Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Recently, I have been thinking through a new approach to money.
I am still working it through in my mind, and I’m a bit hesitant to write about it here. But I think this community can help add perspective.
My new, guiding philosophy towards work and income is this, “If I wouldn’t do it for free, I won’t do it for money.”
I realize, in many ways, this is an idealistic view of the world. But I am starting to wonder if this approach is more available to us than we think.
Still, it feels to me, at times, this statement comes from a place of privilege. And I will readily admit that. I grew up in a middle-class family that provided stability, support, and opportunity. I do not have unpaid medical bills on my desk from an unexpected surgery. I am not a single parent trying to raise my kids despite a deadbeat spouse. Nor was my position downsized due to unexpected corporate layoffs during the last recession.
I am fortunate to work a job I love and live in a country that provides me the freedom to do so. This is not something I take for granted.
I realize there are circumstances (sometimes caused by others) when we are called to selflessly sacrifice for our family. And I recognize there are certain seasons of life when we may be required to do work that we do not enjoy simply because there are people counting upon us to do so.
I just wonder if those situations are less common than we think.
18 months ago, I transitioned into promoting minimalism as my full-time job. And I am grateful for each passing month that I continue to do so (if you’d like to know more about how we accomplish that, you can find detailed information here). Somewhere along the way, I made a conscious decision that I would only pursue projects that I wanted to pursue. If I wouldn’t do it for free, I wouldn’t do it for money.
Probably, most significantly, is my approach to speaking. Despite an ever-increasing schedule, I continue to not charge a fee for my presentations—asking only for travel and accommodations to be covered. Most public speakers tell me I am crazy and that goes against every rule in the book.
“Set a fee,” they tell me. “Nobody will take you seriously if you don’t. A set fee allows you to offer a ‘discount’ to help close the deal with a potential client.”
But I see it very differently. Because I do not have a speaking fee, I can never be bought. I am never obligated to speak or attend an event just because somebody is willing to pay the price. Instead, each request is considered and weighed individually. Is it a good opportunity to promote minimalism? Is it an organization I believe in? Is the opportunity worth the investment? And while financial compensation is typically offered (or requested for long-term commitments), it is never the deciding factor. If I wouldn’t do it for free, I won’t do it for money.
I have adopted this approach to speaking, but also to every project I choose to pursue.
Our time should not be governed by the amount of money promised, but by the desires of our heart. (tweet that)
As I continue to pursue this approach, I have identified some specific thoughts towards life that must be present in the person who adopts it.
1. Hard work is not to be feared. If the inherent joy found in work is not appreciated in somebody’s life, this approach will always crumble. We must appreciate work for the sake of work, not just for the financial compensation that arises from it. There is something to be appreciated about working hard. We were designed to enjoy the process. We find fulfillment in it. It is satisfying to lie in bed at night with a tired body that has been both active and productive.
2. Work is not always enjoyable. With any job, there are aspects of work that are frustrating and difficult—even with the greatest dream job in the world. I am not encouraging anyone to relinquish perseverance or to refuse pushing through the difficult parts of work. For example, I love writing, but the process can be very difficult at times. I am able to persevere because the work results in something I am proud to have produced. Even though I would do it for free, I know there will be difficult moments along the way.
3. Life pursuits can not be purely selfish. Those who believe they will find enjoyment entertaining only selfish desires will never survive under this approach to work. Ultimately, we must see our lives and work as opportunity for contribution—an opportunity to offer our talents and skills to a community of people who need them. If you are entirely self-seeking in your approach to life and only enjoy pursuits that benefit your own self, this approach to doing what you love will only suffice in the short-term. Lounging each day on the beach for the rest of your life is not the answer.
4. This approach rings more true for those willing to live with less. Because I have adopted a philosophy that says, “I will only do it for money if I would do it free,” I have turned down several, significant money-making opportunities. But I don’t mind because I have learned to enjoy less. As a result, my needs and views of money have changed dramatically over the past 6 years. I am certainly not against being compensated for work, but pursuing riches is no longer a driving goal of mine. I don’t need the money and I don’t want the money. Instead, I want to live a deliberate life that focuses on my strengths and passions and invites others to rethink the role of possessions in their life.
5. This approach does not necessarily require a new job. I think, at first reading, this sounds as if I am urging everybody to quit their soul-crushing day job and try to monetize their passion. But that could not be further from the truth. Instead, I would push people to reconsider their views on their current employment. I have a friend who works at a bank providing agricultural loans to local farmers. He’s really good at it. He helps farmers think deeper about their budgeting and their business plan for success. Then, he equips each of them with the resources they need to plant seed in the spring and bring in the harvest in the fall. This, I believe, is important work. And while some days, he probably wishes he could leave it all behind and golf every day instead, maybe, in actuality, if he looked a little bit deeper, he would realize that he really does enjoy his job. It is fulfilling for him to help farmers succeed at what they do. Maybe, he would do this for free if given the chance. And just maybe this ideal is a little bit closer to reality than he originally thought.
Ultimately, I offer this philosophy not as a presciption for your life, but as a description of mine. Our seasons of life differ. But I still hope it has spurred new thoughts in yours.
I would be grateful if you could help round out my thinking in the comment section below. Is this an approach to life that everyone should seek to adopt?
Have you adopted this philosophy in your own life? How has it worked? What have you learned? Or, are you in a season of life when this is just not possible? Do you forsee any long-term obstacles to this approach?
I am eager to add your experience to my perspective. And I plan to be actively engaging with your thoughts over the next several days.
***
Update: I am so grateful for the thoughtful comments being offered below. I would like to point out one in particular. Susan offered a word of encouragement for “anyone stuck working at a job you don’t love, or even hate.” If that’s you, read it here.
This is amazing! I especially liked what you said about your decision making regarding speaking, that you couldn’t be bought. I am mentally filing that one away! Thank you! You are helping me!
Thank you for the information.
I agree. I’ve heard this before many times growing up. I’m not really sure I’d ever see the possibility of this ever happening nor my willingness to say yes, but life experience has a funny way of leading you to it even know sacrifices are required. However, I do believe I have the opportunity to work with care ministries and other small groups in the church as a job when I’ve been doing something similar as a volunteer for the past two years. I was on a track to get my CPAs license and make some good money, but my heart wasn’t in it. And here I am, not worried one bit about choosing something I love for a future that won’t pay nearly as much. Totally worth living my life happy earning less than working miserably earning more. I am a single mother to a nine year old boy. <3
Great post Joshua,
If you are doing something that you don’t really like. You’d never find success and happiness.
Sure ” dot do it for the money ” a Well known Cliche. I guess that steve jobs, bill Gates and all other big shot ceo’s also didn’t it for the money and that is why they wear 1000 dollar suits or drive Maybach, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes topline cars and hang around in big offices….. They shurley didn’t did it for the money……
Instead, the dosage should be tapered off over about two weeks.
They, too, fall under the claims of being the ‘best weight loss pills’ that do nothing to help weight loss.
These supplements are safe, effective, and help to form your bodies muscle so you will look slimmer after each
pound you shed.
Gourmet to Go is a mobile food ordering service provider that offers
a wide range of cuisines including European, fusion, Japanese, and Indian dishes available for home delivery.
In terms of alcoholic drinks, these are also quite widespread and often you will enjoy a glass of
Portuguese wine with a meal. Gradually add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring until smooth.
Hi Joshua. I’m in the fortunate position of being able to cut back my work hours to 25 hours a week as of next month after working mostly full time for 30 years. It will require strict budgeting but in a way we have what we need and should get by ok. With some of my spare time I will be designing a future where I can make a more targeted contribution to others than my job does. I have a few ideas. What you are doing and the way you go about it is a real inspiration to me. Thanks Joshua. Glad I found your site!
I agree and I understand the part about trying to see what is already rewarding in the work that you do instead of feeling like you should quit your job. Perhaps think of it as you’ve chosen your lot in life and have made peace with it. Or you choose your attitude. No matter what you do you wake up each morning with the opportunity to do what you will with your day. I’m currently a stay at home mom. The pay isn’t great and I wouldn’t call it my dream job. Leaving being home with my children (aged 1 and 3) there are things I do each day that make my current job more rewarding. I know my barrister at Starbucks well enough to ask her how she is doing and listen. There is a connection there. She knows how my day is starting, or if it’s my second time through…the receptionist at my therapist has struggled with miscarriages. I listen to the moms, teachers, and the directors at the preschool my children attend. I know the ladies in our church nursery well. I’m naturally a loner and I’m an artist. I don’t particularly enjoy cooking and cleaning but I can find things in both that make it rewarding on some level. If that sounds super happy and peaceful it’s a daily struggle. But what’s a life without a journey?
Please excuse all typos and autocorrects. I swear I’m actually literate.
***my husband listens to podcasts when washing the dishes. That’s a good example of enjoying a job that would otherwise be soul sucking. Unless you are one of those people who love to clean for its meditative effect.
To any of us who struggle with knowing the job we have is not our ideal career at this time…..I do not think the job you currently hold for insurance reasons, or to pay for student loans should be your definition of who you are. I believe, even in the most tedious mundane task….it should be done with mindfulness and good intent. Then, when you walk out that door..minimize the burdens, lighten the distractions, reduce your bills and go find that which brings you happiness. That sweet spot will develop…just like it developed over time for Joshua. All the rest of us just need to keep our focus to the our goals, and give each other encouragement to get there.
As I read this article I thought of my husband. One of the comments repeated over and over at his Celebration of Life, is he loved what he did. He made work fun for all that he worked with. And when someone would say this is easy for some….well my husband was a director for the Florida department of Transportation, working to get multi-million dollar jobs done at the best price. Or getting the area back up and running after a hurricane went through…even then people talked about how he made it fun to get it done.
As I pursue a life of minimalism, I have had this idea, too. You wrote it perfectly!
I am fortunate enough to work as a Teacher Assistant to 5 wonderful 2nd Grade teachers. I spend my workweek helping them with the tasks they don’t get time for and a lot of necessary charting/grading/filing gets done quicker because they have an extra set of hands.
I’m also lucky enough to get to work one on one with the kiddos-some days are a struggle but most days are so rewarding!!
A quote I saw once…”Do what you love and you’ll never have a problem with Monday”
I love this stream of thought and am grateful that you shared it, even as you felt some trepidation.
As a self employed person, the mantra “don’t do it if you wouldn’t do it for free” may help me select out a few clients that are trouble – as in demanding or unengaged.
I write resumes for a living (newleafresumes.com), and my own mantra is that everyone deserves meaningful work, with the word meaningful individually defined.
Ten years ago I left a secure, well paying (I have only recently gotten close in pay to what I used to earn, and I used to say that I was overpaid for what I did), with great benefits and retirement fund. But it didn’t use my talents and I didn’t love it. Well, that’s an understatement as I really hated it!!
Now I write – which I love – each and every day, make my own business related decisions – some have been good, others not so good – and mostly love being self employed. As you point out, there are aspects that are tedious. Government forms come to mind, and bookkeeping!
What I love most is that what I do empowers people, my clients, to pry themselves loose of those golden handcuffs because my work gives them hope that they can really, truly make a break for it!
Yes, there are always trade offs, but even losing my pension, for example, was worth the joy of springing loose from soul sucking work to jumping into engaging contributions that better society, one person at a time ( with ripple effects to their families!) Thank you for reminding me of this!
I absolutely love my job! I’m a primary school teacher and I always say, if I didn’t have bills I’d do it without money. People often talk about winning the lotto. The first thing I’d do is build my own school for struggling students and have small classes.
