“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” — Anonymous (often attributed to Socrates)

We often feel the least satisfaction with our busiest days. We learn that there is always something else pressing upon us—our best is never enough. And this is the time when we must step away from the grindstone before we ourselves are ground to dust.

The older we get, the more the fallacy of busy becomes apparent. All those getting ahead stories were told to stoke the fire. Did we ever realize that we were the coal? That fire was someone else’s. Hustle and sacrifice are noble traits, but we must be very clear about what is being hustled and sacrificed, and who we’re doing it for. Hustle is time, applied with energy and vigor to some endeavor. Sacrifice is what we would be doing otherwise, given the clarity of choice.

There is no time to sacrifice our very best years to the factory furnace. The answer is to slow down and see what stokes our own fire. Do the essential, move deliberately away from all the rest. While there is still time to realize the dream.