#14 - The Case For Working More
I was wrong, a wake up call, and the power of perception
Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit you were wrong.
Three weeks ago I wrote a post called: “The Case For Working Less”; I was wrong.
In a humbling week I’ve had my eyes opened to just the opposite.
The Case For Working More
I maintain the value of working less. We live in a world where the upside of a good decision is growing exponentially. An afternoon of reading and thinking can save months of effort.
What I missed, however, is the effort required to really move mountains.
The world isn’t perfect. In a perfect world, sitting around making great decision might be enough. But it doesn’t take into account all the time that needs to be spent in the weeds.
Last year’s afternoons of reading and meditation were a joy but stifled my urgency. We’re a year in and still at one cabin.
Mountains, of course, don’t need to moved- there’s nothing wrong with one cabin and a life of leisure. But it’s not what I want. It’s not what Ben & I set out to do. The stories we’ve been telling ourselves have prevented us seeing that. Until this week, that is.
Wake Up Call
We’re currently raising money; always an entertaining process.
To kick it off we booked in some time with a friendly VC who we knew would be good for a grilling.
Three minutes into the pitch he stopped us.
You’re not really at 90% occupancy are you?
Umm.. yup. We replied.
WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU STILL DOING WITH ONE CABIN??
Well… umm… There’s the pandemic… and umm…
WE LAST SPOKE 8 MONTHS AGO!! YOU’RE SITTING ON A GOLD MINE HERE- GET ON WITH IT!
Just like that the stories shattered in front of our eyes.
Perception
This week we have a different story, one in which we need to move mountains. It’s an interesting feature of the human experience: our perception of reality is our reality.
Our perception changed this week. As a result our reality changed. We’re running a completely different company to the one we were running last week. All because we’ve changed the story.
It doesn’t mean 80 hour work weeks- mental wellbeing is still a priority. But it doesn’t mean 12 hour work weeks either. It’s time to move fast and break things.
I’ll keep pondering the case for working less. I don’t quite know what to believe right now. But it’s well worth giving the flip side a run. I’ll keep you posted on the results.
My Week in Books📚
“Greenlights” by Matthew McConaughey
An uplifting read, and actually written by him. Well done Matthew McConaughey. He seems to have breezed through life. It’s a well pout together; much effort has gone into designing the book which adds to the experience.
Thanks Connor Swenson for the recommendation.
The Founders Dilemma by Noam Wasserman
A timely read. Just about the perfect book for this week’s deliberations.
“Control or wealth?”; that’s what it comes down to. It reminds me of Seth Godin’s fantastic (and short) blog post on trade-offs.
Read this with Hec Alex.
I’ll be updating the books I’ve read this year here. Any recommendations? Let me know!
A Final Thought 💡
“Nothing is wrong if it makes you happy.”
― Bob Marley
Thanks Bob.