This is so inspring and wonderful. Thanks for writing this. I am in the process of becoming a minimalist and this idea just resonates with me. Right now, i have a job that should be meaninful and fulfilling yet i realize after ten years of being a nurse that it’s time for a change. There are some days when i feel trapped in my career because it just doesnt suit my introvert personality. I admire your principles. Someday i hope to find the courage to change my couse once i get my financial obligations in order. Thank you foe this
Thanks for this article. As smallholders in West Wales we share our produce rather than selling or bartering it. The Gift Economy seems the way to go for us and we’ve received gifts of other people’s produce as well as gifts of work time to help our projects. I also get paid for officiating at church services as a retired Anglican priest but like you I run the “if I wouldn’t do it for free I won’t do it” test most of the time. I say “most of the time” because it’s hard to step out of the assumptions others still make about ‘buying our time’ and not falling for it myself. There are still bills to be paid but somehow it works and our simplifying of our lifestyle makes it easier. It’s a work in progress of course!
I am that type of person that takes a job if it fits with my current interest. Might be a luxury to some, but that is how I keep myself going. I had 15 jobs in 8 multinational companies, most of them had humans as resource approach. I go there to do a specific job, on the interview I ask what is their biggest challenge and what needs to be sorted, built, destroyed and what is the one thing they would like to achieve in next 18-24 months. Pretty much I turn the interview around. They are being asked to propose me an activity that I find satisfying.
If you have the option (with the minimalist and money conscious approach) to set aside 2-3 months worth of living expenses you can let go any time, when they aren’t giving you the opportunity to to be the best at what you are best at.
I am very engaged and enthusiastic about what I do, once that fades, I pack up and go. I believe the burden of a bad relationship (people, material or work) is probably the biggest waste of the very precious time we have.
A few years ago, I was working a corporate job that I absolutely loathed. I hated the company, my manager, the daily work, everything. I had been in that particular job for about a year and had been at that company nearly 15 years! Out of the 15 years, I was maybe satisfied (not necessarily happy) with 4 or 5 of them. After a couple of quarters with not so great evaluations, I ended up getting an offer from them to leave with a severance or stay and make immediate improvements to my work, attitude, etc. That day was truly the best day I had ever experienced at that place. I met with several of my friends that night to tell them what had happened and get advice (in case I wasn’t thinking it through), and they all told me the same thing: TAKE THE MONEY AND LEAVE! As one friend said “they’re actually offering you money to quit a job and leave a company that you HATE? What are you waiting for??” He was right. I notified them of my decision the next day of my decision and felt a huge amount of relief from the ridiculous stress that I had allowed this place to put on me. In a fine bit of serendipity, I was offered another job at a different company a week later, which I walked into at the same salary. It wasn’t the greatest job, but it was way better. On top of that, about a week after I accepted that job, a friend offered me a job at his small business, which I took six month later after I had trained with him on weekends. I now do that full time and love it. Oh, by the way, I used the severance money to remodel my kitchen, so something good actually came out of that crappy job!
There is no such thing as a menial job = only the attitude one brings to it.
I find your writing to be inspiring. This post, in particular, motivated me to conduct an experiment. You can read about here: http://www.maketime4life.com/work4free/
I hope you enjoy!
I have had the same job for over a decade. I work from home for a software company and I love it. Or I did, up until about two years ago, when my boss asked everyone in the department to “up their game” and work harder. This was a challenge to me, because I was dealing with a difficult relationship with my spouse, and that was using up all of my spare emotional energy. However, I was the primary breadwinner, and so I buckled down, sucked it up, and spent any available free time thinking about how I could craft my life to get some of my job satisfaction – really, life satisfaction – back. I planned out how our family of four could live in a smaller home, in a neighborhood with sidewalks, instead of out in the country where every trip out of the house requires a car. I thought this would solve many problems – less isolation, less house space to fill with needless material goods, less time in the car, more time walking and biking as part of going about my day instead of having that be one more thing I had to plan. And of course, it would be a smaller mortgage payment, which would take the pressure off me at my job, so I no longer felt like I desperately needed to keep it.
I tried to persuade my spouse to join me in this vision. When he couldn’t follow through with it, and he filed for divorce instead, I continued with my plan anyway.
