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Top Takeaways: To Sell Is Human
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Is it still meaningful work even if no one is clapping?
In the last email we explored how to get the spark glowing again. Often in our 40s and 50s our careers can feel flat - maybe even like we’ve hit a plateau. We wonder if we need to be doing different work. Are we bored? Burned out?
I wonder if what we’re missing though is the dopamine hits of getting promoted, reaching big goals, and winning awards. I wonder if our egos are craving the external validation those bring.
We talk about wanting to do meaningful work - to contribute, to help, to serve others - but what about the work we do when no one’s watching? Does it only count as meaningful if it’s worthy of praise?
Let’s go back in time for a few minutes. Summer of 2020. Yep, right smack in the middle of the most intense pandemic lockdowns. We were all looking for ways to release nervous energy and fill time while stuck at home. I was no exception.
I’ll never forget the moment I realized being locked down felt liberating.
As I dug through my art and craft supplies, I came across some watercolor pencils. I used to love watercolor, waaay back in high school and recently I’d been living vicariously through my father’s recent watercolor journey, but something clicked as I held the slim, cool tin box of these beautiful sticks of color.
No one will be coming to the house. No one will accidentally stumble across any failed attempts. No one even has to know I’m doing this. It’s JUST to fill the time. It’s JUST something creative and constructive.
It was all about the DOING of the thing, not the result of the thing. THAT’S what made it meaningful.
Mind blown.
It wasn’t that I would be doing this to impress others or to even improve the world through creative expression. There wasn’t anything even remotely tied to anyone else - to any outside force - at all. It was all in the doing of the thing.
I’ve seen this in my clients searching for their spark. I’ve seen this in friends and colleagues wondering what’s next. The more they enjoy the doing of the thing and not the result, the more content and energized they feel.
So what about you? What are the daily - or almost daily - activities you enjoy? Maybe it’s organizing an event, or spicing up a spreadsheet or facilitating a workshop. The point isn’t what you’re doing, it’s how you feel as you’re doing it.
According to The Progress Principle even tiny steps forward on meaningful work can give us satisfaction and momentum. And as Picasso reminds us
"Inspiration exists but it must find you working."
Sometimes the feel-good doesn’t happen right away. The daily practice might have a rough start. We might feel The Resistance Steven Pressfield writes about in The War of Art. But before we know it, momentum kicks in and we’re in the flow once again.
Meaning, joy, confidence - they aren’t something we wait for.
They’re something we create.
So if you’re wondering whether your work still matters…
Focus less on the claps and more on the craft.
Because excellence isn’t sparked by applause.
It's built by showing up - one meaningful moment at a time.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristole
