This reflective poem explores how true happiness comes not from titles or paychecks, but from the freedom to own your path and live with purpose. Rooted in lessons passed from father to son, it shows that finding true happiness is about courage, clarity, and choice. A piece for anyone weighing ambition against fulfillment.
My father’s words echoed:
“You’ll never be happy until you’re your own boss.”
At fifteen, I scoffed. What did he know?
He was a slave to his work,
traveling often,
bent to the demands of construction.
I had no desire for back-breaking, toe-smashing labor.
I had a plan better than his,
or so I thought.
But my own path twisted:
dropping in and out of college,
bouncing from job to job,
sleeping on a shared bed with my brothers.
Then came the decision that changed everything:
I enlisted in the Air Force.
Four years passed like four months.
The day I took off the uniform for the last time,
it felt like stepping out of a familiar storm
into an unfamiliar calm, quiet but strange.
A month later,
I became a federal contractor.
I began earning degrees, teaching online,
and climbing the income ladder.
I bought homes and cars,
saved for retirement,
by most measures, I had it all.
Yet something was missing.
Society’s glitter lost its shine.
My father’s words returned, sharper now:
I was still trading my life for work
that wasn’t my own.
A quarter-century later,
I see it clearly,
the wisdom of someone
who walked this road before me.
And I know, as you may too:
true happiness waits on the other side
of ownership, purpose, and freedom.
Happiness isn’t measured by what others see, it’s found in the moments you choose to live on your own terms. Let this be your reminder to chase not just success, but the kind of freedom that makes life deeply worth living.
