January 18, 1998
Westminster, California, USAI think it is ironic, that at the time of their life when people’s health is at its best, most spend it sitting on their butt in a classroom or in an office. When they are old and feeble, they decide it is time to start travelling and seeing the world.
During the year following graduation from high school, a former class mate told me that not going to university was biggest mistake he has ever made. When I asked him why, he explained that all his friends were there, and he felt left out. "So what are you doing now?" I asked. "I’m a clerk at a grocery store. It sucks. All I do is eat, sleep, watch TV, and work." "What do you do with the money you earn?" I questioned."I’m saving to buy a car." "Why do you need a car?" "I want a car, so I don’t have to take the bus to work."
People without a clear vision of who they want to become, act like a mouse on a tread mill. Just as there is virtually no limit to how fast the tread mill will spin, there is no limit to the things that money can buy. Without personal goals, people will often strive for material wealth until they burn themselves out. This could be where the term "rat-race" originated.
I believe personal goal setting is the easiest way to get off life’s tread mill. Ask yourself, "Is going to work bringing me closer to becoming the person I want to be?" If the person you want to be, is a person with a nice house and a fancy car - you really don’t know what kind of person you want to be. The goals you have set, are career goals. Career goals are usually about expanding clientele and making your business grow. Those are not personal goals. You are just making more work for yourself.
If a person believes their job is bringing them closer to their personal goals, they will be less likely to look upon work as a burden in their life. As you can imagine, paddling a kayak on the ocean for 20,000 miles is a lot of work, and at times, it down-right sucks. I will continue on this journey, because I am certain it is necessary to achieve my personal goals. If I never had to earn a living for the rest of my life, I would still continue on this journey. If you no longer had to earn a living... what would you be doing right now? Would you continue going university? Would you be working at the same job you are now? If not, you probably have not found your purpose - something that you are passionate about.
People who work with passion, are most often those who see themselves as important, and feel that their contribution makes a difference. These people take ideas from their mind, and create something! Examples of their professions include: Entertainers - such as actors who create characters, and who invoke feelings and emotions in their audiences. Artists - such as musicians, painters, and sculptors who compose, manipulate, and fabricate. Architects and engineers who conceive, draft, and construct. Scientists who invent and formulate. Writers author books, Teachers impregnate the minds of their students, and all the things Entrepreneurs do are the manifestations of their own mind. They create their own reality. Being an entrepreneur, is about facing challenges, taking risks, and reaping 100% of the rewards. Their passion comes from knowing that the business they maintain... is their baby.
Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia clothing, was once asked about his thoughts, now that he had become rich. He replied, "Well... I still can only surf one board at a time". For entrepreneurs like Yvon Chouinard, owning their own business, goes way beyond making money.
The other group of people who work with passion, are those who love their job ...because it’s fun. These people do things for a living, that everyone else only does on vacation, or wishes they could do. Even though these people have jobs that are incredibly enjoyable, they are some of the most highly paid people in the world. These professions include: Athletes, pilots, stage performers, instructors, and guides. Anybody who is willing to do what it takes to become among the best in the world, has what it takes to have a fun job. If you know what you want, and you know what you need to do to get it, the only thing between you and your dream job, is having enough courage to go for it, and to keep going for it until you got it. Nobody fails at anything until they quit. All you need to do is pray for the courage to face your fears, because fear is the only thief of dreams.
I’d rather live seven days a week with passion, and have nothing but the shirt on my back... than work 5 days in misery, just so I could spend the other 2 days enjoying all the fine things that money can buy. Truth is... the most valuable thing in the world, is one thing money can’t buy... time. I’m tired of hearing young people complain about how their life sucks because they can’t find work. Youth are among the most abundant people on this planet; they own the future. They are healthy and free. Any 70 year old billionaire woud trade it all to have what they have. If their life sucks, it’s not because there is no work... it is because they have not found their passion. There is lots of work - it’s called volunteering. It can be super fun, and looks great on the resume’. Being a volunteer is an excellant way to fill your days until you find your passion. There are volunteer organizations that will give you room and board in a foreign country, in exchange for service. I think working in a foreign country and getting paid nothing, would be much more fun than working in a unpleasant job and getting paid next to nothing.
Here’s what I learned at school this week...
"Anything worth doing... is worth doing badly!" - Barbara Marx Hubbard
"There are four things you need, to be a success... You need to be a person you can live with, you need a purpose that will give you passion, you need a faith, and you need a leader you can trust." - Dr. Robert Schuller
"What the mind can conceive and believe... it can achieve!" - Earl Nightingale
A few days ago, while flipping through a Chicken Soup for the Soul, I came upon a story about a seven year old boy selling bumper stickers to promote world peace. I was impressed by his ambition, and I wanted one of his stickers to put on my kayak, so I called him on the phone. Tommy is 16 years old now, and has found great success, both his pursuit of world peace, and in his fund raising efforts. He is currently donating the profit from the sales of his bumper stickers to the Mary Anne Foundation to help build a home for war orphans in Bosnia Herzegovina. If you would like to support Tommy's quest for world peace by buying a bumper sticker, send $4 to: Tommy Tighe, 17283 Ward st., Fountain Valley, California, 92708.
