Jeff writing on his site Rocket Panda:
My generation has been told time and time again to go to college, do what makes you happy, and to follow your dreams. That is precisely what I did and I am working in the field I went to school for and I love my job. Yet, I still wake up anxious and afraid of what will come next.
He goes on to talk about how people define success being a key in their level of anxiety. It made me think of a recent episode of The Ground Up Show and a story about talking to Steve Wozniak. I can’t do the story justice here, so go listen. The gist is that Wozniak maximized for control over what he did.
He decided that he’d be happiest as an engineer at the company he helped found. At one point his wife even joins in with an emphatic “oh he does whatever he wants all the time”.
I think for most of us, that is what success sounds like. The problem is that we confuse choice with having money. To be sure, you need a certain level of income to have choice, but I make less now than I did a few years ago and I have way more choice than I did when I made more.
I’m happier with less income and more choice.
Read Jeff’s post and pay attention to his 7 ways to cut the stress. Maybe you’re not looking for more money like you think or more prestige. Maybe you need to redefine what you see as success.