Yesterday I spoke of my revelation while reading The Four Hour Work Week that money in itself was not a worthy goal. Money is only a tool for making dreams possible or to enable freedom to pursue more rewarding activities.
It seems like this is an important message.
Last night I was reviewing a chapter from the profitable websites course I’m currently taking. Here’s the section as-is from the manual…
As long as you continue to “seek†money it WILL elude you. I promise!
Money making is not real!
Providing quality products and services to people is real & that always leads to money!
Money is an expression of appreciation from one person to another. Expressions of
appreciation do not exist without people.If you try to “make money,†you’re in for a long and fruitless ride.
Instead, please people within a subject matter you are passionate about, You’ll never
grow tired of growing your business and your business income will grow as a natural
result.
Okay, this is hitting home with me.
I’ve always seen two distinct camps in the online business or make money online universe. There are the ones that focus on long term value, building something that people really appreciate and are willing to pay for. And then there are the “make money” gang that sell you tools and e-books based on how much money you can make from them.
To put it another way, are you focusing on “what can I get?” or “how much can I make?” when working on a project or are you focusing on “what problems can I help people solve?”
Money for Nothin’
1.) It looks like, if we believe yesterday’s post, that money isn’t a worthwhile motivation or goal in and of itself. We need to fuel our money creation with worthwhile dreams, not just the desire to be comfortable and free of worry.
2.) Today I’ve learned that money is not real and the act of seeking it for its own sake will ensure that it always eludes me. I can vouch for this one to be true. I’ve spent plenty of time seeking money and have always felt that there was a barrier, preventing me from reaching any substantial accomplishment.
It comes down to a simple formula, which do we focus on:
|
creating value for those around us |
or |
making money the focus of life |
I am struggling to move from the right side of the equation to the left side. I think this is a pivotal question in life and it will be easy to dismiss it, but to deeply consider it; well that would change a lot of actions in a lot of people’s lives.
For example, if you didn’t do any work that was motivated by the right side of the equation, would you:
- go to work at your job?
- work on that website?
- refer people to that affiliate product, just because they might buy it and it will make you a few bucks?
- do anything that makes you miserable?
Just some questions to ponder.
I am thinking in a similar way at the moment. Money would still be nice but it’s a much more rewarding, peaceful feeling when you start thinking about creating value rather than money.
It’s a bit like those traffic viral link things I signed up to. I got what I wished for: my Technorati ranking has improved dramatically. But only because of viral links, not because I’ve created quality content that people have linked to. So it’s an ultimately hollow feeling. But on the bright side, it’s made me stop looking at Technorati so much.
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I agree with the Minx. It’s a hollow feeling when you don’t feel you’ve earned it. Somehow the sense of accomplishment is worth its weight in gold. The only problem is, that sense of self worth won’t pay the bills!
It’s a tough balance for sure.
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I have the four hour work week in audio format. I listened to it at least 3 times already.
Having a passion to focus on is great and I agree that you don’t focus on making money. But, you also need to know the size of your market.
Great BLOG, I just found you today.
Michael
Well said. I will blog a bit about this today, however, thanks for the awareness and thanks for the phone call the other night.
-J
You’re right,
money in itself is not a goal.
However, Ya gotta pay the bills.
Most companies quickly build some sort of cash stream first to do that
(the me too’s that have enough cash left in them)
THEN
work on the more challenging, real value added projects.
The first is a short term thing.
The second is long term success.
“Most companies quickly build some sort of cash stream first to do that”
Very good point K. Not sure why this wasn’t obvious to me, but I’m getting it now. I guess there is a bit more to moving from an employee mindset to business owner mindset than I originally expected.
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OMG! This is one of the best posts I’ve read in a long time. Thanks! Actually, I read it a few times to really let it sink in.
This makes me think that I should keep my core values close to my heart as I grow my blog. My blog is my passion, and I don’t ever want to forget that. I’ve not attempted to make money from my blog because I’m still new to blogging; I’ve only been blogging for six months.
I’m also inspired to be aware of continuing to have fun blogging instead of allowing myself to become blinded by money.
Thanks for an incredible post and blog!
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Thanks Carolyn. Glad you enjoyed it.
