What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. –Bob Dylan
What matters most money or happiness?
Do you fear following to your intuition to do what you love? Are you unsure as to whether, “the money will follow?”
“There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don’t like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isn’t that a little like saving up sex for your old age?”
–Warren Buffett
Watch this inspiring video narrated by Steven Jobs & Alan Watts. You may change your mind:
Steve Jobs – Alan Watts – Follow Your Heart from Ahmet Ersöz on Vimeo.
Each day we are bombarded with information telling us to “go after our dreams” but, our fear of letting go of security stops us.
The reality is that we need food, shelter and access to healthcare, all of which require money, in order to survive.
So, how do you start living the life you dream of while still “surviving in the real world?”
Warren Buffett has some terrific advice for young people just beginning their career journey:
“I tell college students to take the job you would take if you were independently wealthy.” –Warren Buffet
What if you are not just starting out? What if you have a mortgage, family and piles of bills to pay each month?
Is there any way to create a fulfilling life without making money the focus of your life?
How to let your intuition nudge you toward happiness and put money in perspective:
1. Realize that “money” is not the problem. Money is only an exchange of energy. Years ago people exchanged goods and services in order to survive. It’s much more convenient to pull paper money out of your pocket than a goat.
“When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous.” –Wayne Dyer
2. The grass is always greener on the other side. If we don’t have money we soon find out we need it to survive and acquire the basic necessities in life. And when we do have money, many times we are doing jobs we don’t like. Neither extreme is healthy.
“There is only one class in the community that things more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. the poor can think of nothing else.” –Oscar Wilde
3. Come to terms with the fact that you do need money to survive in the physical world. Endeavor to find a job you can do without getting an ulcer over having to face it day after day.
“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.” –Henry David Thoreau
4. To find the job or to create one that you love you must begin to allow your intuition to guide you. If you learn how to listen to your own inner wisdom it will guide step by step each day toward making decisions in the direction of greater happiness and fulfillment.
Use this intuitive barometer to make all your decisions: If you feel energized and enthused by something – it’s a yes! If you feel dread and drained of energy just thinking about something – that’s a big NO GO!
Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art. –Andy Warhol.
5. Make time to meditate every day. Go within to listen to your inner voice. Only by listening to this inner guidance – your intuition – will you know what steps to take to move your life back on the track of greater fulfillment.
“I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. I read and think. So I do more reading and thinking, and make less impulse decisions than most people in business. I do it because I like this kind of life.” –Warren Buffett
6. Before making any decisions, taking a new job or otherwise, ask yourself if this action is moving you in the direction of more fulfillment in your life or away from it? If it moves you further away from happiness and fulfillment, allow yourself 48 hours to review your decision before committing to it.
There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else. –Andrew Carnegie
7. Accept that sometimes you will make decisions based on your pocketbook because you need to pay the bills. As long as the majority of the decisions you make in life lead you toward greater fulfillment and happiness, rather than in the single-minded pursuit of money and security, that’s fine and as it should be.
“It is a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think they can be happy without money. –Albert Camus
Have you allowed your intuition to lead you or has money been a driving force behind your career choices?
If you enjoyed this post please share it on FB, Twitter & G+. Thank you.
P.S. Learn to hear your intuition and follow it to a life you love. Click here and here.
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments
Here I am again reading fove or six of your posts all at once. But the good thing about that is that i feel intensely enriched all at once. I use a speech for one of my classes at STAC by Dan Pink about motivation. He presentsa a case and provides substantiated evidence for how financial motivation fails hopelessly over a sense of purpsoe for creative (or development) tasks. http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html
hope I see you soonn
Roe
Hi, I have read something similar. Financial motivation is only temporary. Thanks for providing the link to Pink’s talk.
I saw so many law students struggle with just this issue. Many of them came to law school with aspirations to work in public service, but they are so in debt by the end of school, that they feel pressured to look for high paying jobs. I was so lucky. I came out of school with no debt, and I always felt free to go where my spirit led me, trusting that it would all work out, and it always did. It would for these students, too, I’m sure. I’m just saying that they have more fear and anxiety to get through than I did.
Galen,
That is a perfect example! Money and debt do dictate our choices in life. As someone with a financial planning background I always advise not going into debt if you can help it. Your life will be your own if you are not in debt.
