Hey friends,
Lately I’ve been thinking about why so many of us end our workday feeling unfulfilled.
A lot of you who read this newsletter have a dream or a vision for work that feels more meaningful and creative.
But most of your day is spent inside a system that keeps you out of your flow state.
Spreadsheets. Zoom calls. Slack threads. Endless emails.
You close your laptop at the end of the day and quietly ask yourself:
Did I do anything today that actually made a difference in the world around me?
Part of the problem is that many of us are working in jobs that don’t fit our temperament.
Maybe you’re a musician selling insurance.A painter cleaning teeth.A writer buried in project management software.
That misalignment hurts. But I’m starting to recognize a deeper problem that I think is affecting all of us.
I’m beginning to wonder if much of our “creative frustration” isn’t just that we missed our calling… but that we don’t actually work in the real world anymore.
We don’t use our hands. We don’t use tools. We don’t create real, tangible things.
Historically, that wasn’t the case.
We had a craft, a trade, a farm or a shop.
Our bodies and our intellect worked in tandem to produce things, provide services, and solve problems.
Not so much anymore.
A Pathway to More Creative Work
Growing up, I never once thought of the skilled-trades as a “creative” path.
Then, a few years back, I took a marketing job with a homebuilder and started spending time on construction sites.
And that’s when it hit me: this feels a lot like a film set.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit