Hold hope lightly

I saw this Tweet from Sharon Salzberg, an American Buddhism popularizer and meditation teacher, where she shares the Buddhist tradition of holding hope lightly.

Sharon Salzberg @SharonSalzberg In the Buddhist tradition, we “hold hope lightly.” That doesn’t mean we veer toward hopelessness. In fact, it takes mindfulness to be hopeful. The opposite of hopelessness is love and connection. We move toward connection with equanimity, the wisdom born of balance. 1/1 6:1 AM • Nov 22, 2023 2 Retweets 15 Likes Read 1 replies

This is good advice, particularly if you're trying to go 1099.

If you're reading this newsletter and bought my book, you are probably hopeful you can improve your life by getting out of your job and into a 1099 role.

This is great! Hopefulness generates energy and action.

But let's not forget the "lightly" part.

Lots of things can go wrong: things that are within your control and not within your control.

I spent an extra year without a billable gig due to security clearance issues outside of my control and had to dip into savings.

But because I have always been the type to make backup plans and acknowledge possible negative outcomes, I made sure I had savings to dip into.

So hold hope lightly and have a plan B and maybe even a plan C when things go wrong.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.