There doesn’t have to be an end goal.

With work, with hobbies, with the things that you do, they don’t need to act as some means to an end. They can be an end themselves.

I love history. I love reading about history and I love writing about history. I sometimes fall into the trap of figuring out how I can use what I read and learn to accelerate my career. That seems like a noble thing to do, right?

The more I think about it, it’s like I’m searching for justification for my time spent reading. “Look,” I tell myself. “I’m spending a lot of time reading, but I’m sharing what I learn online, so it’s not a total waste of time.”

But even if I shared nothing online, it most definitely would not be a waste of time. I love to read, and that’s a fine way to spend my days.

This post was inspired by a tweet from Obsidian CEO Stephan Ango, who, in response to someone asking what the end goal of Obsidian is, said, “there doesn’t have to be an end goal. you can just make useful things for people who want to use them, and live a happy life.”

Austin Kleon put it another way: “It’s enough to just say, ‘I make my work this way because it’s what i want to see more of in the world.’ No further diagnosis or justification is necessary.”

You can just read books and live a happy life.

You can just work a 9-5 and spend time with your family boating on the weekends and live a happy life.

You can just make some YouTube videos about things you want to share and live a happy life.

You can just post some interesting thoughts on Twitter and live a happy life.

You don’t have to have a content strategy. You don’t need to have a sales funnel or a five-year plan.

You can just do the things you love to do and live a happy life.