You’re Doing Everything Right

We’re told that success comes to those who outwork the rest. But my wife gave me the real message I needed to hear.

Michael Thompson
Forge
Published in
3 min readNov 6, 2019

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Credit: Chéng Róng Mù/EyeEm/Getty Images

EEarly last year, my anxiety was at an all-time high. I’d cut ties with all my consulting clients and walked away from an ownership opportunity with a thriving startup in order to go all-in on my writing and coaching career.

Every morning, I looked at my wife and our kids and I wondered if I’d made the best decision. Was my writing good enough? Would I have enough coaching clients to support our family? Would the uncertainty of leaving “good” in search of “great” be worth it? I was scared. I could barely focus.

My dad always told me that reaching career goals at the expense of loved ones wasn’t success. So I made a promise to myself that with my new career focus, I wouldn’t work more hours than I’d worked in my previous roles, and I’d be there for my friends and family as much as I had before.

I didn’t want to break these promises. But as I struggled to get my new full-time career off the ground, I found myself getting dangerously close. The opportunities weren’t coming in, and I wondered if I needed to make a drastic change.

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Published in Forge

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Michael Thompson
Michael Thompson

Written by Michael Thompson

Co-creator of two cool kids • Storytelling Coach •.Fast Co., Insider, Forbes • Free storytelling guide here: https://bit.ly/3h1KZeT

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