If you were to take a step back and write down every single thing you did every day over the past 14 days…
How similar would every day be?
The same morning ritual of checking your phone?
The same coffee shop?
The same route to work?
The same meetings?
The same amount of time on the couch watching Netflix?
Welcome.. To the hamster wheel of life.
I was stuck like this nearly 8 years ago, and I made changes in my life that transformed everything for me.
It was 2010, and I decided to leave my 6-figure job at the largest hedge fund in the world.
I was 27, at the peak of my career, with a dream job, but I had one problem: I felt stuck. I felt stagnant. I wasn’t growing.
And most importantly, I knew that living my best life meant feeling absolutely SCARED SHITLESS once a week because that meant I WAS LIVING, I WAS GROWING…
And that wasn’t happening…
The thing is, I thought the solution to this problem was easy. It would be the NEXT project.
The NEXT promotion.
The NEXT bigger office.
That was the easy way, but the more of that I did, the more stuck I felt.
EVERY day looked the same. The same commute. The same challenges at work. The same things. Different day. And I’d come home, order sushi and watch Netflix to “recover” from the “tough” day.
I like to live a proactive life. I like to be growing. I WANT to feel fulfilled with what I’m doing and having an impact. And I knew that in order to do that, this path, this hamster wheel that I was on (even though by most people’s measure this was awesome) — wasn’t what would bring me fulfillment.
FAST FORWARD 4 years. I had quit my 6-figure job. I started my own company. I raised $20m of venture capital from the best VC firms in the world. I would walk into the office which was BUZZING with 70 people.
And it was like NARNIA every day.
EVERY DAY a different challenge. A different growth experience. A different learning. I FELT ALIVE EVERY DAY. AND EVERY DAY… WAS A DIFFERENT DAY.
Now I’m not saying you need to quit your job to get off the hamster wheel of life. In fact, quitting my job was just a small part of the process for me to figure out what was the thing that MADE ME FEEL ALIVE.
The trick was to acknowledge that I was INDEED on a hamster wheel. That 20 years from now, I’d look back and feel disappointed and ask myself — WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!
So, let me ask you… Are YOU on the hamster wheel of life?
And if so, you need to STOP, PAUSE, and REFLECT so you can figure out what it’ll take for YOU to snap out of it, and pursue a life where you FEEL ALIVE. The way that I FELT every time I entered ToutApp offices to take on a new day. Because everyone deserves that.
I’m so incredibly glad I made the changes in my life when I felt stuck now nearly 8 years ago. It has afforded me the experiences, the opportunities, the successes, and the job that I have today — which I feel excited about!