Max Kaizen (aka hunter of genius) posted a great question today, “Would you still choose to do what you’re doing today, if you woke up tomorrow morning free?”
No responsibilities, no mortgage, no business… That is an interesting question.
Please brace yourself for a bit of a peak to my past :0)
In all honestly, my life has taken many turns. In second grade, I wanted to be a doctor. I pursued this interest up through high school. I turned down a big time football scholarship at Allegheny College, the then conference champion. I was going to major in Biology and continue on to medical school.
Then, my life took me to a hometown college, Penn State Behrend. I took up Electical Engineering there for two semesters, but that didn’t work out. Pepsi came knocking and I couldn’t turn down the money.
I spent 5 years at Pepsi as a sales account manager, where I got my first taste of business. That led me to Mercyhurst with a double major in Business Management and Management of Information Systems, and ultimately down the entrepreneurial path.
I have met several key people along the way, as one always does, that have influenced my choices and career path greatly. Some professors, some friends, and some colleagues.
With that being said, the question needs to be framed a bit differently. If I didn’t have anything to pay for right now, would I do what I am doing for free? Absolutely.
I love being a blogger, author, entrepreneur, thinker, and reader. I wouldn’t trade those aspects of my life for anything in the world.
But 7 years ago, would I have been a doctor for free? Probably. I have passion for everything I do. I want to be the best at it. And oftentimes, being the best is synonimous with doing something you love, regardless of the pay.
Unfortunately, coming back to reality, the bills are still there and money needs to be made. I am terribly thankful for the gifts that have been given to me. In the same breath though, there are only so many hours in a day so I have to value that time accordingly.
I would love to have the means necessary to work for free. Unfortunately, the reality is that time is money, and there is only so much time to go around.
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Jason, so true.. the art is somehow finding the balance, with the ultimate: being able to achieve what Confucius deemed the best work:
“Give a man work he loves, and he’ll never work a day in his life”
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