The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story For Work and Life (The Pathless Path Collection Book 1)

by Paul Millerd

Many people are capable of more than they believe. Creativity is a real path to optimism, meaning, and connection. We don’t need permission to engage with the world and people around us. We are all creative, and it takes some people longer to figure that out.

Leisure, or active contemplation, is one of the most important things in life, There are many ways to make money, and when an obvious path emerges, there is often a more interesting path not showing itself. Finding the work that matters to us is the real work of our lives.

But the pathless path is not about being right. It’s about finding ideas and principles worth committing ...

The pathless path is about opening yourself up to this emergence. It’s about growing up and letting go. It’s about realizing that if I claim to care about something, I need to be willing to act, and also be willing to be wrong. I must let go of my ego and my need to be seen as a “successful” person.

Instead, I want to inspire you to dream a little bit bigger, add some nuance to how you think about life decisions, and give you models and ideas that might enable you to embrace the spirit of the pathless path.

Sitting at home, knocked out of their daily rhythms, people confessed to me that they were shocked at how much of their identity was wrapped up in work and how lost they had become in their own lives. They wanted to find a new way forward.

First, question the default.

Second, reflect. When I started reflecting on my true self, I was able to start building a life around the things I valued.

Third, figure out what you have to offer.

Fourth, pause and disconnect. To improve your relationship with work, I believe it is necessary to disconnect.

Fifth, go make a friend. Venture out of your existing bubble and reach out to someone who has taken an interesting path. Ask them how they got started, what motivates them, and how they think about navigating their life. Most

Sixth, go make something. Remember, you are creative! Almost everyone has a desire to create something and to put their energy into the world in a positive way.

Find a way to create. Host a dinner party, organize a volunteer event, write a blog post, start journaling in the morning, paint a picture, or host a cooking class for your friends.

Seventh, give generously. Generosity is not only an amount of money, it is a skill we need to practice. It is a way of orienting towards the world that will help you start to understand your own definition of “enough,” grapple with your hidden money scripts, and enable you to decouple your belief that security and money are perfectly linked.

transcend feelings of separateness and connect more deeply to the people around you.

Eighth, experiment. The default path does not leave much space for experimenting with different ways of structuring your life. On the pathless path, you can prototype a change, work in different ways, take extended breaks, live in different countries, test your money beliefs, embrace unique fixed-point goals, and create things you never thought were possible. Remember,

Ninth, commit.

“real work of your life” is searching for the things you want to commit to and that make your life meaningful.

Finally, be patient.

Go and see what might happen if you dare to seek out, as the Poet Mary Oliver has called your “one wild and precious life.”179