July 6, 2010

Blame the money gods

It was the other day he called.
Maybe the other week.
(How long ago’s not important Michael, not important at all. Now get on with the story.)

A self-employed consultant looking for help.
He needed money advice, budgeting tips.
He was broke. In debt.
He was, he told me, a failure.
He used that very word,
All because he had no money.
He described himself that way,
Because—he said—he didn’t earn enough.

Looking at his numbers, I—straight off—doubted his assertion.
Why?
In the last eight years, not once did he make less than 100 thousand dollars.
Some years he raked in twice that.

Many of you, reading this, will think $100,000 all the money in the world
Others won’t be impressed.
“$100,000,” You’ll say, “Yeesh, is that all?”

It depends on judgement, on position—on perception.
And perception was exactly what influenced this fellow,
And his actions.

You see,
No matter what he earned, he always spent more,
A few thousand more.
If he earned $112,000 (as in 2009), he spent $119,000.
If he earned $195,000, he burned $210,000.
Like I said,
Always a few grand more.

Did he do that on purpose? I asked him.
No, he replied, he never noticed.
Which had me wondering
How does a person, without paying attention, manage his expenditures so precisely?
You understand?
How did he, without noticing, consistently exceed—by an almost constant measure—his income?

I asked him about money.
What it meant to him—what it represented.
He came from, he told me, a poor family—money always an issue.
His parents, he admitted, were financial failures.
Always kowtowing to the money gods.
His words—the money gods.

What about him? I asked,
How did he approach money?
He admitted to being casual about money,
It was obvious, though,
He was more aggressive than that.

He wasn’t casual about money. He was antagonistic.
He had, in fact, a fuck you mentality toward money.
Almost, as if, to prove a point.
What was the point? I asked him.

That he didn’t need money,
That—unlike his parents—he’d never kowtow to the money gods.
He thumbed his nose at it. Ignored it.
He didn’t want it a worry—a topic of everyday frustration (like it had been for his parents).
And he then turned his back on money.

And yet, I said, he thought himself a failure. Why?
Because, he replied, he was broke—didn’t earn enough.
His revenue—I reminded him—was between one and two hundred thousand dollars. Per year.
He shrugged.

Was he sure, I asked him, it was his lack of money that branded him a failure?
He shrugged again.
Or, I said.
Was it because he had painted himself—as he had his parents—a failure,
And then set out to prove, each and every year, that it was true?

He grimaced.
Don’t you see? I told him,
It’s never about the money.

Ideas? Suggestions? Questions? Please leave a comment.

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March 23, 2010

5 career facts you gotta know: Fact 3



This is the third, in a series of posts that summarizes a presentation, about 5 career and business facts you gotta know, that I’m delivering on May 14.

Fact No 3: It’s not about the money


The myth goes… in this world of business and commerce, you must always maximize income. Get rich—the sooner the better.

The fact is, you’re already rich. The fact is, if you own the computer you’re reading this on, you’re rich. The fact is, 90% of the world’s population can’t afford a computer. The fact is, if your annual salary exceeds $30,000, you’re part of a select group—only 5% of the world’s population earns that kind of dough. The fact is, you probably don’t feel rich. The fact is, that doesn’t change how 90% of the world perceives you. The fact is, it’s never about the money. The fact is, it’s about perceptions. The fact is, it’s all about beliefs—more about the perception of money than about money itself. The fact is I’ve already told you all this, in prior posts.

But here’s another fact. One I haven’t told you. Notwithstanding my disclosure of this fact requires me to clamber out to the very edge of a flimsy limb—and tell you something you may denounce as heresy, or that may cause you to sigh, in exasperation, I’ll tell you anyway. Regardless, I’ll tell you. And what I’ll tell you is this—money is an illusion.

But why? But how? How can I say such a thing? Here are two concepts;

1) A Philosophical View: There exists an underlying—almost unspoken—expectation that more money automatically means a better life. While only a fool argues it’s better to have no money at all, this old fool (the one writing this post) nonetheless suggests it takes blind acceptance—a certain naivete—to believe more money always makes things better. The fact is, money is but one of many ingredients required to live a full and complete life. The fact is, too often, too many of us ignore those other ingredients—time, health, relationships, vocation—to focus on the accumulation of money. The truth is, time, health, and vocation can facilitate your ability to earn money. The greater truth is, no money—no amount of it—will buy you those other elements. And to believe that an ever-increasing supply of money will result in a more complete, purposeful life is to believe in illusions.

2) A Mechanical Perspective: The fact is, banks—your bank, my bank, everybody’s bank—rarely lend out their own money. Not a surprise, right? Everyone knows that. The fact is, it’s not even other people’s money that banks lend out. The fact is, the money that banks do lend out does not exist. I know, it’s hard to believe, but the fact is, it’s all an illusion—like landlords collecting rent on nonexistent apartments. And, the fact is, it’s perfectly legal, entrenched, hundreds of years ago, through a system called Fractional Reserve Banking, that allows banks to lend out many multiples of the money they keep in their reserves.

Money… it’s only an illusion.

Case study: I’ve played this game of business a long time—more than 25 years. I worked with clients scrounging to make next week’s payroll. Feeling sorry, I’d help them find money–somewhere, somehow. Yet mere months later, even with a fresh injection of funds, they were broke again—a picture of impoverishment, of misery and dejection. You see? These clients possessed deeply-ingrained beliefs about money—perceptions that told them money was hard to come by, that they didn’t deserve money. The solution, I realized, wasn’t to help them find more money. It was to help them reframe their beliefs about money.

With all that happening, I was, at the same time, advising businesses flush with cash, profitable year-in, year-out. And yet, oftentimes, those owners, too, were unhappy. They cashed their big dividend cheques, and longed for something else. The funny thing was, they weren’t sure what they were longing for—but they knew it wasn’t money.

More on this:  This blog has many references to money. To read more on why it’s not about the money, click here. The post here offers more ideas about money as an illusion, while this post explains why you’re rich and don’t know it. To see all posts about money, just type “money” in the blog’s search field (in the top right corner)

Tomorrow: You want fans

Yesterday: You can do it

Ideas? Suggestions? Questions? Please leave a comment.

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March 20, 2010

5 facts about your career



Here it is then. Here’s an outline of that half-day discussion I’ll be having with Halifax business owners, managers—working folk. Remember? I mentioned it before that I was invited there, and I also mentioned that I’d appreciate reading any comments you’d be kind enough to provide.

And so, with no further preamble, no unnecessary illumination, here are 5 Career Facts You Gotta Know:

  1. It’s what you think, not what you do, that’s important
  2. You can do it
  3. You want fans
  4. It’s not about money
  5. Retirement is a myth

Rather than explaining all 5 items in one post, I thought I’d briefly elaborate on one per day. Given that I also discuss these 5 facts elsewhere on this blog, I’m also providing a link to those previous posts. Does that sound OK to you? Alrighty then. Let’s get going. Here’s Item 1:


Fact No 1: It’s what you think, not what you do, that’s important


The myth goes… If you always do the right things, you will always get positive, successful results.

The fact is, there’s more to it than that. Have you ever heard the expression, going through the motions? Seems to me that whoever coined that phrase was onto something. Whoever coined that phrase was suggesting it takes more than mere doing.

It takes belief and commitment.  It takes conviction, passion and the feeling that you’re doing the right thing. If you don’t have any of that, then you’re just going through the motions. Whether you’re running a business, leading a department or just getting started in your career, remember that success takes more than Following 12 Proven, Effective Management Steps, it takes more than Assuming 10 Tried-and-True Habits. It takes the right mindset, positive thinking, and an unflagging, deeply-ingrained belief in what it is you’re going to accomplish.

Case study: I love the guitar. I love playing guitar, and I look forward to my Monday evening classical guitar lessons. Over the years, I’d often play a piece for my teacher—my timing dead on, my notes precise. After I’d finish, my teacher would shake his head, and say, “No, you’re not quite there yet.”

What? Why? The notes were right, the beat was right.

The issue, though, was that I was going trough the motions. Yes, I was playing it correctly, but I wasn’t revealing, whatsoever, the passion, the phrasing, or the emotion of that piece.

“Play it again,” My teacher would often say, “And this time, make me cry.”

More on this: This post also discusses the topic.

Tomorrow: You can do it

Ideas, suggestions, questions? Please leave a comment.

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February 1, 2010

The wisdom of conventional wisdom


I’m not big on experts.

Don’t listen to ‘em much.

Not big on conventional wisdom either.

Too skewed, I think,

And overused.

When wisdom transforms into convention,

That, to me, signals check-out time.

Conventional wisdom, to my mind, needs an overhaul.

It’s outdated, outmoded.

Old.

Mostly wrong, too.

Conventional wisdom is herd thinking.

And when the herd begins to move in one direction.

It’s time, I believe, to head the other way.


I’m often asked what prompted me to write the Net Present Value of Life.

I wish there was a simple answer.

In truth, I remember no rational thought process—no illuminated lightbulb—that led me to say, “I know, I’ll write a novel.”

All I know is I began to jot down ideas.

And then, I was writing a book.

I also remember that, early in the game, conventional wisdom became a juicy target.

It was time to debunk it. To challenge it.

Poke holes in it. Purge it.

Propose a rethink.

And put forth fresh ideas (both my own and those of others) for experiencing life in the 21st century.

Fresh ideas on careers, purpose, success, money, retirement, and also;

On those so-called principles for living a happy life.

In upcoming posts, I’ll talk more about all of that.

Maybe provide some background—some groundwork—for what’s in the book.

Sound like a good idea?

I think it does.

There’s something else about that idea, too.

It wasn’t mine.

An expert suggested it.

Sometimes they’re right.

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