Finding work that works for you

The sun rose over the city. Another day of men and women going to their jobs. They went because they needed money. That's why everybody gets up in the morning. Most of them dread waking up.

But there is a better way. A cleaner way. Like surfing the ocean waves. You study the water, learn its rhythms, find your perfect spot. When everything aligns, you catch the wave and ride.

I found my wave in web design. Not in telecommunications that I spent years studying. The degree is tucked away in a box somewhere, like an old surfboard never waxed. But web design - that was different. That was pure. Pure joy.

When you find work that feels like play, you've found something true. Something real. Like when you catch that perfect wave and your body knows exactly what to do. When the work stops being work and becomes flow.

There's a formula, and it's simple:

• Know what you're good at;
• Know what drains you;
• Know what fills you up.

The trick is to do the things that fill you up. The rest is noise. Like the crash of waves on the shore - you hear it but you don't listen. You focus on your wave.

I learned this when I thought I wanted to be a design leader. The management part was wrong. It was like trying to surf against the current. You can do it, but why would you?

If you find what gives you strength and do only that, you become strong. If you become strong enough, the work finds you. Like waves finding the shore. Like water finding its level.

That's all there is to it. No complicated theories. No big words. Just the clean, hard truth of doing what makes you feel alive.

And when you find it - that thing that makes your blood move faster - you hold onto it. You perfect it. You become the best at it. Then you never have to worry about money again. That's the pure truth of it.

The sun sets. Another day ends. But if you've done what you love, it wasn't work at all. It was life.