Capturing your imagination

# Chapter 33

What do you want so much that you are willing to be “tolling upward in the night” as Longfellow said? What level of expertise and what level of skill and competence are you willing to strive toward, and to continue working hard to hold? What captures your imagination and desires so much, that this extra work feels normal? I can tell you already that medical doctors and lawyers already go through these trials and they don’t stop once they have their degrees in hand. Honestly that is when the real work begins, but don’t tell them that, they will all quit school immediately if you do.

This has to be something that you want more than sleep. And that is a really high bar for me, I don’t know about you. Sleep is my ultimate value far too often. It has been a long time since I would sacrifice sleep for something else. My read on this is that if you are at a stage of life where the planets have aligned and you are entirely content, then this is probably ok. But I am thinking that for the vast majority of us, this is a sign of laziness or settling for less. I generally think of ambition as a positive sign in most people. When I worked in HR at a factory it was the number one thing I was looking for in folks applying for work, because it meant that they would be intrinsically motivated to work hard and improve their skills and competences. So I think I will sit here for a while and think about this and rediscover what I am willing to toil the night for.