If You Have To Work, Why Not Do Work You Love?
Unless you have a trust fund, a winning lottery ticket, or a money tree growing in the backyard – chances are you, like everyone else, have to work for a living. So why choose a boring job or one that you hate – when you can be well paid to do what you love?
It is a fact of life that if you do not already have all the money you will need to live for the rest of your life -- you will need to work for a living. And, if you are like most people, you will need to work about 40 years to put aside enough money to retire.
So you may not have a choice in having to work, or how long you will need to do it. But you can choose how that 40 years is spent.
You can spend it either ...
- being unhappy, frustrated, and complaining about the lousy job you have
- or loving what what you do and excited about your job and the salary you earn
This simple choice has a huge impact on every area of your life.
Our experience is that choosing to do a job you dislike for 40 years has a cascade of consequences. When you work at a job that bores you or that you hate ...
- You earn less (just think about who earns bigger tips -- a grumpy waitress or an enthusiastic one).
- Less money means a smaller house, fewer vacations and more problems paying your bills each month.
- Problems paying your bills means more stress, more arguments and fewer things you can buy for your family.
- Stress and arguments at home can make your life miserable.
- Feeling frustrated and miserable at home and on the job leads to poor work performance.
- Poor work performance means smaller raises and no bonuses ... so you earn less (which is where we started).
This cycle can continue until you feel overwhelmed by life. Simple life problems become insurmountable obstacles simply because you lack the resources, confidence and resiliency to deal with them. A sure sign of this is when all you are able to do after a hard day's work is grumble about
a) how much you hate your job,
b) how much you hate your boss and the company you work for or
c) the high cost of everything.
Who ever dreams of growing up and living a life being frustrated, miserable and underpaid? And who, if they find themselves in that unfortunate situation, wants to live the rest of their life like that?
The good news is that the opposite strategy creates a cascade of consequences that lead you in the opposite direction -- toward your being able to afford your dreams. Our experience is that when you work at a job you love ...
- You earn more (just think about who earns bigger tips -- a grumpy waitress or a happy, enthusiastic one).
- More money means a bigger house, more vacations, and being able to save for retirement and your kids' college education.
- With no problems paying the bills, you feel confident and can spend time enjoying your family instead of arguing and worrying.
- Harmony at home can help your relationships and health to flourish making you happy and enthusiastic about life.
- Feeling happy and enthusiastic at home and on the job leads to great work performance.
- Great work performance means larger raises and bigger bonuses ... so you earn more (which is where we started)
This cycle is an upward spiral, increasing your confidence and giving you the resources you need to deal with life and overcome the obstacles you face. A sure sign of this is when all you are able to do after a hard day's work is talk about
a) how much you love your job,
b) how much you like the company and customers you work for or
c) feel comfortable that you can afford to buy the things that give your life meaning.
Every child dreams of growing up and living a life being happy, loved and well paid. So why not figure out how to make that dream come true?
It seems you have three basic choices. You can ...
- Choose to do work you dislike, earn less money and be miserable.
- Choose to do work you are indifferent to, earn so-so money and be bored.
- Choose to do work you love, earn more money and be happier.
So which one would you want to do for 40 years?
The Next Step
Take a quick quiz to decide ...
Or read about ...
getting inspired to do the work you love
