You don’t need to become a master at what you do.
You don’t need to start logging your “10,000 hours.”
You don’t need to make grand plans for “following your dreams,” and “finding your purpose.”
You don’t need to do anything.
I’d love to say I set out on this big bold mission to become a master at the craft. I’d love to say it was all intentional. But none of these statements are true.
I stumbled into writing. A friend actually asked me to start writing on his website. I enjoyed it so I kept doing it. Eventually, I realized it might be something I wanted to do long-term, but it didn’t start out that way.
Now I’m in “serious writer.” I’ve spent years honing my craft and writing isn’t just a fun hobby anymore, but it’s also how I eat and put a roof over my head.
As much as I want to grow — in craft, fans, income, status, all of it — I try to remember not to ever take myself too seriously.
Even if I become the world’s most famous author, I’ll be forgotten in the grand scheme of history. I live on a planet that’s a tiny speck of dust drifting in the universe.
When I look at it that way, does anything I do really matter?
Ambition is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it keeps you from being lazy and can lead to a life where you love what you do for a living. On the other hand, it’s a source of stress and disappointment when you’re not where you want to be.
How do you balance the two? Playful creation and ambition. It’s tough.
I watched an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert and she says her art means “everything and nothing at the same time.”
This is the paradox of becoming not just a successful creator, but a successful anything. Care, but don’t care. Try, but don’t force. Have intention, but forget about specific outcomes.
When you’re doing the work you’re meant to do it means everything because each time you do the work you pay tribute to your true self.
It also means nothing because the external circumstances aren’t a reflection of the work itself. Nothing is taken away from your craft if you don’t get recognized for it. If you rely solely on recognition for your validation your work will suffer.
Ironically, when you stop caring about the results and simply focus on putting effort into your work, good things start to happen.
I started blogging by using traditional techniques, which I suggest most aspiring writers do. I did use formulas and those formulas helped me become successful.
Because I did that, I can deviate. And I do so often.
I write about what I want to write about. I share stories about my life, ideas I’ve been thinking about, and messages I genuinely want to spread.
This route feels right. I’m still not immune to flattery or completely free from the chains of external validation. I don’t think I’ll ever be.
But I’ll continue to remind myself to do the work because it’s the work I love to do. The money, fame, and status seem nice, but the work comes first.
What is your art? What were you meant to do?
If you don’t know, don’t worry. The blogosphere has run rampant with people telling you to follow your dreams, but they’re just trying to sell you a dream.
Play around, stumble in, follow what interests you.
Finding purpose isn’t a mission, it’s an experiment. It’s impossible to know what you’re meant to do by way of introspection. You have to actually try things.
If you’ve found your art/craft/vocation, there’s nothing wrong with working your way to mastery, as long as you keep having fun. Don’t let the allure of success take all of the joy away from your work.
Master becoming a good person. Master accepting your current reality. Master what’s in front of you.
The 10,000 hours will come. You don’t have to count them.
Plan for your future, but don’t turn your plans into prisons.
We’ll all be six feet under one day. You won’t be able to take your praise to the grave. But you can die knowing you did the work as often as you could and had fun while you did it.
Your work means everything and nothing at the same time.
Links to other cool stuff you might enjoy
Watch this webinar replay I co-hosted with Self-Publishing School to learn how to write a best-selling book
Take my free 5-day course that teaches you how to make a living writing on Medium
Buy my best-selling book - Real Help: An Honest Guide to Self-Improvement
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