525,600 Minutes
“525,600 minutes, how do you measure, a year in the life?” -Seasons of Love as sung by the cast of Rent, Rent
It’s hard to believe that this is my 52nd blog post. I was doubting it myself so much that I actually checked the math, twice. I’ve had to start keeping a spreadsheet of all of my posts, their titles, topics, and from which movies I have taken quotes. While it’s becoming something big to manage, writing this blog every week has been one of my favorite parts of my job over the last year.
Speaking of the last year, I have been thinking an awful lot about the journey that I have taken and how I should be measuring my progress. When I decided to write an article about that journey, I knew instantly that I would use Seasons of Love from Rent as the inspiring quote at the beginning. In that song, they talk a lot about how one might measure a year. They ponder, “In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.” Finally, they settle on measuring not only their year, but also their life, in love.
When I’ve heard the song in the past, I have always correlated the love mentioned in the lyrics to be the love experienced in different relationships throughout your life and year. But I also I think there is more to it than just that. When reflecting on the last year, there have been so many ups and downs and yet through it all I never wanted to give up. I never once regretted walking away from a high paying job to start my own business.
Sometimes I wonder why not…
I’m certain that in the last year I have worked harder than I ever have in my life. Counterbalance that with the fact that I made less money in the last year than I have in a long time. But remember, I’m not measuring my life in meetings, in clients, in workshops, or in money. I’m measuring my life in love. And I have loved every bit of work that I have done in the last year. I have not always liked it. But good news, the song isn’t called Seasons of Like.
I recently likened getting clients when you are starting off as a coach to climbing a sand dune. Every step forward is accompanied by a half-step slight backwards. You are indeed making progress but it can sometimes feel slow and arduous. With coaching relationships, they tend to run their course in six months to two years depending on the client’s needs. While I still check in with those clients every few months, it still means less actual coaching hours. Which in turn, means less income.
In the beginning, I found myself very focused on the number of clients that I had. Since that number waxes and wanes, it could sometimes be really disheartening. Setting up workshops and speaking engagements can be equally challenging. I consider every one of them a success but they don’t always lead to consistent repeat business. In order to be booked consistently you need to be working with dozens of organizations and clients. And that doesn’t just take hard work. It takes time, it takes patience, but most importantly it takes consistency.
It’s hard to put in all that effort if you don’t love what you are doing. You can do it without love, but I believe it will inevitably lead to burnout. That of course is one of the main reasons that doing something you are passionate about is so important in both our work and personal lives.
I don’t think I realized until this year how much I was actually struggling with not loving the work I was doing. Changing that aspect of my life also helped reinvigorate other things in my life as well. For instance, over the last year, my game design career has started taking off even more.
That in turn got me thinking about using actual games to teach clients in workshops and seminars. It’s created a whole new business model that I didn’t intend when I first started. But following my heart led me to this place. And I am loving it.
So many times in life we are told that the idea of the grass being greener on the other side is a myth but that’s not always the case. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The grass is green on both sides. Each side has its share of weeds. Each side has its flowers. Each side has its barren patches.
It’s up to you to find which landscape you would rather take care of in your life. Which patch of grass is the right one for you. Following your dreams and choosing the right one can make the boring tasks of pruning and mowing feel like a nice day in the sun.
I wouldn’t trade this last year for any job in the world. My family and I made a risky choice and it has made all the difference.
-Jason