My view of money differs incredibly compared to my parents. I am not sure if the same will be true for you or not. My parents grew up very poor, so their view of money is as an absolute need that you cannot be without. I began my life with little money, but never had to concern myself with where I was going to get my next meal.
Money always seemed to come easily for me. I'm not saying I'm rich. I'm just saying that I have never worked a job that I didn't like just because of the pay. Even going all the way back to my first job, which was at Little Ceasar's. I ended up quitting that job because I could not stand it. My next job as a delivery driver turned out to be much more along the lines of what I was looking for.
I have always said that no matter what you like to do, if you do it well, you can make money at it. There will always be a market for skilled people who know how to do something. You just have to find a way to make money at it.
The best human motivater is fear. The churches of the world learned this a long time ago. If you are afraid that you will not have money to eat tomorrow, you just might stick with that job that you hate.
I often joke with my friends about learning how to hunt. The bottom line is that you don't NEED money to survive. That is not to say that you can go be a bum. I expect you to have a level of dignity and self-respect. These are the things that bums lose along the way. There is never a reason why a man healthy enough to stand in the median at a stop light isn't healthy enough to flip burgers at McDonald's.
You need to provide for yourself at the very least. When you want to have a family, you will need to be ready to provide for them as well. Knowing that you do not NEED money to make it through tomorrow is a big step in freeing yourself from the fear of not having money. Which, in turn, allows you to focus on doing what you like and making a buck at it.
I'm not sure how it was that my dad planted the seed of work ethic in me. I am hoping I can do the same for you. My only idea for getting this across to you right now is to set a good example myself. I don't have a lot of memories of playing around with my dad. Mostly, I have memories of fixing up the house. My dad definitely made stuff for us to play with, but he never joined us. A fine example is that my dad made a basketball goal for us to play on. He hardly ever shot a ball with us though. He was an enabler. Maybe I can work that in somehow.
I do think that people tend not to leave then comfortable income level. For example, rags to riches is a rare thing. Not because it's really that hard to do. More because people aren't driven to do it. I don't look for ways to make more money right now because I have all that I need. I don't want to make money money because I believe it will mean more work. That is what I mean by a comfortable income level.
Hopefully, I can convey to you money isn't the end all of what you need in life. It will help in a lot of ways, but you don't have to be rich to be happy. In fact, I'm willing to bet that being rich makes it a little harder to be happy.
I may only think that because I am at the top of my income comfort level.
More later...
