Yin vs YangThe Battle for Success in Life

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What is money? I mean, really, what is this paper that everyone including myself obsesses their life over to the point that it controls the outcome of everything we do?

“Money is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and occasionally, a standard of deferred payment” -source

So basically, money is what we need to live, or else we will not be able to survive comfortably. This includes shelter, food, clothing, and maybe even more important today, technology too.  The more we chase money, the more security we will have in life.

Well, I am not so sure this is the proper way to think about money anymore.

In fact, thinking about money at all is probably the single biggest thing holding all of us back.

It certainly has held me back for years. I went to film school, graduated with a nomination as best director for my thesis film, and then went on to chase money for years. I did not know how to make money with my video skills. I refused to do weddings, sweet sixteens, and bar/bat mitzvahs as that really did not interest me. Instead, I fell into an easy job selling mortgages through my connections in Jiu Jitsu.

Mortgages were not my passion, but I needed money. I told myself that if I got enough money, I would be able to live out my passion. Let me repeat that.

I rationalized that if I got enough money doing mortgages, then I would be able to do what I love and make videos.

Now, I realize this is backwards logic. Not only did I fail doing mortgages, but I hated every minute of it. I would cringe when people would ask what I did. Not that there is anything wrong with doing mortgages, it’s just everyone knew I loved to do film. So inevitably, the next question after I responded ‘mortgages’ was, ‘what happened to film?’

What happened to it was I had the wrong logic. I could not make enough money doing mortgages because I did not love doing it. It was not for me. I was a creative video guy. I love movies, art, music, jiu jitsu, mma, and writing. I don’t love financial indexes, treasuries, and interest rates.

In order to be successful in life, we must do what we love.

There is no other option, no matter what we rationalize in our head. It is inevitable, otherwise we will be miserable. You do not start out chasing money to do what you love. You do what you love, and watch the money chase you.

Let me re-write the second paragraph in this post, from right under the quote from wikipedia, replacing the word ‘money’ with ‘our passion’.

‘So basically, our passion is what we need to live, or else we will not be able to survive comfortably. This includes shelter, food, clothing, and maybe even more important today, technology too.  The more we chase our passion, the more security we will have in life.’

Now that makes more sense.

Money only exists in our minds. It is easy to see the relationship between having a lot of money and getting the things you desire. However, you are not visualizing the road to get a lot of money if this is the case.

Navigating down the road to get a lot of money takes hard work, dedication, persistence, perseverance, and passion to be able to overcome the many, many, many obstacles you will encounter. Without a love for what you do, you will not survive. You see, in order to get to the end of this road, you must travel a long time without the security of a good financial situation. And since money will not be there with you, there must be something else motivating you to reach your goal. That motivation is your passion, or doing what you love.

For me, the plan for my life has become quite simple:

1. Do what I love & Build My Reputation.
2. Survive.
3. Succeed.

Don’t let money cloud your mind like I did. Don’t let money be a deciding factor in how you spend your life. There is no security in money. It does not really exist, and therefore, can disappear at anytime. Security comes from doing what you love, and learning how to make that work for you.