RULE 39
Work as if you didn’t need the money
Most of us work because we do need the money. But some of us let it show and some of us don’t. If somebody looks as though they don’t need the money, it’s for one of two reasons. Either (a) they put on a good act or (b) they genuinely enjoy their work and do it because they love it – they would do it even if they didn’t need the money.
Clearly (b) is a fantastic place to be and one we should all strive to get to. But even if that’s not the case for you yet, there’s a very good reason to act as if you would work irrespective of the financial return. If people think (or indeed know) that you need the money, it gives them power over you and that puts you in a vulnerable position; it makes you insecure. If you work as if you don’t need the money, they have no power and you have it instead.
IF PEOPLE THINK THAT YOU
NEED THE MONEY IT GIVES
THEM POWER OVER
YOU AND THAT MAKES
YOU INSECURE
Many years ago I worked in a job I hated and I was unhappy. Later on I started a business that my heart wasn’t really in and it failed. But I have always written. Am I a writer? Not really. I don’t write highbrow fiction. I wish I could but I know my limitations and stick to writing about what I see other people doing. But writing is something I have always done – whether I get paid for it or not. Whether it gets published or not. And that’s my secret; I do it because I passionately care about it. It is my heart and soul and belief and drive and ambition. It is so much a part of me that no one can touch it or have power over it or take it away. Do you know how happy that makes me? Do you know how rich that is making me?* Do you know how much power that gives me?
So what’s your secret? What makes your heart turn cartwheels? Where does your dream lie? You’ve got to be driven. Being prosperous has no room for ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I’m not sure’. You’ve got to know, you’ve got to be sure. Why? Because that is what wealthy people do. They know where they are going and what they are going to do when they get there. They have passion and drive and ambition and determination. They work because they want to.
Ah, but I hear you say, the passion and determination is something they are born with; it’s in their personality. Perhaps it is. But it’s also something you can emulate, copy, mirror. Do like them to become like them. Work as if you didn’t need the money. Aim for the point where you don’t do anything unless your heart is in it.**
* And for once I don’t mean financially happy, although that too is part of it in a big way.
** Obviously, even if you are following your dream, there will be moments, days, when you’ve had enough and you’re sick of everything … We’re talking about what you overall enjoy, on the whole find pleasurable, mostly glory in.