working together toward something intriguing and worthwhile. You can live a long life, making and doing really cool things the entire time. You might earn a living with your pursuits or you might not, but you can recognize that this is not really the point.

Although my podcast and writing were starting to feel much more important, they still had to coexist with the consulting project. So I came up with a mantra for future decisions: “Coming alive over getting ahead.” It was a reminder to choose work that lit me up, rather than work that merely serves to earn more money.