The Lonely Pursuit Of Dream Building

I am doing the best work of my life. My support network is wider and deeper than ever. Why do I feel more lonely than at any time in my adulthood?

Photo by Ian Walker

Six months ago I set out on my first solo tour, walked away from my career of 23 years, and dove into a life of intention, creation, and purpose. It is one of the scariest and most marvelous things I have ever done in my life. My days are now largely filled with a purpose that they had lacked for a very long time. The work that I am doing here at WAIM is continually improving and expanding. It’s all going pretty well, and we haven’t even hit the one year mark.

I have already discussed the financial challenges that I have faced in walking away from a steady professional gig with a regular paycheck. Instead of automatic deposits on the first and fifteenth, I have to hustle all the time for my daily bread. I drive Uber and Lyft, play regular solo shows, do freelance design work, and of course, I publish every single day here at What Am I Making. It’s a living, but it is an anxiety-inducing way to survive; for the moment that anxiety is worth the wealth of my own schedul…