In a previous post, I pretended to be an expert on staying motivated, but I have to admit that I'm very much still figuring it out. Almost six years after quitting my job and jumping into the utter unknown, I still struggle to explain why I did it. The truth is that we sometimes make huge, life-changing decisions based on gut instinct, justifying them much later only when we’ve gained the wisdom to do so. All I knew at the time was that my gut said to jump, so I did.

One’s gut, by the way, is never wrong.

An old friend recently gave me a book that helped me understand my decision. Daniel Pink’s Drive is a short read about what motivates us, and how so many workplaces still haven't gotten the memo.