I've been thinking about obsession. This constant fire. This compelling force. This deep addiction. This black hole. And I realize, obsession is a requirement for great work.
A lot of people believe in work-life balance. Which, superficially, sounds reasonable.
But here's the thing I've learnt from myself in the past couple of years:
My work is my life.
That may sound bleak. But let me explain.
I build things. Every day, I wake up and create something of value. It might be valuable to me, or to the entire world. I take fringe sets of items and bring them together to form meaning. With words, I write stories like this. With lines and colors, I make art and graphical designs. With code, I build applications.
You could offer me billions. You could offer me hyper-cars. You could offer me immortality. But if I can't build, nothing you offer me would matter. The human creative ability gives me purpose. It gives me meaning. Without it, life loses its lustre.
If you have to separate your work and life, then you probably shouldn't be doing the work you're doing. Besides, there's no such thing as work-life balance. You spend most of your years alive working. In a week, most people work 5 or 6 days, and only get a day or two to themselves. Extrapolate that by 30-40 years, plus the years spent in school.
Obsession drives you to chart your own course. Define your own rules. It imbues in you a never-ending thirst. A perpetual hunger for more. It is often irrational and unreasonable. It is often insane and unrelenting. It is often unhealthy.
But within it lies the right blend of constituents that catapults you to greatness. To your potential.
Be obsessed.