This Is Why Money Drives You Crazy
With the rise of entrepreneurs launching out into the world of service, one thing stands as a key obstacle many of them fail to avoid. It’s when they begin by focusing on the money.
People love money. It gets us what we want, what we crave, even though we probably don’t need it. A monetary transaction has become a quick and easy part of our lives. And we don’t want to give that up.
We convince ourselves we really like what we’re pursuing while our minds are only fixed on the dollar signs attached to them.
But what if it didn’t pay all that much on average? What if it wasn’t common to get rich as quickly as you thought?
Would you still pursue it?
These are the questions I came face-to-face with as my older brother asked them. He looked me straight in the eyes and spoke with gravity.
“Don’t get into anything just for the money, bro. It will drive you crazy if it’s not what matters to you, no matter how much money you make.”
Those words stuck with me over the years. I made it a priority never to forget them. And today, they influence how I spend my time while I still have it.
We’ve dropped the ball in this regard if we’re honest with ourselves. Instead of focusing on what moves us—what matters to us—we’ve settled with exchanging our sanity for cash.
There’s a common theme that exists these days. Most people associate ‘doing what you love’ with making a ton of money in the process. Is that what it implies, though? Does ‘doing what you love’ need to be placed in the same category as currency?
I’m not saying you shouldn’t want to make a lot of money with what you do for a living. After all, we need money to survive. But I am saying you shouldn’t do anything just for the money. You sell yourself short when you do this.
That point specifically made me think long and hard about what mattered to me. I wanted to use my creativity with every ounce of passion and dedication I had. Not because I wanted to get rich, but because it’s what I enjoyed most.
It’s fairly easy to choose a career path that includes a lot of zeros and commas. That’s what I was doing when a guidance counselor asked me what I wanted to pursue in high school.
She handed me a piece of paper with a long list of career options and medium salaries. I couldn’t believe what I saw. Why would anyone not want to follow a path that leads to this much money? I thought.
Psh, I wasn’t going to be that stupid. Money was most important at the time. And I’d made a decision to chase it, even though I had no interest in the particular career of my choice whatsoever.
That all changes when I stopped caring about the money and chose to concentrate on the vital areas in my life.
I loved photography. So I bought a camera and started taking pictures, with no intention of “making it big.” It was simply the joy I was after. Not long after that, I started writing.
My level of enjoyment went through the roof. From the time I woke up to the time I go to bed, writing is on my mind.
Is it cool that I can make money doing it? No question.
But that’s not why I write.
A lot of people don’t even know what they enjoy doing. They’ve spent so long chasing dollar signs they no longer recognize themselves. It takes brute honesty to get some people to see that.
Money is important. But I can assure you, it isn’t everything.
Then there’s the need to keep up with the Joneses. We see the fame, the luxury, the stuff, and we want it too. Our present lives stink in comparison to theirs. So we fall into a state of sour depression and assume the worst.
Mental clarity and positive thinking are important for healthy lifestyles. But when we desire money for the sake of being like someone else, we embark on a journey that doesn’t end well.
You’re not like everyone else. You’re different for a reason. And it’s because you have unique perspectives, ideas, and talents that you should use. Start with that in mind if you want to get rid of your comparison problem.
Money comes at the cost of value. You pay your light bill for electricity. You pay rent to stay in an apartment. If you want food, you pay for that too. But when it comes to us, the value in most cases is our time, our abilities, and our creativity.
People pay to get something in return. The services you offer are no different. What we often neglect, however, is the need to converge on solving a problem. There are lots of them, yet we carry on as though they don’t exist.
Even as I write this story, my intent is to solve a problem involving money. If it helps people and earns me money, so be it. If it helps people and doesn’t earn any money, so be it.
Entrepreneurs tend to crave a lifestyle that provides a substantial amount of money first and foremost. (Not all but some.) They want to leave the life they assumed would make them happy and do something that can.
Instead of seeing money as a byproduct of the value they provide and the dilemmas they solve, they land in the same boat that increased their unhappiness, stress, and anxiety to begin with.
If you hone in on giving people a way of escape, they will love you for it. And, chances are, you’ll be compensated as well. The starting point, though, shouldn’t be centered on the green stuff.
The process of earning a living by doing what you love has a way of testing your level of commitment and consistency. Many just aren’t ready to become wealthy because they would milk it dry before they know it.
I admire the way Anthony Moore puts it when he says,
When I think about it that way, I’m kind of glad I don’t have more money than I know what to do with. My focus becomes centered on how best to use the money I have right now.
What ruins this mentality is the persistence of being impatient. We want it all today or we lose hope altogether. We’d rather give up on our goals rather than work patiently until they’re accomplished.
Impatience also makes you unattractive and sketchy. You start avoiding human interaction, taking short-cuts, and perceive everything as a competition.
The focus becomes being better than them instead of improving as a creative human being.
All that does is suck the life out of you and leaves you unsatisfied with yourself. It ruins your self-perception. You no longer see yourself as worthy of the goal you set out to achieve.
If it’s one thing we know, it’s that money is an inevitably necessary part of our lives. There is nothing inherently evil about it.
The harm comes from the way we look at it. When it’s the only thing causing us to create, consistency will fade along with our sanity.
Taking good care of yourself starts with enjoying the simplicity of life first. As you mature in different stages of the creative process, you appreciate every bit of growth you see. But under no circumstance should you allow money to drive you crazy. Because it can.
Kevin Horton is a photographer, student, modest book-worm, and wanna-be web developer with a new-found love for writing. He writes helpful words about creativity, productivity, and the enjoyably simple life.
’Til next time, thanks for reading!
This Is Why Money Drives You Crazy
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