I Thought Hard Work Was the Key, But I Was Just Distracted

For an entire year, 365 days in a row, I unlocked an Xbox achievement every single day. But none of it mattered. It wasn’t an achievement. It was avoidance.

I told myself I was making progress. I thought I was in control. But deep down, I was just numbing myself, distracting myself from the fear and disappointment that I didn’t know how to face.

What I learned from that streak changed everything about how I approach life, business, and even my faith. If you’ve ever felt like you were working harder and harder but still not getting any closer to the life that you want, then this story might sound familiar.

The Illusion of Progress

At first, it seemed harmless. Just a small challenge to keep me focused while I sorted out my life. I’d plan which games had easy achievements, map out what I needed to unlock each day, and make sure I hit that goal of unlocking one achievement every single day. Some days it only took a few minutes. Other days it took hours. But I kept the streak alive no matter what, because in the moment it felt like I was accomplishing something.

Looking back now? It wasn’t progress. It was avoidance.

The Job I Said I’d Never Take

It wasn’t long before that streak began that life threw me a curveball. Earlier, I had left my job as a Chief Technology Officer and jumped headfirst into consulting. After doing that for a few years, I even launched a membership site around the Microsoft HoloLens. I just knew that device was going to replace mobile phones.

For two years, I gave it everything I had: creating YouTube videos, building courses, and signing up paying members. But there were fewer than a thousand developers in the world who were even interested in the HoloLens device. I was close to making it work, but close wasn’t enough.

With our finances drying up and my wife’s patience running thin, I had to make a tough call. A friend offered me a job at a big bank, the kind of job I said I’d never take. I used to think those jobs were just for people waiting for 5:00 to roll around so they could clock out. I was never going to work for a big bank, a big insurance company, or the government. But I took the job at the bank because I had to. We needed stability, and I wasn’t in a place to keep chasing dreams.

Survival Mode

The job itself wasn’t hard. It was easy. In fact, it was too easy. There was no challenge. I had no passion for it. It was just me doing the minimum to meet expectations and clocking out. I wasn’t chasing promotions or raises. I wasn’t trying to climb the corporate ladder. I was just surviving.

I knew I could become the CTO of the bank if I wanted to. At least, that’s what I told myself. But deep down, I knew that wasn’t what I was supposed to do. Hard work alone wasn’t going to bring me fulfillment.

So I threw myself into my favorite form of entertainment: video games. I thought I could find the fulfillment I was missing by spending all my newfound free time unlocking achievements and immersing myself in virtual worlds. In the back of my mind, I kept telling myself, “One day, I’ll get back to consulting. One day, I’ll do work that matters again.” But the truth was, I didn’t have the confidence or the energy to start over.

The Streak Ends

So instead of building something meaningful, I poured my energy into Xbox achievements. Each time I unlocked one, it gave me a little dopamine hit. It felt like I was accomplishing something. Every goal I hit let me check off another box and say, “See? I did something today.” But deep down, I knew I wasn’t moving forward. I was just avoiding the hard truths, like figuring out how to rebuild my business, reconnect with my family, and stop going through the motions with my faith.

No matter what was going on, whether I was tired, busy, or even traveling, I made sure to unlock at least one achievement every single day. Many days I unlocked a bunch of achievements, just drowning myself in this distraction. On the surface it looked like discipline, but it wasn’t. It was avoidance.

When the streak finally ended on the 365th day, I stopped. No more achievements. No more chasing gamer score. No more chasing points. The next day, I had to ask myself: What was all of that for?

The answer hit me like a punch in the gut. None of it mattered. I had spent an entire year chasing virtual accomplishments while the things that truly mattered, my family and our future, were slipping through my fingers.

Rediscovering Purpose

That’s when I realized just how far I had drifted from the life that I wanted, from the life that God intended for me. At the start of my career, I tried to live by 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” I believed that if I worked hard and gave my best, I could glorify God through my work.

And while that’s definitely true, somewhere along the way I lost that focus. I started working for my glory, not God’s. I thought if I could just work harder, put in 80 hours while everyone else worked 40, that I’d get ahead. But life doesn’t work that way. And the cost of working without intention is steep.

The Shift to Purposeful Work

I knew I had to make a change. It wasn’t enough just to work hard. I had to work with intention. That’s when Mark 10:45, my life verse from high school, came back to me: “For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Christ didn’t come to be served. Jesus came to serve. That was the shift I needed.

So I stopped chasing empty achievements and went back to consulting, but with a different mindset. I wasn’t just working to work anymore. I wasn’t just working to make money. I was working to serve others. That’s actually why I transitioned from consulting to coaching freelancers and service-based business owners, so I could help them create meaningful impact in their businesses without sacrificing what matters most.

Where Is Your Time Going?

So let me ask you: Where is your time and energy going? Are you drowning in distractions, chasing things that don’t really matter? Or are you working nonstop, so buried in tasks that you haven’t even looked up to ask if the work you’re doing is moving you forward? Are you just racking up points like meaningless Xbox achievements in a video game?

If you’ve been grinding without getting where you want to be, there’s a better way. You don’t have to sacrifice your family or your well-being just to build a successful business.

The days will pass no matter what you do. Whether you’re building something meaningful or chasing distractions, make sure you’re building something that matters.

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