I worked in corporate sales years ago.

My life was a constant chase.

Chase the next deal; chase my quota; chase the next shiny object with the commission earned from that deal.

I’d chase my to-do list because it was my self-worth measuring stick.

At the end of each day, I’d be spent, exhausted, and burned out. And usually filled with some level of shame for not checking more items off the list and achieving more.

So I’d chase an emotion at the bottom of the bottle or some other distraction to feel any other way than how I felt.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I thought this was just how life is meant to be.

I love the movie “Glengarry Glen Ross,” and when I worked in sales, I connected with the famous Alec Baldwin scene where his character outlines the ABC framework of sales:

A – Always

B – Be

C – Closing

I see now how much that mentality contributed to the chase and my exhaustion.

My chasing days are long over, and I still follow the ABC framework, but with a significant tweak.

A – Always

B – Be

C – Creating

I can summarize my current business in one word:

Creation.

I write, speak, work with a handful of clients, and focus on creating a life I don’t need to escape.

Life isn’t a bunch of short-term highs strung together to feel like a cohesive mock-up of life.

Life is about crafting a process I love because, as Anne Dillard said,

“How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.”

When I compare and contrast my 1st half of life to my 2nd half, there are countless differences, but this discrepancy is asking for attention:

Depleting vs. Nourishing.

The corporate chase was depleting; I’d end each day feeling empty and begin each day with fumes in the tank.

I devoted so much energy to the chase, and what I was catching and consuming left me utterly empty – and, if anything, made me want to run faster and consume more.

Everything was a rush; there wasn’t enough time, which eventually left me feeling emptier than before.

Life is much different now; I realize I have all the time I need because the time I have is all I have.

For the past 7 or 8 years, I’ve invested time every day in the act of creation (writing), which also leaves me empty.

But it’s different.

I may feel empty, but I’m far from empty.

I’m satiated and nourished by the emptiness.

I’ve given everything to the keys and blank page; I’ve explored myself and shared what I found in the hopes it finds someone who needs the words.

Leaving it all out on the field to serve my mission (to help one person) fills me precisely because I emptied myself.

Within that nourishment, I go about the remainder of the day, going to sleep at night with plenty of gas in the tank and waking up with more than I went to sleep with.

It’s because I expressed myself authentically.

What I’ve learned is this:

If our jobs are depleting we need something outside our jobs that is nourishing.

Full stop, no exceptions.

It must be an expression of our authentic selves because so much of our day is spent wearing the masks we believe we need to wear to do our jobs.

Living inauthentically, behind our masks, is exhausting, another reason we feel depleted.

I’m not blind to the fact that there are financial obligations, and the job pays the bills, depleting as it may be.

But I’m also painfully aware that we’re human beings, and human beings have an intrinsic drive towards meaning.

We want, no, we need, our lives to mean something beyond professional success if our profession isn’t an expression of our authentic self.

But a meaningful life doesn’t magically appear without our input.

So how, in the face of family and financial obligations, do we also feed our souls?

Many of us (I was guilty of this) believe we must go 100% all-in, devote all our time, and excel immediately. Otherwise, there’s no point in even trying or beginning.

That’s not true, and the answer is simple and accessible: we craft meaning and nourish our souls one hour at a time.

That’s it.

Why one hour?

One hour makes it real.

One hour is enough time that it requires a commitment; it stands out on our calendar.

One hour embodies the saying, “Sawdust makes a pile.” An hour a day stretched throughout a life equals thousands of hours.

When used correctly, an hour is enough to create massive change in our lives.

Here’s the thing:

Pursuing your joy doesn’t require 100% of your time.

However, it requires 100% of your effort for the time you commit to it.

You’ll nourish yourself from the inside out.

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