I don’t buy lottery tickets often, but every now and then (when the jackpot is big enough to make the news), I’ll buy a ticket and my wife and I will daydream about what we’d do with a few million dollars.
Probably buy two houses — one in the north and one in the south — so we can split our year up and enjoy great weather year around.
I’m sure there would be some epic vacations around Europe, Asia, and Australia too.
But what about work?
It’s funny to hear stories of lottery winners quitting their job the second they find out they’re new millionaires — but I don’t think I would.
Sure, I’d probably work on only the things I enjoy — but I don’t think there’s an amount of money that would make me want to quit hanging with my friends at The Admin Bar or putting together this newsletter.
Matt Davies published part 1 of a fantastic piece covering the lessons he’s learned running his business — and lesson #2 really struck home for me: Don’t waste time doing stuff you hate.
We’re often so focused on making more sales and growing our agencies that we spend less time thinking about the type of work we’re doing.
I haven’t sat down and wrote any goals for the upcoming year — but I think 2022 is going to be a year where I focus a lot less on numbers, and a lot more on quality.
I realize my chances of coming up with the winning numbers in the lotto are pretty low — but that doesn’t mean I can’t continue building the kind of agency where I’m only focused on doing the things I love.
Sure, a few million in the bank would accelerate that process, but it’s not a requirement.
Every minute I spend doing something I don’t like is another minute I’ve shortchanged myself from doing something I enjoy.
As Matt mentions in his piece, time is the most precious resource you have — and once it’s gone you can never get it back.
So why are we waiting for the day when we can focus only on the work we love, and not actively building towards that now?
Kyle Van Deusen
After spending 15 years as a graphic designer and earning a business degree, I launched my agency, OGAL Web Design, in 2017. A year later, after finding the amazing community around WordPress, I co-found The Admin Bar, which has grown to become the #1 community for WordPress professionals. I'm a husband and proud father of three, and a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Use of AI: AI helps me outline, research, catch typos, and find better words & phrases. I take full personal responsibility for all my published content (the good, the bad, and the em dashed).
