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 accomplished 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.
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.
Mrs. Frugalwoods says
This is very much the approach my husband and I intend to take on our future homestead. Our desire to homestead in the first place stems from our interest in working with our hands on projects that are meaningful to us.
We won’t make much money, but that’s not the point of the endeavor for us. We want to collaborate, live close to nature, and become less reliant on our consumer culture. In that way, we’ll be living a fulfilling, hardworking life, but one that’s comprised of doing work we believe in and that brings us peace.
Jen C says
I love the way of thinking that you hold the fort for.
I repost all the time to my fast Sydney network.
Cos deep down this is where I’m made – working from that place of depth and knowing that we are really here to serve beyond anything.
However – I have burst thru a bubble thru hard work and dedication (probably) and it seems there is a vine there, and if I were to concentrate on the gifts I have thru that grace of serving, I can climb it, to where there is much prosperity. Bit like jack in the beanstalk.
And I’ve noticed something. There seems to be difference between the people who break thru the bubble and reach for the vine, and those that have their heads down and don’t even see the bubble.
Makes me want to leave them behind. Not even bothering to burst their bubble. And makes me want to serve further up the vine where there is positivity and proactive use of talents. And money. It’s like a parallel universe. Just witnessing this and wondering .. What are your thoughts?
Jan says
As Ella Fitzgerald sang in 1939, ‘T’aint what you do, it’s the way that you do it.’
Ronald@therichimmigrant says
Most people find their passions and purpose in life after offering services and value to other people’s lives.Then you eventually get compensated well for your services.If you do it just for the money,it is easy to get blinded by all money making schemes or highly paid jobs which you don’t enjoy.You don’t want to reach the end of your life only to realize you didn’t live to your potential and utilize your gifts to the world.Do it for free and eventually you will be paid for it.
Great article.
Larissa says
Let me preface this comment with this. I haven’t read the previous comments yet.
I would like to flip your concept in terms of volunteering. I don’t do anything I couldn’t be paid for. In other terms, don’t pretend you can do something just because your church (or other volunteer organisation) requires it. Too many people are doing things that others could do much better and are taking up the position and robbing others of the opportunity to serve. Of course there are always smaller establishments where the few have to wear many hats. But sometimes you need to cut a program/function if there is no one qualified to do it instead of having substandard service.
So my take is don’t do something for free that you couldn’t get paid for.
Hope this doesn’t distract from the conversation above.
God bless.
Dave says
Joshua, you were right to post this, despite your trepidation. It’s a good way to judge whether the energy you are about to expend relates to your calling or your pocketbook. Sometimes we do the latter in order to buy time for the former. I work for a non-profit that serves seniors in need of care. It’s easy to tell which caregivers feel their work is a calling and which are trading time for money. The fact that organizations voluntarily pay you for your speaking engagements is testament to the value they feel you are adding. Well done!
Casie says
Joshua, I appreciate your article. It would be most helpful if you were to develop some discerning questions for one to ask if they find themselves contemplating a job change so they could be more happy, free, content, etc., especially since you make the important point that we may find ourselves in a position where we shouldn’t make a change.
Bonnie says
I’ve never chimed in on this blog, but this post rang so true for me. I am a SAHM with 4 kids. I homeschool. I’m a Cub Scout leader. Everything I do is for free. There are days that I can’t stand to walk a whiny child through one more math problem or fold yet another load of laundry. Some nights I don’t want to face a pack of rowdy 8-year-old boys…but ultimately, I keep going. And I do it for love. It’s not that I love every task that needs to be done or even many of them. But my “job” is ultimately more fulfilling than any other I could imagine. Recently, I read a book titled “Learning to Love what Must Be Done” and I realized that attitude is everything. Even the most menial of tasks can be enjoyable if we do them with purpose.
Reading your post also helped me see that we can drop a lot of the unnecessary clutter from our schedules if we only commit to things that truly have meaning for us–either because we love what we are doing or because we care deeply about the people we are serving.
Rowan says
This resonates a lot with some of my experiences of late. I could probably do several posts’ worth of stuff on this, so I’ll apologize in advance if this runs long (and, scrolling back up here… sorry, it did).
First, it definitely pays to look at what you enjoy about your current job and see where you can build on that. In many ways, our “dream jobs” may not be so much about what sector the job is in or what the job itself is as the skills it employs and the ways in which it engages us. If you really enjoy organizing events, you could be well suited to be a wedding planner, a corporate event planner, an organizer for fundraisers, a planner at a hotel or restaurant, and so forth. People often get fixated on a rather limited concept what their dream job looks like. There may be several ways to do the things you truly enjoy doing that you never thought of.
A good example is myself. I pursued advanced degrees in geoscience because I felt called to help preserve the environment. I worked for a while as an environmental consultant but really did not like that job. It conflicted with my ethics in that most clients were reactive rather than proactive… taking the shortest, cheapest routes possible and then cleaning things up when they went wrong rather than trying to avoid the problems in the first place.
