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You probably reacted to the title immediately. Chances are, your response was something like:
What kind of question is that? I have bills to pay!
Yes, I don’t know what I would do with myself if I did not work.
I would, if I had a job I liked more.
How else would I pay off my debt/afford my lifestyle?
No, I wish I could spend more time with my family.
I guess, what else would I do?
No, but I am worried that I will need to work forever because of my financial situation.
Yes, but I wish I could work less.
Yes, I love my job, it pays well, and it fulfills me!
If your answer is most closely aligned with any of the first eight responses, this article is for you. If you are the rare individual who relates to number nine, appreciate being the outlier who finds a paid opportunity that provides personal fulfillment and financial security.
The Passion and Job Myth
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
What a privileged statement filled with more assumptions than words.
Your passion for solving 1,000-piece puzzles will not make you money. Your crocheting habit may make you a few bucks here and there, but it is unlikely to fund your lifestyle unless a senator from Vermont wears your mittens to the inauguration. Maybe you can make money playing baseball if you are one of the few lucky men with the skills. You may even find a job at a non-profit working to reform the criminal justice system, but the $40k salary without growth potential will not support your family of six.
In Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required, Kristy and Bryce address this myth by going through their plan to work higher-paid jobs, retire early, and then pursue passions. They both retired by age 30 and now live a life where their happiness is central. They worked high-paying jobs first and went after their passions later.
The harsh reality is that many of our passions would yield $0-$10,000/year in income, and that is not enough to survive. Having unpaid or low-paid passions can incentivize following a path like Kristy and Bryce to work first and follow a passion later. Another approach may be to find a way to work that more easily allows you to pursue your passion simultaneously.
Regardless of your approach, if your passion is unpaid or low-paid, consider exploring whether you want to work the same way you work now, or at all.
Control Your Time
When I mention my planned early retirement from the 9-5 world, the most common response is, “But what will you do with all your spare time?”
The response in my brain, that I usually sensor slightly, goes something like:
Are you kidding? How am I surviving putting off so many priorities with this huge 40-hour constraint in my weekly schedule?
I currently pack a lot into my life, but I find working 40 hours a week extremely constraining towards my other goals. And there are a lot of other goals (including Phippen Tax!). I even enjoy the day-to-day of my job and my coworkers. My job is a perfect fit for the intersection of my unique skills and interest areas. I work with topics that I actually choose to read books about for fun in my spare time, but the rigidity of the 40 hours wears on me.
My temporary solution to the rigidity involves (a) lunch workouts to break up the day (b) a terrific telework situation, and (c) unlimited leave that I use. I have the freedom of these flexibilities since I established the standard that this is what I would be doing early on, and I consistently create the highest quality deliverables at work.
Other solutions may work better for you: Flexible or different schedules may provide you the time to pursue your passions or the feeling of more freedom of time. I know that my small solutions work for me because I receive more fulfillment than angst from my job. If this ratio is not true for you, it may be worth seeking other flexibilities, pursuing another job, or determining another plan to free up your time for your areas of inspiration.
Choosing a Different Path
If you originally saw the title, and thought, “Yes, I love my job and it fulfills me,” your job probably lets you:
Pursue a passion that fulfills you.
Spend the majority of your time in ways that make you happy.
If your job does not do that, it may be time to consider (a) finding a job that does or (b) determining how you can rework your work life to create more time for your passions. Maybe that path is early retirement, working part-time, identifying attainable flexibilities in your current job, or working at a higher paid job until you feel financially secure enough to take that low-paying job that inspires you.
No path is the same, but if your job does not fulfill you or allow you to spend most of your time pursuing passions, something will have to change before your sixties if you want to live a happy and complete life.
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