Two months ago, we received (and accepted, of course!) an offer on our house, after having it listed for a year. Five weeks ago, our divorce was finalized. Two weeks ago, I hired a moving company to take my share of the worldly goods to a townhouse I’m renting for me and my kids until our new, smaller house can be built (in a neighborhood with sidewalks, across the street from the library, down the street from a park, near the elementary, middle and high schools).
As part of this move, I have had to look at every single thing that I own, and some things that now belong with my ex, and decide whether I want to keep them or let them go. It has been incredibly therapeutic. I have decided that keeping all of my photos, music, artwork, three-fourths of my books and about half of my clothes has been a good choice. I’m still working on whittling down my kids’ things. However, I also gladly sold a dining room set for cheap to a lady who has eight kids and thus doesn’t care that mine has already been knocked about a bit by kids. I donated the couch and chair that my ex wanted to burn, because he didn’t know what else to do with it, to our kids’ day care, where it is now climbed on by them even more than when it was in our basement, and has saved me a day’s worth of day care, because I included bags of clothes and toys my kids outgrew with it. I couldn’t keep any of my plants, so I checked with my city government and they let me transplant them and thus create a garden in two different city parks. (Digging in the dirt = cheap therapy.) And I kept the biggest rock I could carry from my garden, and am waiting to put it into the garden at my new home, because once I had carried that thing 100 yards and put it into my car, it felt exactly like dropping the load of responsibility for a person for whom I had felt more responsibility than love for too long.
Now that I have cleared out so much clutter and excessive financial responsibility and emotional weight, I have found that I love my job again. I haven’t had much of a chance to really dig into it again yet, but my mind is throwing off so many sparks of creativity, and connecting up what needs to be done at work with who-when-how, even when I’m out for a run or bike ride or buying groceries, that I have no doubt I will love it even more now that my life is about to be so much happier and settled.
I am fortunate to be paid well for this job. However, rather than using the excess to buy more stuff or numb my emotions with expensive experiences, I am saving the money. (I do work in finance, after all.) My longer-term plan is that I won’t have to work for any pay, if that’s what I choose. I know that it is the freedom to decide whether to do the work that is a major factor in the enjoyment and satisfaction of doing the work.
So if you are in a job that you don’t love, or used to love but no longer do, then I recommend looking at the rest of your life to see if you need to fix something other than your job first. It certainly has worked for me.
p.s. Thanks for requesting comments. This just saved me the time of writing another journal entry, and simultaneously is possibly helping another person or two besides myself.
I am 58 years old. My employer of 24 years shut down about a year ago. I had a successful and demanding career. Much of it I enjoyed. Some I did not. I am not retiring…can’t. It did not work for me, as some motivational experts would say, “to leave your job at the doorstep (because it was stressful) and become Mr. Emotionally Right when you walk through the door to your family”. I am thankful for this timeout period and have had some time to reflect. I want the passions of my professional and personal life to be the same. You must be the same person.
Currently,I am working PT at my local church doing anything they need for 20% of what I use to make and doing anything that is needed. I have found peace, great people to work with (they respect me), an opportunity to imprint on some great young leaders, and help others in need. I went on an international mission trip that may change my life. I did this because the staff needed help and I was available. I am becoming a believer in minimalism because I have to (and want to). Make no mistake I need to make more $$$$. But the question I now ask is “what is the least amount of money I need to make?” knowing that that will lead to more life satisfaction. You are on track Joshua. Keep it up. .
Your approach to speaking is exactly the approach I’ve taken in teaching. Though I do other things on the side, one of the things I do that is closest to my heart is teach swordsmanship. I have charged for this instruction in the past, but in the last year have decided to no longer do so, for exactly the same reasons you articulate here: I can’t be bought if I don’t offer myself for sale. Much of the other similar work I see being done inevitably loses something vital in the process of ‘monetizing’, and the accompanying need to ‘promote’ the work. The work itself eventually becomes entirely secondary to the insatiable need for attention and promotion.
