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Category: Inspiration

What if nobody shows up?

What if nobody comes? If your product isn’t well received? If you get one bad review after the next?

What if you thrill five people? And those five people are so impressed by your work that they tell their friends. Then five more people try your services or show up to your event or read your book. And out of those five, two people are so deeply moved that they share with their friends.

That’s how movements begin.

This is very different from the fast-track to fame we so often read about. It is difficult to catapult to the top of the “best list,” to become the richest and most sought after in one swoop. But slowly, with time, your work can amass a following.

The question is whether you have the patience to see it through. Can you delight in pleasing five people instead of 50? 1,000?

Your work is your art. Five people could mean success.

The path in front of you

It’s difficult to know what path to choose in terms of love, life, and work. Many of us are fortunate to be faced with choices (many choices): who to marry, where to live, what to do for an income.

Yet so many choices can be both paralyzing and confusing. Even depressing.

What if, instead of agonizing over the decision at hand, you found peace? That instead of drowning unease with more work or food or alcohol or worse, you settle into the life you’re living? What if, instead of looking into the future, you set aside time to be thankful and recognize where life has brought you?

Revel in that moment, that moment when several paths are before you. Cherish that day. That relationship. That job. Feel your feet on the ground, your seat in the chair, and place a hand over your heart. The path you’re seeking is the one you are on.

Life gives you cycles, embrace them

The natural world has visible cycles. Earth lies fallow but with rain, new plants sprout to life. Leaves fall and spring comes again. Inhales and exhales.

This same life force runs through you.

We exhale in order to breathe.

Sometimes you feel alive and energetic and awake. Other times you feel tired, alone, and shy.

Why do we chase away darkness instead of learning to dance with it? Or sit with it? Or embrace it?

Lulls never last.

Give yourself the space to grieve. To take time off. To rest.

Make yourself a priority. Follow that which sets your imagination on fire. Permit yourself the gift of excitement.

Rhythms should be celebrated.

Take care of yourself.

Should I focus on making money or following my passion?

I just spent one hour with students in Nepal discussing this very question. The students attended a Career Counseling workshop at Learning House, and they came with questions. And worries. And anxieties. And pressure, pressure from their parents and from society and their friends and, of course, from themselves.

I encouraged these students to focus on four buckets: People, skills, lifestyle, and rewards. This is where they will find the answers to their life’s calling, I said. This is how they might determine the work that will bring them joy.

I’m sharing a few of the highlights here for those who may also be struggling with career/work/job/lifestyle decisions.

People

Imagine your colleagues, your clients, your bosses, your mentors. Who do you want to work with? Who do you want to serve? Who do you want to learn from?

Skills

Consider your talents and experiences. (Be honest!) What are you good at? What are your qualifications? While talent and skills can be developed, there’s no use striving to become a professional cyclist if you have no athletic tendencies. Don’t waste time toiling away or refining a craft that you hate. What do you enjoy?

Lifestyle

Think about the life you want to live, your values and your preferences. What do you need to be comfortable?

I left New York City to encourage education and leadership in Pokhara, Nepal. I spent the better part of two years with sporadic hot showers. Though I can brave short bursts in remote regions, I could never live in a village area for an extended period of time.

Knowing what you can and can’t live without can help you identify the kind of work you’re able to do.

Rewards

What kind of payback are you looking for? Is it money or fame? Rewards come in many forms: Service, fame, money, travel, independence, stability, time, ease, security, flexibility. Some individuals can tolerate high levels of risk, while others are much more comfortable with certainty. What do you need to feel satisfied?

I asked my students to imagine a time they felt successful. What was their accomplishment and what were their feelings at that time? I then asked them to write about that memory to help them remember all of the factors and subtle details that contributed to their success.

Decisions about career paths can’t be made without introspection. After identifying core features of yourself, your values, and your personality, only then you can determine the steps you need to reach your goals. Not every career path requires a Ph.D., and only specific careers call for certifications. Sometimes education is intertwined with a profession; sometimes a degree has no bearing on the work.

I reminded my students that few choices are irreversible. Paths can be changed mid-career, and it’s never “too late” to make a switch. Boredom is a gift, disinterest is also —  they are both warning signs that something needs to change.

Be curious about yourself and the world around you. This can help you navigate your career journey.

Write a book in eighty minutes

That’s what this group did — A group of twenty young people, hand picked from many, many applications, were given the assignment to write an ebook together. Except they were only given one hour and twenty minutes to complete it and publish it online.

This wasn’t simply a writing exercise. This was a teaching moment, an experience in vulnerability, connection, community, and risk taking. A practice in connecting ideas and people in a meaningful way. These students learned to alternate between stepping back and seeing the whole picture, then leaning in and dissecting the work before stepping back and reviewing the vision all over again.

They learned that fear is a powerful roadblock, but one that can be picked up and moved. Anytime. Anywhere. They practiced listening. They saw first hand that when you ask the right questions and stop to listen, the world unfolds before you. And they learned to step into the unique role that only you can create for yourself.

You have far more control over your destiny than you could ever possibly imagine.