This article from MSN.com that I ran across today might seem at first to be a sensible wake-up call to those unhappy lawyers dreaming of flying solo (or anyone else considering taking a leap of faith to live one’s dream). Subtitled “Find Your Calling But Don’t Find Yourself Broke,” the article is full of some good-sounding advice:
As a cheerleader of the “find yourself” squad, I admit I was once guilty of dodging that question myself. After I quit my corporate job to create my soul job, I earned well short of my former “number” and eventually added writing, speaking, and TV gigs to even the score. Many women I’ve talked with have relied on a spouse’s income, savings, or family money to help them get through — or well past — the start-up phase. As you may discover, it helps to start by simply asking the question. If you toss your day job, can you make a move that’s not only personally rewarding but also fiscally smart? How long will your cash last? What are the compensations? Simply put, what is the cost of passion?
So what, you might ask? Why shouldn’t I consider money among the many factors weighing in this decision? After all, it’s a huge issue. Save for the lucky few living on trust funds, most of us have to work hard to acquire enough funds to pay the rent or mortgage, buy the groceries, etc. Then there are little luxuries like health insurance. Forget making it one of the factors – why shouldn’t money be at the top of the list?
It’s a fair question. But it completely misses the point. And the bottom line answer is pretty simple: Money should not be a factor in your decision because it will not make you happy, nor will it make you unhappy. Money simply is. Sure, the lack of necessities will render you miserable. But it isn’t the money that’s making you miserable – it’s not having your needs met. Similarly, all the money in the world won’t make you happy. It’s what that money brings, or enables you to do or create, that brings the happy to the table!
Money, frankly, should be banished from the room when making your decision. Only after you’ve decided to hang your shingle should you think about money. Radical, you say? Probably. But putting money in the middle of your decision-making process will only cloud your judgment. Why? Because we’ve made it that powerful. It doesn’t really possess that much power innately – we just clothed it thus, and so it remains. However, when you’re trying to make such a critical, huge decision about your life – and folks, it really doesn’t get any bigger than “am I going to be an employee or am I going to run the show for myself in order to fulfill my life’s purpose?” – money can only do one thing: cloud the issue. Make it about something other than what it really is all about: what’s in your heart.
Money can’t buy you love – nor can it buy you a meaningful life. Figure out what meaning you want to create for yourself first. Then – and only then! – sit down and figure out how to make it happen from practical standpoints, including a financial one.
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