Living in a world that is run by money naturally makes us think about the best way we can make money. Since money is the number one thing that causes stress in a person and in their relationships, it’s only natural that we want more of it.
"If only I have more money, then I could relax and do what I really want to do"
That’s true. And if anyone tells you it isn’t true, then they are lying to you. If you made more money than you could do more of the things you really want to do. But here is another truth: you could spend your entire life running after money by doing stuff you don’t actually like to do and never get to the point where you can relax and do the stuff you really want to do. Making money takes time. It’s stressful. No matter what the job.
"If I were a New York Times best seller...
I used to dream about the day that I would become a New York Times best seller, which would be the day that I was steadily earning income from my books, probably booking speaking gigs because of them and generally had an audience of fans. I never really dreamed beyond that because I didn’t know what could be beyond writing books like Stephen King or J.K. Rawlings. They made all this money from books (and then movies and …theme parks) and I just assumed that getting to the New York Times best-seller’s list would open up doors and I would just sit back, write and earn money. I thought that getting on that list would jump start me making the money I wanted to make in order to do what i wanted to do…write, go on missions, travel the world, etc.
But then there was another side of me that genuinely just wanted people to read my books. I had written them to be enjoyed by others and I really wanted those others to find my stories. Obviously getting on the NYT best-seller’s list would help people find my book….so….
Sometimes you have to shift
I remember being in prayer one day when I got the question, “What if your book is only for one person?”
Is pursuing your passion worth it if it only affects one person? Is pursuing your passion worth it if you only make a small income, just enough to live and be fed and have a few nice things, but not have the yacht or the Bali vacation? I would say yes. And it takes some times to get there for some of us. We all know that money isn’t everything and yet it is something.
We all need to eat and we need money to do that. But when you set out in pursuit of your passion, of what you were created to do, the happiness and contentment of a good days work is so much more than being able to afford a Ferrari. I promise. In the end, life keeps going whether you are in a high-rise penthouse or in a modest one story house. It’s so much better to be working and living in pursuit of your passions than to have the money with no passion at all and be trapped in that rat race and more. Especially since the more you earn, typically the more you spend, so then the more you need to earn to pay off the debts. Vicious human cycle
Focus on your purpose
When you focus on your purpose, you will be surprised how much contentment and joy you get from it. Even in the journey towards making money. Sure, you will get frustrated many times and feel like you are about to go under water. You are learning. Learning can be hard sometimes, but the journey is half your story, so don’t ignore it. Journal about it, talk about it, process it. Because the truth is: