You Don’t Need a Better Life, You Need a Better Mission
If you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, then someday, you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them.
Sign in Jimmy John’s restaurant
Imagine a job where you work only if you want to.
You start when you want; you stop when you want.
You work as much or as little as you want.
You don’t have to perform any job duties you find unpleasant.
Jobs like this exist, just not in entry-level positions.
You must earn the right to this kind of freedom.
The way you earn it is by showing up when you’d rather not work.
You earn it by doing what you are required to do.
You earn it by being on time, all the time.
Some freedoms are granted by right of birth.
But this freedom comes only through discipline and dedication over time.
There is one loophole, however, a way to achieve this freedom without first paying your dues.
If you reframe what you must do as something you want to do, then you can do what you want.
The mom who spends all night with her sick child does so willingly.
The entrepreneur who works 18-hour days at a startup is pursuing a dream.
The medical student who studies long hours is working for a stethoscope, a white lab coat, and the title of Doctor.
The custodian at the hospital who is curing cancer, the bricklayer who is building a cathedral, the teen shooting free-throws in his parents’ driveway who is winning the national championship — all have unlocked the secret shortcut to doing what they want.
You may be thinking that your responsibilities are too ordinary to see them as part of some grand purpose.
But that is just a lack of imagination.
Look at your situation from the outside, as if you were giving advice to a friend.
How would you help your friend see their life as a part of a bigger purpose?
If you are still stuck, become a spy.
Imagine that your responsibilities are just a cover story, that you have a secret mission.
To the world, you appear to be an ordinary person with a boring life.
But your true assignment is to create a subversive movement through persuasion and encouragement.
To that end, focus today on improving your tradecraft.
The fate of the world is in your hands.
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