The other day I was taking a walk with my wife and daughter around our neighborhood and we ran into one of my daughter's daycare classmates and her parents at a playground.

They started playing and we chatted with the parents for a while. We learned they lived right next to this playground in a $3 million dollar house we saw being built over the last few years.

By contrast, my wife and I rent a tiny 2 bedroom houses for $3,250/month and are probably priced out of buying a single family home in our neighborhood.

Occasionally I envy the families that are able to buy these expensive houses. If only I were more successful or chosen a more lucrative career path, we could have one of these super nice houses!

But, this particular couple have demanding careers. The husband works at the White House doing something important and the wife is a full time lawyer.

I, on the other hand, will go home early on a random Thursday afternoon to take a nap or read a book. My stress levels are generally low.

Going 1099 allowed me to earn more money without working like crazy and afforded me the opportunity to control my schedule.

If you're reading this newsletter, you probably have some sort of intimation of what you want your career and life to look like. Otherwise, you wouldn't be interested in going 1099!

But it's easy to get distracted from what you want by seeing what other people have. You'll question yourself and wonder if you made the right career choices.

Those insecurities never completely go away, but I suggest you do two things:

First, keep your eyes on your own paper. Focus on only what you can control and how you want to live your own life.

Second, take a nap. Everything feels better after a nap.