Part 2: "Do what you love and you'll never work." Is that true?

"The sea was angry that day, my friends." – George Costanza

An underrated part of working for yourself is your ability to conquer the fourth dimension.

For a little over a year, I haven’t known what day of the week it is.

Every day is a Monday. And every day is a Saturday.

Every day is work. And every day is vacation.

It’s horrible. It’s a dream come true.

Last week I wrote about the phrase, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

In part 1, we talked about how work is still work. And how when you love what you do, you often have to work harder than you would at a 9-to-5.

Here’s how we left part 1 off:

“Work is work. But you know what? There are a lot of days I’d rather be working than on the golf course.”

Which leads us to part 2:

2. You want to work.

When I was growing up, my family would wind down the weekend by watching an episode of Seinfeld on Sunday nights.

At the end of each episode, a quick graphic from Castle Rock Entertainment — the production company — would play. And the Castle Rock music would float through the speakers.

And my anxiety would skyrocket. Because that Castle Rock music meant the weekend was over. And school was just hours away. To this day, Castle Rock’s music gives me Pavlovian sweats.

After I graduated and started my finance job, Sunday nights looked a little different. I’d usually wind them down by doing complex whiteboard equations to try to find ways to get 8 hours of sleep in a 5-hour window.

This also caused anxiety.

Then, I started doing what I love.

I haven’t felt the Sunday Scaries since.

It’s cool.

In 2023, I’m excited for work. Going to bed bothers me now, because I just want it to be morning so I can start working.

The standard stressors of work are still there — I still have to do a great job, I still have to make clients happy, I still have to make money — but I also get to do it in a way that makes me proud of being Adam Knorr.

When you love what you do, there’s none of the clock-punching, PTO-counting, weekend-warrior dread of working. It’s a cliche, but your work becomes fulfilling.

Now, I work at least a little bit every day. Part of it is out of necessity, but part of it is out of a desire to get better at writing. And to use my talents. And to do something that gives me joy. I work because I want to work.

In past jobs, most aspects of my work caused me to seek ways to relieve stress.

But now, most aspects of my work give me zen. Or excitement. Or happiness.

Again:

It’s cool.

Oh. And it’s also the most dangerous job I’ve ever worked.

We’ll cover that in part 3 … next week.