So, here's an idea: making money is not courageous.
Anybody can ring a bell for twenty years. “Look, ma—I’ve been standing over here ringing this bell for two entire decades—durh, durh, durh—and I finally got a sticker!”
Making money is a relatively straightforward consequence of showing up to breathe in the right place.
Cause and effect. We’re lucky to live in a society that affords us that luxury. But I would argue that society has the upper hand, for it has an entire army of complacent, obedient sleepwalkers, ready to do its bidding, without questioning any of it.
A lot of us are stuck in jobs that we actually fuck.ing. loathe. It happens even when you are self-employed, because the self-employed person quickly learns to focus only on what makes them money—out of fear, out of self-doubt, out of not having enough time to even think about anything else in the first place. They’re on a hamster wheel of professional hell, and yet, they don’t quit because quitting is for people who don't need the money; for flakey people and scattered people and unreliable people.
But, it’s actually not: quitting is actually quite brave.
Not quitting when you wish you could, on the other hand, is a symptom of those who cannot trust themselves to start something anew again—because what if they never, ever stick to anything? What if this is them just being their normal irresponsible selves? And what if their success the first time around was just luck?
And so they stay and ring a bell for twenty years. Even if it is their own bell. And even if they resent the shit out of it.
So I want to tell you this. When things get stale, DO NOT STICK IT OUT. When you stop enjoying solving the problems you have chosen to solve—for that is what any job really is—DO NOT BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT. When you are ready for a fresh challenge, and you feel it in every inch of your pulse, DO NOT HESITATE TO GRAB A MATCH.
Be hungry. Free yourself. Do what thrills you. Accept nothing less.
Because—reminder—none of what you have was earned through luck. You WILL be this “lucky” the next time around. You do not have to worry that you’re making a big mistake. You are capable, and you are wise, and you are better than you were before.
Your brilliance lies within you, not with your job title.
And you can take it with you, wherever you go.