A few years later, my wife had some severe medical issues and I found myself called upon to coordinate between medical centers in several states to help address her issues. It was just easier for me to do this rather than rely on the individual medical centers to do it because they always seemed to drop the ball. I came to realize through these events that I was quite good at coordinating different groups on a project – something I gained while consulting. I also acted in many ways as one of my wife’s rehabilitative therapists, both physically and mentally/emotionally.
Through various other experiences I have experienced a shift in what I would consider my calling and may be going back to school to become a licensed clinical social worker. This seems to be a big shift from care for the environment, but I do not see it that way. In my opinion, we partly hurt the environment because we are disconnected from it. This is, in turn, because we are disconnected from ourselves and each other. What we do to the environment is a direct reflection of what we also do to ourselves. So, as an LCSW I would be a healer of the Earth by being a healer of its people.
This also brings me to another point. When considering what you might do if you didn’t have to worry about being paid – consider how your life’s path has molded you. What skills and talents have you developed as a result of your life experiences that you enjoy applying? These may be talents you didn’t learn in school, but learned on the job or in your personal life. (Having a rather nutso mother also trained me to reflexively explore, “what is the REAL reason this person is engaging in these behaviors?”)
This is also an important question to explore because moving toward what you really want to do may not always involve retraining or a huge job shift. Assess your “transferable skills” that you enjoy using to see where you might be able to shift laterally in your current workplace. Keep an eye out for openings that would take you in a direction you want to go that you may be able to cinch because you’d be a hire from within the workplace rather than someone new. You might even volunteer for some tasks to gain experience and network. For example, I am currently an adjunct at a 2-year college. I enjoy helping my students with their advising challenges because our advising office is notorious for messing up and telling students they suddenly can’t graduate because they need this class or that class. If I wanted to transition to more of an advising role and round out my part time work with the hope of pairing that with advising duties I could start by volunteering, getting to know the staff and letting them get to know me, and then get my resume in when openings become available.
All of this also comes back to the benefits of minimalism. When you reduce the amount of possessions you have and your distractions, you have more time to uncover your authentic self. This is where you come to know yourself better and uncover your motives and passions. Relaxing with a little bit of distraction like a movie or a game is fine, but when you let your distractions pull you away from your own life you lose touch with who you are. You are no longer the captain of your vessel, free to set your course, but a passenger prodded along by the tugboat of mainstream society. When we start to strip away many of our possessions, we also start to strip away all of those things our culture pushes on us that cover up our true selves. When we ask ourselves, “Do I really want to keep this item?” we are also asking ourselves, “Do I really want to hold on to the perception I have of myself associated with this item?” To draw from a phrase used in some spiritual circles, “As within, so without. As without, so within.” That is to say, our physical landscape reflects our internal one, and vice versa. By pursuing any level of minimalism, we are not only pursuing an uncluttered home, but an uncluttered self.
Sarah says
This is a very helpful comment. Like yourself, I have also pursued several advanced degrees only to find myself uninterested in the employment available to me now I’ve finished studying. I feel like I’m at a crossroads in my life right now (hitting 40 has also contributed to this!) but I’m finding it very difficult to decide where I should be going, career-wise, from here.
I’ll be re-reading your comment over again, as there’s some excellent advice in there which I feel could start to steer me in the right direction. Thanks :)
Rachel says
Being in the middle of trying to make a career change, I’ve definitely thought about this as a rule of thumb. I particularly like your point about the freedom that comes from not being obligated by payment, and really assessing the worth of what you’re doing. The struggles I have relate to a) insightfully and honestly identifying what I find rewarding in work (this is really hard!) and b) realising that work, its rewards and my thoughts about both change radically over time and that reassessment is required often.
I’ve had the opportunity to go back to school and pursue further academic study as a mature student. I was lucky enough to be able to study while volunteering doing academic research to see if this is what I wanted to do. I was thrilled to do that type of work, and happy to do it for free until I got paid as a research assistant which I did after a few months. I became really conflicted when I found after a while my enthusiasm disappearing. I thought ‘but I love doing the work, I even did it for free, what has sucked the motivation out now?’.
The truth was that the reward for doing the work for free was experience and skill learning, not just the intrinsic rewards of the work itself. Initially I felt terribly lost (I assumed I was dealing with your #2), but realised actually the environment and broader outcomes of the work didn’t suit me and I’d already gotten out of it what I wanted.
At different times you’re going to want a different balance of rewards from work (including: being able to pay the bills, feeling challenged, being able to grow, contributing to a wider goal, being autonomous, collaborating, leading, following). I’ve found it’s important (but hard) to get a handle on what balance you’re striving for at any particular time. It’s also vital to know that over time both your work and you will change.
I’m curious Joshua, how do you try to figure out if you’re struggling with the difficulties of #2 in your work, or if you’ve hit a point where the balance is not right and you need to make a change?