Tuesday, January 15, 2013

What would you do if money was no object?



I don’t talk to anyone much anymore, I communicate almost always through email and social media.  I don’t think less than I did before.  I enjoy the social media, but some ideas are larger than 140 characters. 

My son, who I talk to the least of anyone close to me, recently posted a video narrated by Alan Watts.  He asks, “What would you do if money was no object” – meaning it was not the main driving force behind your career choice.
 
Alan talks about working at jobs we hate.  With very few exceptions
you likely don’t hate your job.  I will quote the character Dante from 
the movie "Clerks"

…if you hate this job
And the people...
And the fact that you have to come in
on your day off, why don't you quit?

There's other jobs.
They pay better money.                  
You're bound to be qualified
For at least one of 'em.
So what's stoppin' you?

So no matter what job you take if you do hate it, unless you work for a pimp or family you will change your situation.

Alan’s proposal doesn’t make much sense. In as much as you may think you really would like to be a painter, poet, musician or teaching at a riding school.  You are doing this full time now?  You may take something you love, and turn it into something you have to do and it may lose some of its appeal.  And just like sitting around the house, eating Twinkies, and watching Wrestle Mania reruns, my observation is that no one enjoys doing that full time for more than a couple of weeks.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing lots of people over the years for whom making money was not an issue. But that really brings to the forefront the question “What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about money?” Those people don’t have the easy out that “I only work because I have to.”

Now when my kids lived with me it was actually a whole lot easier to just barely squeak by week after week – having no extra time and certainly no extra money. In that situation I didn’t deal with the important questions of life; I was doing what I had to do.  A life insurance agent came over to my house and asked me, “what if you die?”

I had to respond, “Look at my life, man.  What if I live?  What then?”

As Abraham Maslow would say our physiological and security needs are met.  Money is not the driving force, confronted with having more time and money than ever needed; a person has to really decide, “How am I going to invest my time – and money?” "How can I make the world a better place?" “How am I going to make my life matter?”

Do we need our job to dictate that?  In economics it is referred to as the economic advantage. A job that allows you the time and money to do what you want may be a better outlet than working at something you love, and turn it into something you have to do.  Van Gogh wanted to be a pastor, yet he ended up as a painter.  If he would have retained his painting/teaching gig and did some pastoral work on the side would he have still taken his life when he was 30?

My point being that I don’t have to be a painter to paint.  If painting is my outlet I may work as an accountant and paint with a fervor.  If you are looking for a job to satisfy your needs here are some statistics coming out of our changing workplace today:
  • The average job is about 3.2 years in length
  • Those in their 20s are changing jobs every 13 months
  • 72% of Americans would rather work for themselves than for another company
We are rapidly approaching the end of 2012. This is the time to be planning what you want 2013 to bring. If you wish to be a poet, painter or working with horses by all means do, but don’t let your job define who you are. 

You are not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. – Tyler Durden Fight Club

No comments:

Post a Comment