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 :)
wonderful post matt, had this sitting in my to-be-read and happened to open it today when I happen to feel like at a bit of a career crossroads i.e. 26 years old, i like my job but dont LOVE, paid pretty well but either want, selfishly ill admit, either 1) more money/status 2) more learning or 3) ownership of my own. i’ve only got two elements right now with my fulltime job (earth) and writing (wind) and wonder what my water and fire would be… and I suppose that’s my question to you. for your coaching and Downshift and the things you do outside the corporate world… did it come naturally or were you terrified? when did you decide it was the right thing to try out - what age were you and where were you?
also, I realise this is a 2024 post that I’m commenting on in 2026, which is evident to how cool it is to have your writing on the internet :)
It’s been a while since I’ve written this, so it’s also a good opportunity to revisit and see if I’ve changed my mind on anything.
My updated thoughts:
Earth makes sense, everyone needs stability, income, some amount of structure.
Fire seems like passion, or contribution. Something that you give to the world.
Air, which I described as writing for me, something creative and intellectually stimulating
Water - I think this one is lacking the most. It doesn’t make sense to me anymore. Just because something is fluid doesn’t make it meaningful or worth doing. So I think this one needs to be updated.
I also think I missed some things:
Community - doesn’t have to be part of work, but it can be
Tangibility - some work-like activity that is very easy for you to feel. it could be making pottery, working at the farmer’s market, tutoring kids in-person, etc.
To address your actual question, I wasn’t terrified, but I also had no idea how they would pan out. My life looks very different now. I only coach part-time and am no longer part of Downshift (which also shut down). I have a full-time job at a startup. But I also started a community and am working on a business that makes a real product. So I think maybe the meta point is that everything evolves over time.
I’m glad that I pursued all the things I tried. Even the ones that didn’t work like my climate newsletter, podcast, and subletting service. I’m also glad that I started coaching and writing even though neither of those are my full-time job. It’s this process of trying new things and finding the ones to keep doing that has felt especially rewarding.
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 :)
wonderful post matt, had this sitting in my to-be-read and happened to open it today when I happen to feel like at a bit of a career crossroads i.e. 26 years old, i like my job but dont LOVE, paid pretty well but either want, selfishly ill admit, either 1) more money/status 2) more learning or 3) ownership of my own. i’ve only got two elements right now with my fulltime job (earth) and writing (wind) and wonder what my water and fire would be… and I suppose that’s my question to you. for your coaching and Downshift and the things you do outside the corporate world… did it come naturally or were you terrified? when did you decide it was the right thing to try out - what age were you and where were you?
also, I realise this is a 2024 post that I’m commenting on in 2026, which is evident to how cool it is to have your writing on the internet :)
Hey Sav, I appreciate the comment!
It’s been a while since I’ve written this, so it’s also a good opportunity to revisit and see if I’ve changed my mind on anything.
My updated thoughts:
Earth makes sense, everyone needs stability, income, some amount of structure.
Fire seems like passion, or contribution. Something that you give to the world.
Air, which I described as writing for me, something creative and intellectually stimulating
Water - I think this one is lacking the most. It doesn’t make sense to me anymore. Just because something is fluid doesn’t make it meaningful or worth doing. So I think this one needs to be updated.
I also think I missed some things:
Community - doesn’t have to be part of work, but it can be
Tangibility - some work-like activity that is very easy for you to feel. it could be making pottery, working at the farmer’s market, tutoring kids in-person, etc.
To address your actual question, I wasn’t terrified, but I also had no idea how they would pan out. My life looks very different now. I only coach part-time and am no longer part of Downshift (which also shut down). I have a full-time job at a startup. But I also started a community and am working on a business that makes a real product. So I think maybe the meta point is that everything evolves over time.
I’m glad that I pursued all the things I tried. Even the ones that didn’t work like my climate newsletter, podcast, and subletting service. I’m also glad that I started coaching and writing even though neither of those are my full-time job. It’s this process of trying new things and finding the ones to keep doing that has felt especially rewarding.
I really liked how you categorised the work into four elements! I'll try that for myself 😄
I am also on the lookout for a part-time Product Manager role. Hopefully, I get one soon 😄
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.