A year after leaving full-time work, I reflect on my journey so far.
Wednesday, 31 July 2024
Leaving NCS Hub, my mind is a jumble of fear, shame, hope, worry & excitement. I head to Aroozoo Park.
That day, I write the following on Instagram:
My mind was a Gordian knot: a knot I couldn’t untangle. I needed somewhere I could breathe and inhale some spaciousness. I needed somewhere wild and unkempt, somewhere messy, to help me hold all that I held in me. Aroozoo was that place.
Walking about, I noticed the grass beneath my feet. I noticed the huge trees, fully immersed and perfectly content with their silent meditation.
I didn’t think, at least not by choice. I let the wildlife do my thinking for me.
I don’t know how much time passed. It felt like an hour or so.
All I do know is that after I had ambled enough, I heard a single word echo from the trees and land around me: go.
Instantly, I felt the knot in my mind unravel. I understood. I didn’t need to have it all figured out.
I didn’t need to be armed with the deepest wisdom or the most sophisticated philosophies for me to succeed. What I really needed, then and there, was to go, to begin, to start. After all, we learn to go by going. More often than not, the road we walk teaches us how to walk the road.
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Thursday, 31 July 2025
One year later…
I’m seated at a Thai restaurant at Novena Regency, having vegetarian fried rice for lunch.
So much happened in the past year: so much personal growth, such thorough learning & (of course) so many mistakes made too.
The first thing that strikes me as I think about the difference between then and now is how much more settled I feel.
A year ago, I was taking my first, unsteady steps towards a future that I desired, but that I was unsure how to create.
Today, I’m still walking towards that future, but my gait is no longer a slow, cautious stumble. Now, it’s a confident, unabashed stride. I’ve found my groove and now I’ve just got to stay in it and improve my ability to work from within it.
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Below, I shall attempt to distill the essence of all I have learnt over the past year.
I’ll keep it simple by thinking of my newly-unemployed self (from a year ago) and by jotting down the things I think would be most useful to someone at a similar stage in their journey.
Here goes.
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To: Julian of 31 July 2024
From: Julian of 31 July 2025
What you will learn this year.
- No one can stop you if you never give up; Don’t give up.
- Your calling isn’t a fantasy; it’s not frivolous, selfish or unrealistic. On the contrary, your calling is the realest thing there is. If you know what you want to do above anything else in this world, and if you know in your soul that this world thirsts for the work you want to do, then go and do it. Don’t settle for anything less.
- Never expect your success to come completely from your own effort. Success is never a solo achievement. Create avenues for people to help you.
- Deep rest is as important as deep work. Your greatest revelations will come on the days you dedicate wholly to rest.
- Trust yourself. (Thanks for this tip, Audrey!) Everyone you meet will have an opinion on what you should do, where you should go, who you should be. Listen to them, but don’t feel obliged to follow their suggestions. You are living your life, not them. Take full ownership of your life.
- Try all your ideas at least once! (Thank you for this tip, Gen!) There is a lot of value in dreaming, drafting & designing what we might want to do. However, you will never really know what that work is like until you’ve tried it out.
- Make sure you earn at least enough for you to survive each month. Borrow money if you need to and keep a record of how much you owe, and to whom.
- Don’t worry if the work you want to do doesn’t earn you money yet. Once you earn the minimum you need to survive, just focus on doing the work and doing it well. If you can do good work and you can find people who need it, the money will come.
- Do not be afraid, even when you feel paralysed by fear. Courage is a virtue that we only developed by fully facing our fears. Feel the fear and do it anyway. One day, you will realise that the fear you feel cannot control you any longer.
- Be yourself. Never compromise what you believe in or the values you stand for. Not everyone will like you, but the right people will love you, and that’s all you really need.
*
The journey continues.
Here’s to the year ahead— and every year after that.
🌊 Julian
Julian JP Lee 
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