DO YOU WANT TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? No, seriously. I want to know. Is that what you’re aiming for? I’m guessing it’s not. It’s not for me. What I really want is to spend six months each year in Spain and Latin America, connecting with friends new and old, speaking Spanish, exploring, having crazy adventures.

ONE OF THE TRICKIEST THINGS ABOUT WORKING FOR YOURSELF IS FIGURING OUT WHAT EXACTLY TO DO NEXT. It’s even harder when you are in a financial panic. When all you can see is the money going out the door and cannot see how that will ever be matched by money coming in. I have the answer for you.

HAVE YOU EVER WORKED AT SOMETHING THAT SEEMED UNREASONABLY DIFFICULT? That took four times the amount of time you expected and was way harder than it should be? But, dedicated trouper that you are, you just kept your head down, nose to the grindstone, trying and trying to get it done. My next words may surprise you: stop trying.

IT’S THE CLASSIC PROBLEM, RIGHT? You can’t do what you love because, first, you would have to quit your dayjob. And that can’t happen because: rent and food and shoes! So you’re stuck where you are, hating your life, watching those lucky people who seem to have this all figured out. Here’s the thing. I know this feels reasonable and practical. But it’s really not.

THERE ARE LOTS OF GURUS, MENTORS, AND COACHES OUT THERE. Heaps of them, in fact. Smart, accomplished people with lots of things to say. Important, powerful things even. They want you to listen to them. And they may even deserve to be listened to. But, BUT. So do you.