made my head hurt on a daily basis.The further into this role I got, the more I seemed to achieve — on the outside. I loved the wins but at the same time, it seemed less creative than my previous adventures. Something was lacking.I felt like I’d sold out on my life’s purpose. My foundation felt like it was missing.
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