Have you ever heard Albert Einstein’s quote “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”? If that’s true then there’s no question that we’ve all been a bit insane at one time or another. Today I realized that I’ve been slowly going insane over the past several weeks and decided it was time to put a stop to the madness.
On my way home tonight I got lost. Not by accident though, no, completely by choice. It was almost 1:00 AM when I exited the 710 freeway, turned onto an unknown street and ventured in the general direction of home. If you live in Los Angeles you might think what I did was a little crazy given that it isn’t usually a smart idea to drive through unfamiliar neighborhoods after dark. Sure, at any moment during my mini-adventure I could have picked up my GPS enabled cell phone and been directed immediately back to safe and boring familiarity, and you know what, it was tempting. But I was in no hurry and in no immediate danger, so I decided to take each turn in stride and just do whatever felt right.
Though it was relatively short-lived, in that 20 minutes of uncertainty I experienced a mixture of emotions, from fear and panic to laughter and reassurance. At one point I even discovered a very large, beautiful Buddhist Temple I never knew existed, the “Ming YA Buddhist Foundation.” Most importantly, my detour brought back the feeling of being alive that I’ve been missing lately and reminded me of how easy it can be to find our way even when we’re feeling a little lost.
It sure felt good to trust my instincts and try something new tonight. Stepping outside my comfort zone was such a great way to exercise my intuitive muscles and help me live in the present moment. I’m looking forward to sharing with you many more of these experiences over the next few months.
What if everyone who spent their time at a meaningless “job” suddenly found themselves filling their days with “meaningful work” instead. What if this work were so meaningful, so personally satisfying, that the reward and true motivation for getting up in the morning were no longer money, but rather the satisfaction of doing the work itself and the resulting feelings of joy.
As I was eating dinner tonight I caught a glimpse of this very foreign world and I imagined for a moment what it might be like to live in a society as complex as ours, built not on the principles of economics, but on the principles of love. Sure, it sounds very utopistic, but what if everyone were doing their “life’s work”, what if we were all being that person we were born to be? Could a society like ours actually function? At first I began to think that some tasks, like the mass transport of goods and raw materials, would be just too boring to be loved by anyone. But then I remembered that of one of my best friends who is a truck driver swears that she loves her work so much that she’d even do it for free!
Would you work for free? If the true value you find in your job is mostly monetary, then you are being robbed. While feelings of emotional fulfillment and joy can’t be bought, they can be earned. Start exploring your passion today by asking yourself, “what kind of ‘work’ would I do for free?”
Though I never understood exactly how or why, from a very early age I knew I wanted to be my own boss. Over the years in my search for the ‘perfect’ business I tried to accomplish this goal in a number of ways: stuffing envelopes, buying vending machines and freelance designing among others. Unfortunately, none of these ventures lasted very long. But why?
Eureka! I had figured it out. In all the businesses I had attempted in the past my only motivation was money. When the green stuff didn’t appear as easily or as soon as I had liked, I dropped the idea and went back to work for someone else. What I needed was something that would transcend my desire for money - something like.. fun! And so, in 2007 my best friend and I dipped our toes into the fun business as producers and promoters of nightlife events.
One year and one successful event later, as impossible as it had once seemed, the party people were sick of partying. What was once fun had turned into a dreaded chore and our core motivation was lost.
It was then that I began to realize that real success must be driven by something more valuable than money and something even more enduring than fun. Real success is driven by a deep-seated and meaningful core motivation. It’s a very personal thing which is many times inspired by our life’s greatest challenges. Find your core motivation and you will find your purpose.
“A vision without a task is just a dream, a task without a vision is drudgery, but a vision with a task is the hope of the world.” –Unknown
What if everyone who spent their time at a meaningless “job” suddenly found themselves filling their days with “meaningful work” instead. What if this work were so meaningful, so personally satisfying, that the reward and true motivation for getting up in the morning were no longer money, but rather the satisfaction of doing the work itself and the resulting feelings of joy.