I agree, but…
Many people, and I mean many, face the challenge of stratification. Many people do not come from a background of exposure to the necessary skills to relax and build a business based on personal passion. In my opinion this is what many people like Timothy Ferris is missing. They talk to others as if those people have the same experience base that they have. This in itself is not a bad thing, in fact it is a very good thing, it stretches the mind and sparks creativity. I choose to surround myself with people that will stretch me. Have a look at Timothy’s background: http://fourhourworkweek.com/blog/about/ look at his teachers, where he studied and how he grew up. And do not think for a moment I am putting him down, I think he is an amazing human being, someone to copy. The thing that gets me is, read the book or do the course, then people go home all psyched up and after a week or two or three, it is as if the course never happened, there an “exposure blank”.
Great post!
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Hi Jon – (I like that spelling.)
Good stuff.
I feel you…it’s not profits that drive me to stay up the majority of the past three nights updating my list of blogger and webmaster salaries.
I made like $540 last month!
Money alone cannot be the driving factor.
But I’m still grateful and keeping hopeful.
Only when I feel that Holy-Spirit burning in my gut, “like fire shut up in my bones,” as Jeremiah 20:9 says, do I know I’m really into something good, like my latest post about Army Wives, getting a lot of hits today.
The irony is that you just got a prominent link from Darren Rowse and were blessed with probably lots of attention because you obviously don’t harbor a love of money.
So, it’s with even more irony that I ask this question:
Do you have the URL to the last time you posted your income, if you do that sort of thing? I’d like to put you on my updated list.
Take care,
Paula
Great points. You’ve gained an RSS subscriber.
I keep telling myself these things knowing they are true, but thinking about generating extra money online is something that always lingers in the back of my mind. I still have a very new blog, only a couple weeks old and still trying to get a feel for blogging, but I think like anything else it just takes time. Hopefully I can continue to write articles about things of interest to me and later down the road the money will come as a result. I have to do it because I like to, not with the direct intention to make money.
@Paula, thanks for the kind words. I have written about my earnings from this site here.
This reminds me of some of the best advice I have ever received – albeit advice that I don’t take as much as I should.
“Do what you love, and the money will follow.”
Yesterday I spent over an hour reading an online report that stated something very similar to the ideas you expressed above. So when I read your post’s headline at MyBlogLog, I just had to come here and check it out.
Your definition of people who just want to suck money from others at all costs (“make money” gang) is perfect. I’m glad that I’ve never been part of said gang, although there’s been times when I’d feel tempted to join them.
As for your questions, here are my answers:
* For example, if you didn’t do any work that was motivated by the right side of the equation, would you:
- go to work at your job?
Definitely not. I hate my current job.
- work on that website?
Yes, I would! I love internet, and even when I don’t have a chance to make money out of my sites (and that’s the case 99% of the time), I still feel the need to share my (poor) knowledge and my passions with other people. Besides, I’ve made some true friends thanks to my sites and blogs. This achievement is priceless.
- refer people to that affiliate product, just because they might buy it and it will make you a few bucks?
I don’t think so.
- do anything that makes you miserable?
Certainly NOT!
Thank you for giving us all some important things to think about.
You really have mentioned a valuable thing about money. I also think money is only a tool for making dreams possible but along with that it gives us wealth, respect and a desire destiny which we are dreaming about.
A lot of people are motivated by the kind of lifestyle that wealth can offer, and somehow got stuck in a loop (think rat race) of generating money. The sad thing is a lot of people are aware, yet paralyzed in the neverending cycle. Hence, any quick get-rich scheme would appeal to them.
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The web is so saturated with websites of all types that being able to make money directly from a website is practically impossible. Affiliate marketing, e-books, this secret or that secret will NOT make you money, because elsewhere there is someone giving that (information) away for FREE. So, really, the web is only good for a person building a site that advertises and existing service that he or she provides (e.g. professional services). It simply becomes a database where you can list important information about your service and you can reveal your positive character to your customers through your generous website, which has all sorts of good info that is related to your professional area, etc.
I’m glad I found this great article. I really agree with your philosophy. making money should not be our prime goal but creating value for others. Focus on how to solve other people’s problem and not of yourself.
Excellent Article! Thank you very much! Focus on serving others and not making money!