Chasing Joy, Not Dollars: How to Fulfill Your Dreams

This is the #1 dream killer after fear.

🛑 Believing your dream has to replace your paycheck.

Many of us at midlife reach an inflection point (often referred to as a crisis) where we realize the ladder we’ve been climbing doesn’t have what we’re beginning to desire more than titles, money, and materialism:

Joy
Purpose
Meaning
Fulfillment
Authenticity

We want our lives to mean something beyond our careers; we don’t want our second half to be a carbon copy of our first half.

We start connecting with and exploring our unfulfilled dreams, writing a novel, using our hands to build something, or leveraging all of our experience to serve others — whatever it may be.

When we allow ourselves to dream, we feel truly alive. In these moments, we are most connected to our inner selves and deepest desires.

And almost immediately, it happens:

Whatever I decide to pursue must replace my paycheck, dollar for dollar.

This way I can leave my job, then I’ll be happy.

The immensity of that belief kills dreams.