Get rich or die tryin’ – 50 Cent
Over lunch with a smart friend, I mentioned this fantasy I had a few weeks ago – of finding someone to replace me, turning over the reigns of the company, and just walking away. I’ve vested enough so that when the company makes it, I’ll be just fine. It was after a particularly long stretch of work, weeks and weeks of all-nighters. Good stuff, mind you, but sometimes I feel like I’m in a marathon made of a series of sprints.
After I shared this fantasy, I stopped, looked at him, then burst out laughing. “I can’t walk away,” I said. “I’ve put all the money I had into this, all my waking hours, even my dreams are about work, and when I’m not working I’m still thinking about work. I have no choice but to pull this off!”
Of course, the fantasy of walking away was just a momentary one. You couldn’t pay me enough to leave. As I look back at the choices I’ve made, the other opportunities I’ve given up – the ships burning behind me – even if I was to put my obsessive drive aside, I would have no choice but to move forward.
Crazy as that sounds, it’s a good place to be. If you’ve founded something and taken it to its full conclusion, you know what I’m talking about.
Hi,
i was looking for a self help book…been suffering with depresion andexiety for about 2 years now..some day are bette then others..but last night i was looking up books for my kindle and i came across your book..i read the 1st chaper then fell a sleep.long work day not your book hehe..but whe wok up today i decidedto tell my self i love myself…sounded funny but i kept dong it all day.. my job is very stressful and demanding but it didnt matter today i just worked with ou stressng out…i kept saying i love you to myself all day… im looking forwoard to readin and learning and hopefully get better withmy mind , body and soul..im only 29 i cant go thru life unhappy..So i want to say thank you in advance and i will keep you updated..
kamal,
i have a poem you might like:
Saving my life
in this dull empty life
i am living
trying so hard
to remember
to breathe
long and deep
and often
to feel
the energy
in my body
to be
present in my life
now
the magic the gift of life
in all it’s richness
still exists
isn’t only memories
if only I notice
if only I can be
distracted
from this dreary
middle-aged mind
droning on and on with
it’s god-damn opinions
and judgments
about everyone
and everything
ad nauseum
somehow I needed to come
to this emotional desert
to grow up
grieve out some accumulation
become seriously self-sufficient
and detached
recognize how idealistic
and unrealistic I’ve been
my expectations of other
people has plummeted
and yet, a guy
i’ve always found attractive
greets me by name
(i don’t know his)
and my heart flutters
my married acupuncturist
touches my bare back
and we both
lose a breath
with that dollop
of the forbidden
i finally get out for a walk
and the seascape scenery
burns a photograph in my mind
that echoes
the silent depth
of my soul
the words of another poet
spilled across a page
have opened me up again
and i remember
i can write
to save my life
Thank you for sharing it, Christine.