In his wildly successful book, The 4-Hour Workweek, Timothy Ferriss writes:
Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all. When people suggest you follow your “passion” or your “bliss,” I propose that they are, in fact, referring to the same singular concept: excitement. (Author’s emphasis, p. 51)
You can read more of Timothy’s blog at thefourhourworkweek.com/blog.
This book had a huge impact on me. At first, it was just about how I could get more stuff done on a day-to-day basis. How to block people and things that were wasting my time and distracting me from getting the stuff done that I really needed to get done. When I first read this book in February, I was getting to the gym five times a week. I was highly productive at work and managed to get my inbox cleared from 300-plus emails to just under five (note to self: time to clear out the inbox). I was able to spend lots of great time with my children and husband where I was present and engaged and not distracted by my ridiculous and irrelevant to-do list.
When I glanced through it again a few months later, my work landscape had changed. My department had undergone a restructuring and a boss that I adored was let go. A few weeks following, we stopped the production on a major multi-million dollar project that was sucking up resources. Although there were many good reasons that the project was shelved, the team who had devoted, sacrificed and nearly killed themselves to deliver that project for well over a year – well, they were nothing short of crushed. Just last week, we had to let three people go. And while I have enormous respect for the current management, the truth is it’s been awfully tough to deal with the changes. It’s all part of our current economic times, I suppose. I’ll manage.
Actually, I’ll do better than manage since at the end of the day, I do have a wicked job doing awesome things.
The Truths
Anyway, Timothy Ferris’ book struck a nerve with me. I was flipping through the book around the same time I had my fateful coffee with Kevin a few weeks ago. All of a sudden, I had the perfect coming together of truths:
- I am dispensable (at least at my work).
- I have the personal talent and experience to do so much more.
- I am not doing all the things I want to do in life.
And as a result, I started building a business on the side.
Truth One: I am dispensable (at least at my work)
I entered the work force in the mid-90s, at the tail end of the recession. It was a great time to be fresh out of school since it meant I could capitalize on a host of new opportunities emerging as the Internet and World Wide Web emerged. However, then and now, the truth is still the same: this is just business.
I’ve been fortunate enough to be invited be on the A-team on select projects, requested for top-notch work and recommended for superstar opportunities. But I’ve learned that things can change in the blink of an eye. You don’t work for a company, you work for a person. And if you can’t see eye-to-eye with that person, you are potentially doomed.
Truth Two: I have the personal talent and experience to do so much more.
In my brief time on this planet, I’ve had some pretty terrific jobs and my resume shows a good incline in responsibilities.
I’ve also managed to be the Executive Director for a non-profit organization that focused on the career-advancement of women in technology. During my tenure, I become a technology expert for various consumer magazine publications, appeared on several television programs, was interviewed for national newspapers and was a guest on an extremely popular morning radio show. I was 26-years-old.
My husband and I opened a business in 2004. It performed horrendously. While beloved by its customers, we ended up losing huge amounts of money. I think of the money as the cottage I never had. The real achievement there was being strong enough to stop sinking money into that venture and closing shop in a dignified way. Lots of learnings there.
I’ve been with my husband for nearly 20 years – close to 10 of them married. I’ve given birth to two wonderfully intelligent girls. Really, my husband and my children are my greatest accomplishment in life.
So I know that I am capable of lots of things. And while I still do love the job I have, I know that I have more potential – either at my current work or building my own business.
Truth Three: I am not doing all the things I want to do in life.
This is where the excitement factor comes in. This book really asked me to examine if I was wasting my opportunity at life.
Let me be clear: I am NOT wasting my life (see Truth Two). But there are certainly things that I would like to do that I have been putting off and which I am now in the process of accommodating in my life. Things like travelling more. Maybe moving to a new city. Maybe even a new country. It made me really consider whether it was possible to do these things and still make a great living. Afterall, if I am capable of more, then it must be feasible for me to be able to get more out of life.
That this is not IT.
That it is important to make excitement a habit in your life.
Related Posts:
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 0 comments… add one now }