Independently Wealthy
You know how there is that idea that you should think of what you’d like to do if money were not an issue, and that thing is the thing you should try to pursue as your career? I can’t see how this would work for me. Here are the things I’d do for myself if money & time were not an issue:
- Take cooking lessons and spend hours (almost) everyday food shopping and cooking up feasts. Also, go eat all over the world.
- Leisurely travel, staying for months in any given place until I feel like moving on.
- Get more pets instead of just looking over CuteOverload.com and wishing I had more.
- Go on reading & writing binges for weeks where I am completely absent to the world.
- Watch more movies & tv, catch up on the classics.
- Go to performances, whether of dance, music, or other demonstrations of art or skill, like martial arts.
- Take some dance classes.
- Learn random programming languages, run several random websites, write a bunch of fun applications.
My big issue is that there isn’t the One Big Thing I want to be doing; I want to be dabbling in all sorts of life’s little (and big) pleasures. I can’t see how this would translate into a career.
Ideas:
1. Professional chef, food critic, restaurant owner, or caterer.
2. Journalist
3. Your same job, but closer to home so you gain back 3 hours a day of your life.
Thoughts:
More pets, performances, television, movies, dance classes, programming languages, applications/websites, reading, and writing aren’t constrained by money, but by time. You’d still have to choose between those things if you didn’t have to work. You’d have MORE time, but not infinite time. I know you said “if money and time” were not an issue, but having infinite time isn’t even in the realm of the possible so it almost doesn’t seem worth thinking about. Maybe that’s just me being too pragmatic.
(You knew this was coming) Honestly, the preciousness of time is why I don’t watch TV and hardly watch movies. I decided long ago that, looking back on my weeks and months and years, I’d rather have read a lot of books, made a lot of things, and listened to a lot of music than watched a lot of television.
More pets, performances, television, movies, dance classes, programming languages, applications/websites, reading, and writing aren’t constrained by money, but by time.
I understand the point you are making, but from my perspective, on a very pragmatic level, money is genuinely an issue. I have to earn money to pay my bills and loans, and for at least half of those things, extra money (even just a little) needs to get spent. In my mind, I don’t have time because I don’t have money, since I only really work at a regular job to pay my bills, not because I consider it a huge part of my life.
If I had money, I’d have about 10-12 more hours a day. That’s about half a day, and way more than half of my waking life.
Heh, I should really get rid of sleep. 😀 Stupid sleep! 🙂
I think your decision is defintely right for you, because you took the time to prioritize which things you enjoy the most and decided to rebalance your time to cover the things that are the most important to you. If I do the same thing, I’d have even less music in my life in favor of other things, even tv, since it’s not very important to me. 😀 I’m sure this is appalling. Hee.
Word on commute time. I know you feel my pain. 🙂 My now-ex-manager suggested to me yesterday that I take more days a week from home. But that also isn’t what I want either. Closer would be great. I wish they’d open up an office in Emeryville already.
Incidentally, Seppo & I have been taking Beginner Hip Hop Dance (which is really 50% hip hop aerobics and 50% trying to learn “choreo”) at the Y and it is FUN. 😀
I also learned that there are places (not the Y) that teach DJ workshops. I’m not super-interested in that, but it seems like it would be cool, if it’s really for beginner level (like the dance class is).
Hee!
If you ever figure out a career path that enables one to pursue a lot of little things rather than One Big Thing, let me know. I’m still trying to figure that one out myself. Although it’s possible that my One Big Thing is sitting around talking to interesting people; that certainly seems to be what I strive for. I’m not quite sure what kind of career that is, though. It’s possible that being a manager could be along those lines – we’ll see…
Rereading what I wrote, I can see that it may come across that I was telling you to stop watching tv and movies. Far from it! I was trying to say that I’m pretty at peace with the fact that I can’t do everything I want (I did enjoy tv when I watched it), so I ruthlessly prioritized to be able to do “enough” (very personal measurement) of the things I want to do the most.
I guess, this supplement plus my original comment can be summed up as “tough; suck it up!” which is kind of rough. 🙁
I have always looked back on my life, and been happy with what I have accomplished thus far. I cannot say there is any one thing I really want to do with my future. It’s a major mistake of my religious upbringing, really. I was taught (it was beat into my head) to always be ready for death, no matter when it happens. My life is void of major longings.
You are in a good position. While h is right with her statement, “tough; suck it up,” she is incorrect in assuming that it comes of as kind of rough. In fact, you are sucking it up. In fact, you are making the most of your life. While there is not enough time in the day to do *everything* you want, who would want to live a life in which you accomplish every single task, or desire, or need? It would be too unfulfilling. It would be too perfect.
The cliche of “follow your passion and the money will follow” is too vague. It’s more than enough to make the most of the present and be hopeful of the future.
And because I am big kidder and cannot resist, I leave you with these words of wisdom: “Follow your dreams. You can meet your goals. I am living proof. Beefcake! Beefcake!“
LOL both of you. I totally didn’t read it as “suck it up!” but that’s not actually a terrible attitude either.
Many people have to little, and the rest of the people have too much, yet torture themselves with what they don’t have, instead of enjoying what they do have.
So why not suck it up, yeah? 🙂
Hee, you got that right. I’m sitting in my cubicle, giggling at the very thought of it. 😀
*listens to preview on website*
I’ve been thinking back to what h said, and I am seeing her point more and more.
Even though we are talking about the same situation, we were seeing the inherent “hurdle” as different things.
h sees the problem as time, and fundamentally, it’s almost 100% true. There is still the cost of living, but other than that, it’s a matter of time. I saw money as the commodity that will buy me the time that I need, and since I don’t see many barriers once that hurdle is jumped, I saw money as the ultimate problem. Because h sees beyond that and realizes that once you have the money to buy back some of the time, there is still the issue of cramming in all the things you are interested in within a 24 hour period.
Thanks for making me think more about it!
My sister’s solution: professional student.