Hey Matt, resonated with a lot here, I also went on a long sabbatical, changed my relationship with work, etc., settled on an Octopus metaphor along similar underlying themes as your Elements. Now trying to figure out what my mix of "elements" is going to be for work. For your part time job did you ask to do part time, or did that just happen to be what they were looking for?
Hey Dave thanks for reading. The part time job unfolded rather naturally for me. I was connected through a former colleague, had a couple casual conversations and then accepted their offer without negotiation on a Thursday, and started the next Monday. Never had to update my resume or answer any "real" interview questions. I was the one who proposed ~20 hours a week. Ultimately my long term vision for my work is to coach and write full-time (whatever full-time actually means), so it was important for me to preserve my time. Best of luck on your explorations with elemental work!
Nice how this came into place for you, I'm sort of hoping for a similar setup. Best wishes and I will be following your journey to see how this unfolds for you.
I've got a similar set up right now. I often tell people I've split my week 50/50 between "mercenary" work—exchanging my time for money—and "missionary" work—doing things I care about. My long term goal is to replace all my mercenary hours for missionary hours. And doing my best to let that process unfold naturally.
Same here, I've heard of the mercenary/missionary construct before, interesting way to think about it, although mercenary feels a bit mean and dangerous haha :)
I really appreciated this whole essay but especially this reminder and the trust you have in yourself:
“I'm confident that financial wealth will follow from focusing on enjoyment and learning over decades, rather than pursuing it directly at the expense of fulfillment. It's less about hedging my bets or minimizing risk, and more about creating a sustainable ecosystem of work that nourishes different aspects of who I am and who I want to become.”
Also I’ve been thinking a lot about what collective work could look like with a really great squad. Would be very down to jam on that and test out something
This piece is beautiful Matt. And inspiring, as I'm finding meaningful work fill more of my time too. I'm heading to my journal to see what the elements have to say about my current path -- thank you for the gift of this essay!
Thanks for this note Saalik and for reading. I'm curious what those elements are for you. Since I wrote this essay, I've already been noticing a shift in what my elements are. And maybe that's part of the message, that work is meant to be more than one thing and that it can change over time.
Definitely, I feel that what the elements represent will change constantly, which is my favorite part of this metaphor. If I'm feeling disconnected from what I'm doing, taking a moment to consider how the elements are showing up will likely clarify a few things!
As for where the elements are at, I'll restack this post and jot mine down! Curious to see others'
Thanks for reading Brian! Yeah, I never really thought of myself as someone with a portfolio. The element idea just came to me recently, rather naturally so without any sense of hesitation, it felt easeful to use it.
Hey Matt, resonated with a lot here, I also went on a long sabbatical, changed my relationship with work, etc., settled on an Octopus metaphor along similar underlying themes as your Elements. Now trying to figure out what my mix of "elements" is going to be for work. For your part time job did you ask to do part time, or did that just happen to be what they were looking for?
Hey Dave thanks for reading. The part time job unfolded rather naturally for me. I was connected through a former colleague, had a couple casual conversations and then accepted their offer without negotiation on a Thursday, and started the next Monday. Never had to update my resume or answer any "real" interview questions. I was the one who proposed ~20 hours a week. Ultimately my long term vision for my work is to coach and write full-time (whatever full-time actually means), so it was important for me to preserve my time. Best of luck on your explorations with elemental work!
Nice how this came into place for you, I'm sort of hoping for a similar setup. Best wishes and I will be following your journey to see how this unfolds for you.
I've got a similar set up right now. I often tell people I've split my week 50/50 between "mercenary" work—exchanging my time for money—and "missionary" work—doing things I care about. My long term goal is to replace all my mercenary hours for missionary hours. And doing my best to let that process unfold naturally.
Same here, I've heard of the mercenary/missionary construct before, interesting way to think about it, although mercenary feels a bit mean and dangerous haha :)
I really appreciated this whole essay but especially this reminder and the trust you have in yourself:
“I'm confident that financial wealth will follow from focusing on enjoyment and learning over decades, rather than pursuing it directly at the expense of fulfillment. It's less about hedging my bets or minimizing risk, and more about creating a sustainable ecosystem of work that nourishes different aspects of who I am and who I want to become.”
Also I’ve been thinking a lot about what collective work could look like with a really great squad. Would be very down to jam on that and test out something
yes let's jam, I will text ya!
This piece is beautiful Matt. And inspiring, as I'm finding meaningful work fill more of my time too. I'm heading to my journal to see what the elements have to say about my current path -- thank you for the gift of this essay!
Thanks for this note Saalik and for reading. I'm curious what those elements are for you. Since I wrote this essay, I've already been noticing a shift in what my elements are. And maybe that's part of the message, that work is meant to be more than one thing and that it can change over time.
Definitely, I feel that what the elements represent will change constantly, which is my favorite part of this metaphor. If I'm feeling disconnected from what I'm doing, taking a moment to consider how the elements are showing up will likely clarify a few things!
As for where the elements are at, I'll restack this post and jot mine down! Curious to see others'
This was fantastic Matt, I love how you intertwined the elements, it resonates with me more than portfolio career path.
Thanks for reading Brian! Yeah, I never really thought of myself as someone with a portfolio. The element idea just came to me recently, rather naturally so without any sense of hesitation, it felt easeful to use it.