Intro: The Other Side of Enough
Introducing the next series to The Way of Work
If you’ve enjoyed The Way of Work, you can support the project by commenting, hitting the ❤️ or 🔄 below and/or sharing it with a friend.
This is an intermission between the Don’t Work series and my next one. Subscribe to get the next series.
We all want to find our place in the world of work. But for many of us, the way forward is anything but clear.
When I launched The Way of Work, I didn’t have all the answers (I still don’t). What I did have was a growing curiosity about why we work the way we work. And a desire to help people find their place in it, no matter where they were on their journey.
Wherever you are, one thing’s for sure: the path isn’t always easy to see.
Rather than a clear destination we can simply input into a GPS, the real “way of work” is a dynamic, textured journey across the vast landscape of a long career. It’s messy and frustrating, requiring limitless access to a reservoir of willpower to get through it all.
We may initially think we know where we are going. But things change…
Our destination changes.
We’re somewhere on the map that we shouldn’t be.
We’re lost, caught in the thick of it, unable to find a way out.
Or we arrive somewhere, but realize that this isn’t the right destination at all!
My last two series reflected my own path. This time, I’m mixing it up with an investigative series - leaning into the lives of others and how they navigated their own journey.
Instead of starting at the beginning, we’ll fast forward to the end. To what many consider as The Destination: a place called “enough.”
Introducing: The Other Side of Enough
We can’t understand the world of work, without understanding the concept of “enough.”
We all chase enough. Enough to never work again. Enough to do something else. Enough to finally feel at peace.
It’s a seductive goal that promises freedom and fulfillment. We pour our lives into the pursuit, convinced that reaching enough will solve all of our problems. When we get there, then we’ll get to live the life we want, right?
"Being able to break out of the system… it’s an intoxicating thought." - one reader told me
But what does having enough actually feel like?
In The Other Side of Enough, we go beyond the fantasy to uncover the reality. Through interviews with people who have reached their version of "enough," we’ll explore what it’s like on the other side.
Does life really change when you cross that finish line? Is it worth the sacrifice? Is “enough” really enough?
This is the real story of what happens when our dreams come true.
Note: many interviewees of this series have chosen to remain anonymous, offering an exclusive look at their life without guardrails. For confidentiality reasons, this series does not contain interviews with anyone from Privia Health.
Start the series:
Recommendations
While I gear up for the next series, I wanted to share some other writers who’ve influenced my perspective on work and life (check out my recommendations from the last series). If you like my writing, I suggest you also check out…
1. , by
Michael’s thinking is refreshing and grounded. He’s an explorer, covering a wide-range of topics including midlife, longevity, and lifestyle design.
➤ Start here: Scaling down to find meaning (with yours truly)
2. , by
I love life experiments and Dave gives you a front-row seat as he attempts juggling a portfolio of 8(!) different work projects at once. He’s thoughtful and intentional about how he’s designing his work.
➤ Start here: My Life as an Octopus: A Generalist Framework for a Richer Life
3. , by
I’ll be honest: I’m jealous of Tom’s writing. Some writers have a special ability to tell an ordinary story, with emotional depth. I’d be happy reading about Tom’s last trip to the grocery store.
➤ Start here: Retirement: Freedom or Free-Fall?
4. , by
Dr. Grumet is a former Hospice Doctor turned writer and podcaster. His distinction between “Big P” purpose (the kind of grand mission we often chase) and “Little p” purpose (finding meaning in our everyday), is something that has stuck with me
➤ Start here: Purpose Evolves, So Should You
➤ Get his book: Check out his upcoming book, The Purpose Code (I was lucky to get an early copy of it).
5. , by
Dr. Gorlin, a psychologist, offers a unique perspective on how someone ambitious can build their work and life in a thoughtful way. She threads the needle between the “either/or” frameworks we believe we need to choose between.
➤ Start here: The builder's mindset: a way out of the "drill sergeant" / "Zen master" dichotomy
6. Good Work, by
After reading Paul’s new book, I’m reminded of the saying: “you can have anything you want, as long as you’re willing to pay the price.” He’s found his work, but it’s not without sacrifice and struggle. And he has done this by doing what we are all so fearful of: embracing uncertainty.
➤ Get the book: Good Work.
Reader Survey
Your input helps shape my writing. I want to hear what you enjoy and what you want more of (so maybe I can help you find your place in the world of work).
That’s all I’ve got for you this week.
If you’ve enjoyed The Way of Work, you can support the project by commenting, hitting the ❤️ or 🔄 below and/or sharing it with a friend.
See you next time,
Rick
The trick about "enough" is that it constantly changes and is easily influenced by other factors - circumstances around us change, people around us change, and numbers used as life metrics change ... So, I'd like to view "enough" as a state of mind—it still changes, but I have more control over it than anything else.
Finally got back to this … This concept of “enough” is just critical to my own decision to retire and reshape my life away from the corporate work world I had ceased to be satisfied by. My wife and I made quite a study of “enough”: how much we really needed to live on in a given year; what allowances we’d want to afford ourselves over the course of time; and then the key question of whether we had accumulated enough assets to kick free of what I lovingly call the “bullshit machine.” For us, COVID was the big clarifier: it ended work travel, forced us to cook at home, redefined how we’d entertain ourselves, and utterly clarified that we had enough. If you’re looking for someone to talk with about this journey, I’m your man. And I could bring Sara in too, because we don’t make a single decision about money separately.