Engaging in this quest became far easier for me when I decoupled the idea of "work" from the idea of a "job." Without this constraint, I can take my work more seriously and less seriously at the same time. I can both prioritize the work that matters to me and remain detached from what that work says about me as a person. If I ha

The second realization I had is that the pursuit of money can, at best, mitigate the frustrations in your career—yet the siren song of riches has confused and confounded some of the best in our society. In order to really find happiness, you need to continue looking for opportunities that you believe are meaningful, in which you will be able to lea

After that, I implemented several “gating” criteria to determine if the work I am considering is right for me. One of my favorite filters is “How much would I pay to work on this?” It flips the frame from working for money to paying for the right to work. When I ask this question, very little work other than writing passes the test.

work worth doing. I didn’t want to escape work; I just craved work I cared about.