Does work bring you want you want?

I think some of us get lost in the pressures of life and forget that this is our life and we need to be in charge of how it goes.  Some of you may have seen the article about a couple that decided to downsize and simplify their life -  But will it make you happy?   This article is not just about a couple making significant lifestyle changes but about an economy and culture that supports the need for more.  Working more, having more, buying more, doing more...more and more and faster and faster.  Don't get the idea that I think those who work hard and reap success are wrong.  Far from it - I think it's great that there are people like that.  Our economy needs them and so does the culture but that lifestyle is not for everyone...and that is my point.

Recently I was thinking about my situation and how challenging this 'building a business' is for me and I thought back to when I was in my late teens and early 20's.  Back then and even through my 30's & 40's I thought I was going to be "something".  Of course I had no idea what that "something" was but I had convinced myself that it was going to be big.  Yet, as the years passed and life presented various challenges both good ones and not so good ones, I did my best to make it through.  When I examined my patterns what emerged was my strong need for independence and choice.  Even though I worked as an employee most of my working career, I gravitated towards small companies or positions that would allow freedom & flexibility.  I worked hard, became a valuable employee and the benefit I gained and most valued was freedom/flexibility.   To do what?  To spend time riding my horse...to have breakfast on a weekday morning so I could sit and read.  To be able to enjoy a day when everyone else was working seemed to give me a a sense of satisfaction that I could do what I needed to preserve who I was.

Now that my path has changed it's course once again the same needs...freedom and choice...remain most important to me, but I have come to realize that I am not going to be "something" - instead I am just a regular person who is living the life I have built over time.  I am one of the those people who is being "something" by living life and enjoying it in a way that makes the most sense to me.  Getting to this realization has given me such a sense of peace and comfort.  I am happy with where I am and my desire to build a business.  My success comes with my ability to connect with and help others manage their finances while, at the same time, giving me time to enjoy my life.  Without even knowing it, I've finally become that "something" I always wanted to be...it's just that I didn't know what it would look like until now.