Do The Thing

I think the hardest thing in life is the commitment to doing the thing. I think that a bucket list is only good if you are willing to empty the items from the bucket. I have sat in countless meetings with countless people who talk about the someday and then when I have time…Those statements always make me sad because I know that people most like are not going to ever remove anything from their bucket, they only will fill it up.


Do the thing. I am not joking. Figure it out. There are so many different ways to live your dreams and I watch so many people let those dreams die. You are not your job. I know that is probably where you spend most of your time, but find something else. Do not be your job title. Be your true self. 


There are so many ways to be you and please, I beg you, find the fire inside of you. I know that it is not the easiest thing to do at all. It is hard to separate yourself from the thing that makes money to do the thing. 


The moment that I realized that I should not introduce myself self as my job title was the moment that I realized that I am not my job. This hurt. Not even joking a little bit. It was the same month that I realized that my dream job was definitely not my dream job. I had set a whole career path on being a CISO and I had to hold a funeral to get over that. I do not want to be a CISO or and C-title. That hurt and it took months to get over the fact that I had made a goal that no longer was the goal. 


I did not know what my goal was. I did know that my old goal was not what I needed to do. That would take a part of me away that would no longer make me - me. So, know what do I do. Do I have to have a goal? Can I simply be happy with where I am now? Or, do I need to find a new path? A new career.


It was a very interesting few months that I went through. It did come to an end and the answer was that I did not need to know and drive myself hard to a certain title. I needed to find myself as a person outside of work. 


It was depressing. It was hard. It was one of those things that you are trying to figure out why it is no longer your dream. It does not magically happen one day. It is an effort. It continues to be an effort every single day. I still think about the years - yes, years - I spent all of my time moving towards a goal that I no longer want. It is not for me. Could that change? Absolutely.


So, do the thing. Reach into that bucket and start removing things because the bucket can only hold so much. Don’t let it get too full. That means you are not doing the thing. Take the trip. Do the scary thing. You got this.

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