We’re told lies about purpose. An object, a purpose. But if you squint hard, your clothes, your shoes and your phone, it’s hardly just for the function, looks or price.

The same is true for work. And maybe that’s why you’re unhappy.

Liz pointed out there are 4 ways to think about your work.

Job – is something do it for money. It doesn’t need to be awesome. It doesn’t have to fulfil you. It’s doesn’t even have to be joyful. It just has to pay.

Career – is like a job, one that you’re passionate about. You’re willingly to put in extra, sacrifice for, because it matters to you.

Hobby – is something you do for fun. There are no stakes, and it doesn’t have to make you famous. You do because it make you feel you’re more than a cog in the machine.

Vocation – the holiest, most scared of all. It is like a hobby, but also mystical. It is a calling, a divine invitation for you to create in this way.

Melville worked as custom inspector while writing Moby Dick. Einstein had his breakthrough while working in the patent office. They both enjoy a life filled with a multitude of hobbies. It was only until much later their vocation became their career.

Industries come and go. If the book business went away, guess what Melville would do.

If you think that just because you have a job, you are not allow pursue your fascinations. You’re probably in a career that you hate (then go get a job), or you’re little lazy and a little lacking in self-accountability.

Don’t surrender your agency and revert to the numbing day-to-day grind of compliance. Think about what those words mean to you, and what kind of life you like to lead. You can do better.

Probably the most famous cellist in the world, Yo-Yo Ma, played free in the subway station. Thousands walked by, not realising they missed a performance of a lifetime.

A Banksy painting got auctioned for $1.4 million and immediately shredded itself. The shredded remains may now be worth even more.

Lynn, a inventor, had a brilliant idea to offer to market. It’s her passion and she have a vision. For nine months, every toy company in America was mean to her. She pivoted to the book business, and sold more than 5 million copies of her first book.

Why did no one stop to hear Yo-Yo Ma? Why would shredded paper be worth more? Why wouldn’t toy companies give Lynn a chance?

Where are placing yourself (and your work)?

Can a company be big AND profitable AND lasting AND win-for-all?

Acumen

Converse

Chipotle

Dr. Bronner’s

Internet Archive

Kickstarter

Lao Gan Ma

Mr Brommer

Pilot

TOMS

School of Life

Trader Joe

Patagonia

Victorinox

Vipasanna

Wikipedia

Updated on 26 Aug 2025

Thank you for inspiring this post, Lucas.

Words are important. It is how we see the world, solve problems and have fun along the way.

The other day I met someone new. We both brought great energy and intention to connect well with each other.

As the conversation went, I find myself being corrected and learning heaps. A more accurate word, another angle to the situation, and interesting problems to tackle (finding different business structures to mitigate the downside of capitalism).

After one too many times of being corrected, I found myself being derailed to a topics that I don’t think were conducive to me or the conversation. I have no idea how I got there.

That conversation stayed with me for days. I wondered if I could’ve done anything different for a better conversation? Could I have stayed more present? Should I have listened to the subtext more? Could I have asked what did he really want to share with me? Am I being too much of a smarty pants?

And, I wonder if he is thinking the same?

Kids are flexible. They twist, they cry and they believe in everything (yes, Santa and demon).

When we get older, we become inflexible. This is partly due to biology, partly a defence against modernity, and partly because we don’t want to look like a crazy person screaming our every thought.

As we begin long-range planning for things, we push down unproductive emotions, pick up formulas and say no to more things. We believe that this is just who we are. We adopt an identity.

Is it possible for you to be a warrior, a healer, a dad, a scientist, a boss and a lover?

The default path is inflexibility. It is hard to change and we need to work at it.

But would you agree that it’s better than being a deadpan inflexible brittle human being?

Gym and therapy anyone?

I was scrolling the other day when saw that my telco came up with a ridiculous promotion.

For just $18 a month, you get 400GB of data, 12GB of roaming data, unlimited call time, and more. This is 10 times more data than I’ll ever use, and cheaper!

How is this possible? 10 years ago, I was paying $20 for 3GB of slow data.

I compared price with other countries.

• Australia — $58 ($70AUD)/mth for 50GB
• New Zealand — $30 ($40NZD)/mth for 5GB

So how did Singapore become so cheap?

My first thought was that Singapore is small, lower infrastructure cost.

But how about Hong Kong?

$14 ($88HKD) per month for 32GB, still much higher than Singapore.

It turns out the answer lies in strategy.

Instead of leaving it to capitalism, focusing on returns, Singapore treat data as a necessity (like water and healthcare) and made it a public good, with a twist.

The telcos remain private companies. However, they “rent” internet from a single company, NetLink Trust.

This government-linked company built and maintains all the internet infrastructure. Prices and quality are standardised and heavily regulated.

This approach eliminates duplicated infrastructure, speeds up deployment, and profits become secondary to the public good.

Meanwhile, private companies does customer-facing parts, driving innovation and reducing costs. Ultimately, benefiting the consumer.

Like most things, it started out expensive. Slowly, benefits compounds. Then, overnight, the cheapest and fastest internet in the world.

Learn the game, pick a strategy, change your habits.

Change your life.

Steve Schlafman walked away from his venture fund and returned millions to 50 of his investors. He then went on to coin the idea of a “decelerator” that helped countless ambitious founders find a better way to decide what’s next.

Chris Guillebeau ran a remarkable conference that changed many lives, including mine. And inspired a whole new category of conference. After 10 years, he ended it. And went on to write more books and, most recently, create a special kind of gathering.

Seth Godin, who coined the idea of permission marketing, could have built Mailchimp (which was acquired for $12 billion), but he didn’t.

My mum could’ve made more money, she didn’t and retired at 40.

Each of them walked away from money, fame, and impact. They let go of the perfect to dance with the unknown, to create space for the impossible.

They say, the path appears when we start walking. But it is only when we dare to step away from the familiar can something emerge.

These days, when I come across someone that is calm, prolific, and productive, I wonder, what did they give up?

And I ask myself, what do I need to give up today to live that life?

Jim Dethmer taught me the power of owning mistakes and gave me the words that I’ve used ever since.

“Before we begin, I said I was going to ____. But I did not ____. I want to take full responsibility for it and check if there’s anything, within my ability, I can do to clean it up with you”.

Danny Meyer further adds a helpful framework.

• Aware you made it
• Acknowledge it
• Apologize for it
• Act to fix it
• Apply additional generosity

Mistake can cripple or a renewable resource for learning.

A leader, politician, restaurant, friend or father.

That’s the difference between good and remarkable, if you choose.