I’m glad you got to go where spirit led you!
xoxo,
Angela
Boy, did I need this today! I did some in-depth work recently to finally get rid of some limiting beliefs that have held me back. Now the opportunities are flowing in but this money vs. happiness issue is staring me in the face. In the past I’ve opted for the money and, like Julie, the Universe promptly ejected me from what seemed like a great opportunity (I was paid very well for jobs I hated). I’ve learned my lessons and am working to make the right decision for me. It’s not easy. I’m leaning toward your last point knowing that it’s for a greater purpose (our family’s long-term goals) and I’m working on other things that make me happy on the side. There’s never a perfect answer but I’m spending lots of time being quiet in order to hear the whispers of my Higher Self.
Thanks for this one Angela! Just when I needed it!
Hi Paige,
I think you’ve made the right decision if you want my opinion.
Money does matter to an extent. There are also valuable lessons to be learned from being of service and accepting payment for it.
What you are doing is being a good responsible parent! That giving of self – is a huge lesson! Sometime we make an agreement to come to this life to learn to be more selfless, or to offer to be selfless for the good of others (your children).
So, just know that whatever you are doing now is for your highest good.
I think you have the right attitude about pursuing your passions on the side too.
I believe you are hearing and following divine guidance.
xoxo,
Angela
Great advice to not be driven by money, but rather our inner feelings. I love this quote – “I tell college students to take the job you would take if you were independently wealthy.” –Warren Buffet That is wonderful advice for anyone.
So often we do let our perceived lack of money drive our life, it does work better the other way. Great tips. Meditation is truly a powerful tool. Take care and have a great rest of your week.
Thank you Cathy. I loved that Warren Buffet quote too.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this post.
Have a great week!
Angela
Wonderful post, Angela, and that video is inspiring! I love Alan Watts.
I’ve always found it difficult to find a balanced approach to money, so your post was very helpful to me.
I love your advice to slow down, to meditate, and let our intuition play its part in guiding us. What really struck me about Warren buffet’s quote for step 5, on making time to meditate, was the last little bit of the quote “I do it because I like this kind of life.” –Warren Buffett” That nearly slipped by me, but I think it’s so beautiful and genuine, not driven by grasping, or what he might achieve from it. That sounds like a choice made through intuition.
Hi Dave,
It’s a pleasure to see you.
I’m so glad you found the post helpful. I think we all find the issue of money and creating a life we love somewhat at odds.
We are so conditioned to be a nation of consumers we become chained to chasing money in order to feed our habit.
I too was struck by that Warren Buffet quote. I took it the same way – he has created a life where he has time to reflect rather than react. I think he is a spiritual entrepreneur even if he might not define himself that way.
Angela,
This video should be played at graduations! I think the 20 something crowd is currently turning the old way of thinking around. This age group wants purpose not money. Well that’s what Oprah says;)
Tess,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the video. I found it so inspiring too.
xoox,
Angela
Thanks for this Angela – I love Alan Watts and listen to him regularly in my car. He has such a way of simplifying the important things.
What I’ve learned in life is that we must be willing to let go of our old habits of belief and embrace new thoughts and feelings if we’re to experience a new and different life…and intuition will lead the way.
If we keep doing what we’ve always done, we keep getting what we’ve always got and our life experiences follow our habit of thought.
It was a great start to my day to watch your video. Thanks again Angela for an insightful post.
Love Elle
xoxo
Elle,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the video and the post.
Yes, I agree – if we are to change our lives we must change the way we think and the way we do things!
xoox,
Angela
Hi Angela, I’ve been working on this one for a few years now and I still haven’t quite figured it out. I would not say that I was unhappy when I was an insurance broker – there were plenty of things to enjoy in the day such as speaking to clients, problem solving, and even negotiating and auditing policies. I actually LIKED doing all of that. I also liked getting a big paycheck every two weeks so I could support my family and have a roof over my head. All good things. Mind you I did not like my last position where I worked too far from home and rarely saw my little kids (and worked with a bunch of gossipy jerks). Still, I can clearly see that the universe (I?) booted myself right out of that life for a different purpose that I had to figure out.
If we say to follow what we would do for free or if we were independently wealthy, and if we say that abundance is everywhere and it is just a matter of understanding it differently in order to access it more fully and completely, then why do we remain fairly well stuck (or not making much forward progress)?
Clearly something is missing from the formula when we are already over-obligated and cannot mesh the two. Life would be so much easier if I had for instance a good paying insurance part time job plus could do my other work the rest of the time, but I will be darned if I can get one of those suckers to manifest itself! This must mean I should not be doing it. Ack!
Hi Julie,
Abundance is everywhere but, the reality is that we still have to work within the existing system. It would be nice if you could get a part time job that offered health insurance. Star Bucks is one of the employers that I know offers health insurance to part time workers. Maybe a job like this will manifest for you after you move somewhere closer to “civilization?”