15-Hour Work Week

Did you know that in 1930, one of the world's leading economists predicted we'd be working 15-hour weeks by the 21st century?

As technology and automation grew during the industrial revolution, the belief was we'd have the ability to work less and enjoy more leisure time.

Yet, in 2019 we're working almost a full workday more than the old 40-hour a week standard.

What the hell happened?

First and foremost, nobody could predict that the workplace would evolve from a place where we produced goods to a place where we produced our identity.

You've seen the messaging online...

"Crush it!"

"Be a goal digger!"

When we meet new people who ask us about ourselves, we usually lead with our job title, placing ourselves into one-dimensional boxes like "accountant," or "attorney,"  We have 100% clarity on what we do because it's easier than figuring out who we are.

For many, careers are an endless chase for the next set of initials-- VP, SVP, CEO. We are conditioned to believe each new letter will bring lasting fulfillment, only to be disappointed when it brings more stress, less sleep, and the right to work even harder to chase a new goal when the one we reached wasn't the silver bullet for lasting happiness.

As a result of record levels of burnout, the cultural messaging has now evolved from finding a job to finding our purpose .It's on every Instagram quote card and the core takeaway from every college commencement speech.

It's a message that I love, but it's also one we have F'd up in a big way. Here's why.

We're told there's a job "out there" that will give us our purpose. This is completely false and creates an unending external chase for meaning. We jump from job to job, company to company, looking for the elusive purpose unicorn.

Up until now, you might have expected to find it in the flexible work schedule, "Summer Friday," or in some other incentive like an onsite meditation room or yoga class.

They're all nice perks... but perks don't equal purpose.

Here's what I want you to know.  The part of you that's searching is the thing you're actually looking for.

Your purpose is an internal force that's already within you. It's not something to be found as much as it's something to be uncovered.

Your purpose isn't hiding from you. It's just been buried under years of making your family proud, hustling to prove you're "enough," decades of putting yourself last, and climbing a corporate ladder you never wanted to be on in the first place.

The chase is exhausting and a fast track to burnout.

If you expect a job to give you an identity, you'll be stuck and frustrated the rest of your life.

An amplified life is the byproduct of knowing who you are, not just what you DO. It's about realizing you must belong to yourself and not just a corporate hierarchy. It's about discovering your purpose and using it to make an impact while also increasing your income.

It's an internal journey. Not an external rat race.

And on the other side is a life of freedom, happiness, creativity, love, and freedom.

It's not to late to find it.