I hear or read this phrase or something similar almost weekly. It's at the tip of so many tongues.
It's completely understandable why this is the case. Working 8+ hour days in work you do not value can leave you mentally and physically exhausted.
However, even work that you do value can have the same effect.
The Myth
"If you do something you love, you will never work a day in your life."
It seems like too many people are chasing this unicorn job. A unicorn job is something that exists in your head but not in reality (at least at the outset).
If you ask most people about the above sentence who have built an apparent dream lifestyle, they would call you crazy.
They would most likely say something along the lines of: Entrepreneurship is scary and requires a ton of hard work . . . until it doesn't.
The Truth
When can you obtain that unicorn job? If a miracle occurs (and you are blessed with the perfect mindset), it could take days. More realistically though, it will take years of foundational grunt work.
The unicorn job comes down to work that has these 4 qualities:
Working is not dependent on income
Within reason, you set your hours
You are the boss
Work you value
Take note of the first quality - work is not dependent on making money.
This does NOT mean the unicorn job does not provide income. Most actually will. The theory is that once you are no longer working/grinding for the paycheck, you will be working on things you truly find value in.
Once you are consistently getting out of bed because you truly want to and not for the paycheck, you may have found that unicorn job.
There Are Different Paths To Obtain The Unicorn Job
The great thing about finding that unicorn job is that there is not a single path you must take.
Some people work the same 9 to 5 job for 25 plus years, save methodically, live frugally, and then are financially able to pursue that unicorn job (or passion project) around ages 45 to 55.
Others may chase the unicorn job from the outset and go the entrepreneurship route from day one. Then, through consistency and a ton of hard work, they eventually find that they have created that unicorn job for themselves.
Whatever path is chosen, notice that neither path seeks a traditional retirement (a retirement filled with sitting on the beach every day for 20 or more years). Both paths see "retirement" as an opportunity to continue working, BUT only in that unicorn job.
I Am Chasing The Unicorn Job
If you are not new to this blog, you already know that I am chasing the unicorn job. I see too many pitfalls with reaching a point where I completely stop working.
Everyone is different, but I am naturally a lazy person. Without having a unicorn job that I can work until death, my health would take too big of a hit.
Because of this, once I find work that meets the above four qualities, that will be a joyful moment.
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