I think most of us spend the majority of our time trying to figure out how to make money and secure financial independence. I spend probably 75% of all working time strictly on that point. It seems a little ridiculous considering how little reward money has in and of itself. I think my reasoning for justifying the time it cost to pursue financial goals is that money is the facilitator of a lot of my other goals in life.
When I sit down and dream about what I really want out of life I can’t help but to go back to the question of how I can obtain that goal without making money. Sometimes I find that I don’t need to be wealthy to pursue the goal. However, more often than not I am left feeling ill equipped to advance many of my dreams until I am financially independent. Money seems to be the rarely conquered obstacle that stands in my way of obtaining the good life.
Lest you think that my priorities are completely out of whack, I have little or no desire for a new car, bigger house, or even a fancy watch. (I have to admit I really want a cool laptop though). I don’t need that stuff (except for the laptop). Sure I’ll take it and be very grateful if somebody gives me that kind of stuff but it doesn’t get me excited about life. It doesn’t make me say that life is great. Actually, I feel kind of selfish when I consume too much. That too much is a pretty slippery argument because everyone is going to slice "too much"? differently. As a matter of fact I will write an article just about that so that I don’t have to address it here.
When I think about the good life I think of how I can improve other people’s quality of life. I want to start youth programs. I want to finance struggling businesses in Latin America. I want to educate and inspire more people to look towards the Liberal Arts to help define what the good life is. I want to contribute to other people’s ability to be self-employed. I believe that affecting other people’s happiness is the most effective way that I can feel content. Maybe I am way too idealistic. Maybe its even paradoxical to rely on other people’s happiness to find happiness for myself. This is another point that deserves its own article. Suffice it to say that I think that attempting to contribute to other people’s happiness is all that I can expect from myself. I can’t really expect people to always benefit from my efforts. The attempt to help is in itself satisfying.
There are a lot of areas of happiness for me. Those are just some of the big ones. I also want to be a scholar. I want to be a published author. I want to be genuinely interested in every person I meet. I have all kinds of personal goals that contribute to my well-being. These personal accomplishments rely less heavily on financial prosperity to execute successfully. This kind of success also plays a major role in my ability to help other people independent of material resources.
Perhaps this kind of success is also the path to which temporal prosperity comes. The more I develop myself to become more scholarly, a more effective writer, and a more authentic salesperson, the more financially independent I become also. Perhaps in pursuing finances before other areas of personal development I am putting the cart before the horse.
Here are 5 things that I am finding helpful to fight the urge to invest too heavily in my financial prosperity at the expense of other worthy and necessary personal development goals:
1. I wake up early and go to bed at a pre-scheduled time. The early pre-sunrise part of the morning has given me the ability to re-work my life goals and short term goals daily. The peace in the early morning provides me with an opportunity to focus in on the things that really appear to be the most important. Every day I ask myself: What am I going to do in life? What am I going to do to make my family happy? What am I going to do to make my wife happy? What am I going to do to make me happy? What causes will I participate in that are larger than myself? What will make this world a better place for my children?
2. I schedule. I handwrite my schedule in a calendar book. I determine how each 30 minute block of my time is going to be used. If it only has "make money"? events then I make sure to clear a window to go to a library for an hour that day. I also schedule time to write, play with my kids, do the dishes for my wife, and down time to read. I make sure that my calendar has enough items that plug into accomplishing a larger goal. Knowing that I am doing things daily that contribute to my larger objectives, gives me a real sense of daily satisfaction. By the end of my morning calendaring I feel satisfied and look forward to the rewards that wait me after I am done with my money making activities. Some people feel that money-making activities are the most satisfying. Lucky them. I really need other rewards which motivate me to continue working for money.
3. I make a point of keeping in contact with my friends and mentors on a frequent basis. I don’t have tons of friends who inspire me. However, I do have a handful of them. Each friend and mentor inspires me differently. I have a friend who shares my love for philosophy. His political views are quite controversial but very well constructed. He is a thorough thinker and I call him weekly just to debate him about the things which we disagree and agree. We do it as a mental exercise and it is one of the most exhilarating weekly conversations that I have. I have a couple of other friends with whom I discuss books. Each month we agree to read a book relevant to Latin America and we hold a phone conference to discuss our thoughts. My friends refine my thoughts and inspire me to keep pace with their intellectual curiosities. I could go on and on about the different phone calls that I make to friends. Friendships play a substantial role in my happiness and my friends often remind me of how rich life is outside financial pursuits.
4. I write down my thoughts. I carry a pocket sized notebook. Sometimes I see things that amuse or inspire me. I take a moment to write them down. Writing in my notebook helps sort out my thoughts. I make sense of my feelings too. I write poetry or I complain about something. Whatever I am feeling, I try to write it down. Writing things down have other benefits. I am exercising my writing skills. I am remaining more connected to the human experience. When I don’t write things down I tend to disconnect and become more and more alienated from my good relationships. Writing things down gives me a lot more to talk about later. I can’t write a list about how to stay clear about "the good"? without discussing the value of journaling my thoughts.
5. I pray. Some people don’t believe in anything higher than themselves. Not me. I believe that I am not very significant in the grand scheme of things and I ask God to accompany me in all that I do. Recognizing God as the granter of all good things, gives me an assurance that something larger than myself is on my side to help me accomplish great things. Take it for what its worth but I don’t feel any kind of peace or clarity about my life purpose when I ignore prayer.
I sometimes think that all you tell me of knighthood, kingdoms, empires and islands is all windy blather and lies
-Sancho Panza
Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes
(Book 1, Part 15)
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