Doing what you love is really all you need
Thursday, July 24th, 2008I love this recent post by David Heinemeier Hansson on Signal vs Noise: You don’t have to sell your company to have financial security and the freedom to do what you want.
I know I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating. During my bike ride for microcredit, there were many moments where I was swearing and wondering why I was putting myself through such pain. And yet, to the question “where else would you rather be?” I realized I loved exploring the West Coast on my bike. I loved the fact that I was inspiring friends around me to ride their bikes. I loved spreading the word about micro-credit. And it truly was where I wanted to be at that moment.
Same thing goes with the jobs I’ve had, and the organizations I’ve been involved with. To the argument that you need to sell your startup to gain freedom and security, my thoughts are very much aligned with David’s.
When you love what you do, it is an expression of freedom to put in time and effort into your work. I put many hours into Cat’s Corner, just like Fred and Ben do with Standout Jobs, and Shawn Smith does with Global Agents for Change. We might not get as much traditional “financial security” out of it as people with high-paying jobs or people who build a company to flip and have sold their business, but we are more than fulfilled through our work. And the money we earn is enough to satisfy us.
It took me long enough to realize this, but doing what you love is really all you need.
Keep checking in, I will be posting a wrap-up summary of Riding to Break the Cycle 2008 soon.
