What would you keep doing, even after you’ve “made it”?
“Certainly not this!” You’ve said it before, and you’ll say it again every time.
You’re one viral post, pay rise, or winning ticket away from your big break. And it’s long overdue.
You’ve been working hard and doing what you’re told. Pushing ahead, day in and day out.
They wouldn’t say it was worth the effort if it wasn’t true. Surely.
“All good things come to those who wait,” and such.
You won’t need that early morning alarm. The stream deck unplugged. The paint brush cleaned and stored.
These were means to an end anyway. Well, they became that. It was fun once.
You did X long enough to get Y. You were good at it. A natural.
But you no longer need that in your life. Unshackled from the obligation.
No next steps. No optimisation. No more experience points to allocate to that skill tree.
Practice is over. The product is live. Now it’s just got to latch on.
Sit back and reel ‘em in. That dream life is but a few purchases and subscribers short.
After that, it’s easy street. You’ll be sipping peach margaritas on a sky-blue beach lounger before you know it.
This next one just needs to pop. It’s been a long time coming.
You didn’t let go of your love for the craft for nothing.
There are hours to be recouped. 40 fresh ones soon on your hands — free to distribute how you like.
Less grind-y, more relax-y. This will be your time — free to use how you please.
The side hustles and hobbies you monetised can go back in the closet. Camera lens closed.
Let the novelty of new sights wear thin. There’ll be an infinite number of new ones at your feet.
And probably enough time to do them all. Maybe. Never mind — that’s not important right now.
Set your calendar to permanently Out Of Office. Meeting requests set to auto-decline.
From now on, you’re only doing what you want to do. You’ve been looking forward to it all this time.
Breaking your back for it, even. Blood, sweat, and so many choked-back tears. This was the way.
Won’t be repeating that mistake again. You’ve conquered the ride. The challenge: overcome.
Get ready, World! There’s a new, invigorated You with a whole lot more means to play.
Maybe after a short rest first. There’s no need to rush. You’ve earned it.
You know exactly what you’re going to do now that you’ve “made it”.
Don’t you?
Author’s Note: This post was inspired by a personal journal entry from 28 August 2024 originally titled “The Purpose of Life”. I’ve since hand-penned another entry of the same name that has it’s own flavour to it which I’ll share in time.