Another aspect to consider is that a single job might not be the answer for those wanting to simplify. I work several part time jobs, and enjoy all of them, mainly for their variety. The part time aspect allows for a lot of flexibility that wouldn’t exist otherwise. Also, the piecing together of several small occupations can provide a very acceptable income, if that’s what’s needed. Of course, as always, the real secret is to need less income….
I am an Emergency Room RN. I have done this paying job for 25 years. Over the past 5 years, I began volunteering in a free clinic, I volunteer with the Red Cross, and I volunteer with my local ambulance company. I also volunteer to accompany various kids field trips/scout event/ etc as a medical caretaker. I see it as a gift that I have that I can easily share. I didn’t always volunteer, but rather spent my hours raking in the overtime in the ER. In the past 5 years, I have opted to show my children to share their gifts by my example. My only regret?…that I didn’t do it all along through my younger years because there is no substitution for the gratification you feel. The paycheck doesn’t do it…you truly can’t buy the good feeling.
I think it is an unrealistic cliche, for the majority.
Utopia.
There are very few people who could honestly say, that they got to the stage in their professional career, not needing to earn a living (pay the bill$)…
I very much enjoy your posts.
Keep up the good work!
This one, though, is way out of touch with reality, in my opinion.
I’ve been working through similar thoughts the last few weeks. I’m coming at it from the 2 Cor 9 perspective…community of believers coming together to meet these basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Plenty said about not being lovers of money, and my desires for money and stuff have been and continue to be more and more replaced with desire to live fully into the kingdom of God. Luke 16:16 talks about forcing our way into this kingdom and right before talks about Pharisees that were lovers of money and focused on themselves – self righteous – completely missing this kingdom of God thing. As a means of getting back to the pre-fall, Eden, when everything was “good”, and things are made new again as described in Rev 21, I think it would look like this simplifying process with a community focus of loving others with basic needs met along with loving and spending time walking with God in the cool of the day. The river of life described in a few areas of the bible seems to hint at this source of life coming through Jesus to feed us and overflowing in us to spread life throughout the world overcoming the evil present. We now have access to a restored relationship to God through Jesus, but the fully restored relationship is yet to come. The bible talks about doing his will and being prepared for when this time comes (or maybe consider as it is coming). As I focus more and more on him and this kingdom, the things of this world grow strangely dim as the old hymn goes. Boiling it all down to this focus of loving God and loving others as He provides all we need and so much more. I’m still trying to figure out what this looks like for me regarding career, house, where I need to be, what I need to be doing, etc. Prayer > discernment.
I love the idea you are encouraging, and I do think it is a priveledge to be able to do what you love. Usually, people are married or without children who have this opportunity.
It is very risky to live off the corporate grid for a variety of reasons. In today’s world, health insurance is a huge benefit for working a corporate job. Individual health insurance is unaffordable now. I am 48 years old and was just diagnosed with breast cancer, and my insurance, short and long term disability benefits and life insurance give me peace of mind during this great challenge. I have been in business for myself for years but if I had to rely on walking dogs or writing or modeling while going through breast cancer treatment, I would be totally destitute during treatment when I can’t work and broke after a $15k per year deductible.
I think it’s entirely possible to do work we love, but there are real disadvantages to being “free,” too! Freedom is not free. Neither is American medical care.
I am so sorry you have to battle cancer. My sister is cancer free 12 years after her battle with breast cancer.
You make some very good good points. I am 55 and I am miserable in my job. Insurance is why I stay. I feel trapped but I don’t know how to do anything else. I have what a lot of people want, job security, benefits, and decent pay. I don’t want to be a burden on my adult children. So, I keep on day by day. My soul wants free but I think that is a fantasy for me.
Maybe once I pay of my student loans I can do that, but sitting around playing ukulele and writing incomplete stories is not going to pay the bills. Hopefully I should be able to get a job that is enjoyable once I graduate, even if I have to work a second one in order to make enough to afford living expenses.
