Finding Existential Meaning In Your Work Is More Valuable Than Likes, Followers, And Yes, Money.

Throughout my journey, every step I took in pursuit of traditional goals slowly opened my eyes to the reality that something was missing.

Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

It caught me off guard.

There it was staring me in the face, every morning.

“Things I want to do daily: Write, Learn Spanish, Exercise, Take Walks, Create, Move My Business Forward, Read.”

Except, I’d achieved it all.

And I couldn’t help but think to myself… Is this it?

Something was missing, a void within.

Would making a few extra thousand dollars per month help? No.

I’d been there and quickly realized that you feel the same but wear nicer shoes. Or, you move the goalpost further ahead and re-enter the hamster wheel.

Would working less help? No.

I had constructed a business where my client work was limited to less than 4 hours per day. Aside from personal projects like writing a book or learning I could be done by 2 if I wanted to.

The typical entrepreneurial aspirations wouldn’t do it. I had banged on that ‘make more money and work less’ fallacy for years.

As I peeled back the layers…

Meaning is what started to appear.

Choose your word… Meaning. Impact. Purpose. Change.

I realized I was craving deeper meaning in my work.

While yes, the people I was helping generate more customers were heart-centered businesses and technically I was indirectly impacting people’s lives.

The conversations about scaling to make more money or increasing conversion rates left me craving something more.

While I love business and marketing I felt called to help the person all the ‘traditional’ advice had not worked for.

The person looking to go from 0 to 1 (not 9 to 10).

The person looking to fulfill a passion, start a side hustle, or just get started.

The person who was being told to take out loans or charge $5,000 programs to their credit cards (or the one who did, and it didn’t work).

The person who was generating revenue but realizing their profit was low, and their fulfillment was lower as they strived for arbitrary goals.

I wanted to talk about the realness of business and entrepreneurship and what was holding people back.

The stuff that isn’t often spoken about online.

I felt my audience wanted it to.

I say all this…

Because I feel it’s important to find meaning in what you do.

I understand that not everyone is in a position to prioritize this and earning a steady income or providing may be more important.

What would happen if we changed the traditional dialogue?

Instead of chasing monetary goals, likes, and artificial hits of dopamine…

…Thinking that happiness will be the result?

We pursue happiness and meaning in what we do…

…What would our business look like?

For me, this has meant breaking from the traditional ways of doing things. And breaking free from the standard definition of success.

It has meant trusting in the path that I am on — when it differs from others.

My audience has told me that they want more people to discuss what isn’t spoken about, the behind-the-scenes of solopreneurship.

Well,

Throughout my journey, every step I took in pursuit of traditional goals slowly opened my eyes to the reality that something was missing.

Landon