Tim Ferriss’s widely popular book has become the center of a huge movement that can easily be observed throughout the blogosphere. Many, many blogs out there, this one included, have discussed the notion of alternative lifestyle design. However, a significant number of bloggers out there are publishing stuff that disregards the traditional career-path as a ‘nothing more than a soulless system with replaceable drones keeping things running’, or something along those lines.
Cal Newport recently wrote an article defending the opposing side from the bombarding attacks of the hard-core lifestyle designers, and rightfully so. Here’s my take on the whole thing:
Although many bloggers seem to take it as such, in my mind the principle behind lifestyle design isn’t simply to abandon the all-evil career path. It is to avoid paths that we are not completely satisfied with, and do what we need to do to follow our passions and live a fulfilling life. The vital key here, in my opinion, is the word ‘we’. Only we can know for sure what path we desire. Here’s a few examples:
1. For some, this means setting up an automated ‘muse’, or some type of alternative income source, quitting their job, and spending their lives traveling, pursuing passions, etc. This is the Tim Ferriss route, and the one you always hear about on the blogosphere. It’s definitely not for everyone though.
2. For others, it means finding a job that fits like a glove; something that they love doing so much that they can’t bear the thought of leaving. For example, a lead engineer at Honda who absolutely loves being a part of the company’s desire to be at the forefront of the environmentally friendly vehicle market.
3. For yet another person, it could be a combination of the above. This person negotiates remote work assignments so they can devote time to their lifetime goal of becoming a published novelist, while still contributing meaningful work to their organization.
These are just a few examples, but you get the point. Only you can decide what route you want to take, and you really shouldn’t give a damn what others think you should do. If you choose your route, and it’s meaningful to you- what more could you want?
For myself, I would love to be able to live off of alternative income sources while dedicating my life to things that mean a lot to me. However, this isn’t the only path that I would find rewarding: it’s just my ultimate goal. I’ve still got a while to figure things out though. All I know is that I don’t want to settle for anything less than doing something I love, wherever that may lead me.
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