Very interesting read here, Josh. Your mentioning of “seasons of life” echos my current affairs of purchasing habit. I have never been a big spender and now our children, one by one becoming an adult, I realize our purchasing power has increased. What really contributed to our “wealth” fund is the fact that we realized:
1. Eating out is not always a perk – we ate out often due to both my husband and I work long hours and sometimes just for convenience, we would take kids out to a simple dinner – $60/meal is an average cost. If we do this 2-3 times a week, well, $180-$200 / week, close to $800 a month is gone from our savings. We elected to make a great effort to ensure we cook and eat at home. We promised to be each other’s sounding board and refusing to go along the other person’s desire to go out to eat just for the being convenient.
2. Kids are not picky – our children, God bless them for being good natured for the most part. There are times when eating left-overs is a challenging endeavor, we learn to find ways to compliment the meals with small added side dishes. We have reduced food waste tremendously.
3. What kids want is not really what “we” think the kids want – just a month ago, I saw my 15-yr-old son wearing a jacket that he has outgrown. My motherly instinct is to run out and get him a new replacement (estimate price tag $35 for decent jackets). It’s a good thing I learned to ask, ” Honey, I think your jacket may be a bit small, I’d like to get a new one for you. What do ya think?” My son replied, “I kind of like this jacket, it feels right (although the sleeves are now 3/4 long on his arms, and the length barely reaches his belt)… wanna wait a few weeks to see?”
I agreed. In a couple of weeks, it will be summer, he will not need that jacket until we arrive autum. In this case, he just help me realize the true meaning of “Instant gratification” syndrom is not only the shortcoming of today’s children, but also the parents – we just have a better justified reason for it.
Finally, I started writing down on the list of “things” I really would like to own last week – and it has been almost 8 days, I only came up with three items: a new mattress, a decent spring jacket and a nice work shirt.
As of right now, I am still debating the justification of the spring jacket.
It is quite interesting to note that my want list is pitifully short – the desire to own something that is new is frantically reduced at my age comparing to 5, 10, even 20 years ago. I still remember my parents told me, “What you own, own you”.
For that, I call for a great walk in the park to celebrate.
Love the jacket story… I would have felt the same and tried to do the same! A good point.
Very much pleasing to see many people posted saying “Helping others as their passion”.
May be this is what our final destiny gonna be :-)
Future generations gonna be blessed. :-)
Love is what we all thirsty for.
After reading this I am able to understand how money infatuates People’s Greediness.
Inflation is the key factor in it.
Hi Joshua,
Very interesting post. I agree with your comment about ‘seasons of life’. I think perhaps these are stages we go through. I like Dr Martin Seligman’s definitions of a job (do it for the money), career (do it for the career progression and advancement opportunities) and calling (would do it whether we were paid or not). I know I can see these stages reflected in my own career. I’m passionate about helping people find their niche – and at the very heart of my philosophy is that people can make a living doing the work they love. There are so many opportunities these days that simply did not exist before. But it is scary to reach for them!
http://www.findmyniche.com.au
Warm regards
Erin Landells
This is amazing! I especially liked what you said about your decision making regarding speaking, that you couldn’t be bought. I am mentally filing that one away! Thank you! You are helping me!
I am in my 40’s and recently decided to leave office work behind and become a dog walker. I couldn’t be happier! Although I get paid much less than my previous work, I am extremely happy as i get paid to exercise and be around animals. I am also a minimalist and live simply so money isn’t a motivator for me. I supplement this income with a side job (I model for art classes) which pays well and I really enjoy it. The sense of freedom I have now is priceless and I have the energy to pursue the things I enjoy, including doing more volunteer work.
Bravo, Lisa! I made a similar decision and couldn’t be happier! I left a high-paying, super-stable government gig to become a social worker. After 18 years of slugging it out with some truly awful human beings in the quasi-corporate world, working with at-risk kids is a cake-walk. The side effects have been amazing… I’ve lost weight, found energy, and am much, much happier. It is the best decision I’ve ever made.
Well done, Lil. I admire those who will take a less well paid for career (if they are able to do so), which will serve our community more. Thank you.
I also think that as a society we need to be less afraid of taking chances and thinking if it doesn’t work that we will have failed and we need to know that every day we gain more experience and knowledge of ourselves and the world. love quotes