Natural and necessary desires

"Some desires are (1) natural and necessary, others (2) natural but not necessary, still others (3) neither natural nor necessary but generated by senseless whims."

​- Epicurus, the Art of Happiness​

It's natural to want things for your life. On a basic level we want food, shelter, security, etc. On the higher levels we want good relationships, fulfilling work, etc.

In between is where it gets messy. If you're working at a normal corporate job you've probably been taught that you should seek good performance reviews, promotions, money, status, and recognition. You're also told you should want to be a team player and contribute to company goals and generally basque in the inspiration of the company's mission statement.

If you have subscribed to this newsletter though, you probably realized your desires are out of sync with the desires you are told you should have.

For example, at my last company they gave us a matrix of experiences and skills we should seek if we wanted to get promoted up the consultant ranks. Things like "lead a team to accomplish a task" and stuff like that.

I didn't want to do any of it!

Once I went 1099, all that corporate nonsense went away and I had more money and time to myself. I could think more about what I wanted for my life without the distraction of unnatural and unnecessary [corporate] desires.

This will likely happen to you if you go the 1099 route. You'll realize that once you're free of W2 employment, you have to come up with ambitions and goals that you actually want to pursue.

If you're looking for a smart reflection by someone who jumped off the elite consulting path to do his own thing, I recommend Paul Millerd's book, The Pathless Path.

​The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story for Work and Life​