A Great Shift in Perspective
This year, for whatever reason (it probably has a lot to do with becoming a Dad) I started being more and more comfortable with who I am as a person and I’ve started seeing a clearer picture for the direction I want my life to go.
If there is a mistake I’ve made in my entrepreneurial career, it is that I’ve had a hard time saying no to projects that look exciting. I always want to be doing more.
Over the last 12 months, that urge to be doing more started to subside.
I’ve been reading Grit by Angela Duckworth.
I’ve been writing a lot about it on my blog, and one of the most impactful lessons I’ve absorbed from the book so far was the concept of creating a “life philosophy.”
I wrote about it in much more detail here. For the sake of this post, I will assume you understand what a life philosophy is.
This really got me thinking about my own life philosophy. What is the “higher calling” that I associate with my work?
Here’s what I came up with.
I want to help others create financial freedom, freedom from addiction, and freedom from mental health challenges by creating remarkable online media brands that teach others how to achieve these milestones on their own.
When I look at my work through the lens of my life philosophy, everything becomes clear.
My focus should be …
Continuing to grow Stodzy and building out the infrastructure of my team
Continuing to work on and to grow Recovery Local to always be providing resources to those struggling with addiction and mental health problems
Continuing to grow Copyblogger so I can teach others how to use the internet to build sustainable businesses for themselves
Any new opportunity, new idea, or new direction in my life will be filtered through the lens of my life philosophy. If new opportunities aren’t in line with my life philosophy, then it’s not worth me doing.
I am by no means saying that I’ll never again invest in startups or that I’ll never take a new direction in life. Life is a journey, who knows where it will take me?
But now, more than ever, I have a respect and appreciation for my own attention and focus.
I’ve never felt more content and more comfortable with who I am and what I want.
It feels really great.