The Secret to True Contentment: Work

I know everybody thinks that life is about getting to a place where you don’t have to work, where you can just take it easy and drink cocktails while sitting by the pool but I can tell you from personal experience, that is a road with few rewards. Work—having a job, a business, or personal objectives you are actively striving for—is something you will never want to be without. Work is not just for paying the bills, it is essential to having a fulfilling life.

Studies have shown that people are four times more likely to have a sense of contentment from work than they do from watching TV. That’s a pretty impressive statistic and yet, the majority of people (especially in the good ole U.S. of A.) spend huge amounts of time watching the tube. So why do we choose to watch TV rather than get to work on things that would further our personal and professional goals as well as provide us with more contentment?

It’s because work is hard. Worthwhile and challenging tasks usually take the proverbial blood, sweat, and tears and sometimes end up being a constant uphill struggle. Instinctively, we want to avoid what is difficult and TV can fill our time without taxing our brains or body. But it is the difficult work, the complicated and challenging goals we face in our day job or the effort we put into building a dream, that makes what we accomplish so satisfying. Watching TV, on the other hand, accomplishes little if anything and is not, at the end of the day, very fulfilling.

You probably enjoy games of some sort—tennis, golf, chess, sodoku, etc.—and you play because of the challenge and the way you get lost in it, looking forward to seeing what you can accomplish or motivated by that potential win. Likewise, in your work, if you take time to set difficult and complex goals and totally throw yourself into reaching those objectives, you will find that your contentment and happiness will soar, buoyed by your progress and that potential, if not actualized, win.

Bottom line: set up some very tough challenges for yourself, pushing yourself to do more complex and novel things (whether you’re a millionaire now or still working on it!). It’s the work that will lead you to a richer and more satisfying life and make the down time by the pool much more enjoyable.

It Isn’t Always About the Money

I talk a lot about creating wealth on this blog because, honestly, making better money is a major goal for many people. However, not everyone wants to be wealthy, not monetarily at least. Some people have a different currency they want to invest and see grow.

Take, for instance, Daddy Bruce Randolph, a philanthropist and restaurant owner who, at the age of 60, after many years of hard times and failed businesses, scraped together enough money to open a BBQ joint in Denver. A year after he opened, not that much better off financially, he started serving free Thanksgiving dinners to the down and out in his community, a tradition that would last almost 40 years. He would also give away what he could to help the less fortunate on Christmas, Easter, and even his own birthday. Every year his generous events would get bigger and harder to finance but he’d still keep doing it. It gained him admirers all over the country, many of whom jumped in to keep the charitable events going as they grew well beyond his means. Because of his generosity, he had to live modestly but still, he was happy.

When asked why he gave so generously, Daddy Bruce said, “You can’t beat love. Nothin’ beats love. If you give one thing, you get three things back.” He was, in the truest sense of the phrase, a very successful investor. He invested in what he believed in most and gained the love and appreciation of thousands of grateful Denver citizens as well as the admiration of people from all across the country. Not that he was after the admiration, I’m sure, but if he was getting three times what he gave, he was certainly one of the richest men of his time, living a full, passionate life through bettering the lives of others.

I understand that kind of passion. I may have amassed significant personal wealth but the real joy in it has not been what I can buy but how I can use what I have to help make positive changes in other people’s lives. It’s why I wrote my book “How to Ignite Your Passion for Living”. It doesn’t matter whether your dreams involve increasing your monetary wealth or enriching the lives of others, the key is to live well and let your passion lead you.

The Real Costs of Your Investments

How often do investors think about what is involved in their investments besides money? If you’re handing your money over to a stock broker, the time it takes to invest is small but you also take on significant risk. In real estate investing, there’s both money and time involved in getting it into shape to sell or rent. In a small business investment, the common approach is to put in as little money as possible but all your free time. So considering everything, what investment makes the most sense?

The answer lies primarily in the risk level of the investment and how much your time is worth. For instance, investing through a broker takes little time but the pay back is either very uncertain or very small. Small businesses often take years to turn a profit and your time investment, which may seem cheap or free initially, can be very expensive if you consider how much you could have made working more hours or a second job. Just think, if you could have gotten $25/hour working a second job, then that 20 hours a week you spent over 6 months getting the business up and running cost you $12,500 in lost income! How long will it take you to recover that investment through your business?

In real estate, you invest both a significant amount of time and, sometimes, money (see last week’s post and page 184 in my book “How to Ignite Your Passion for Living” on how to get others to fund your investments) but the outcome is far less risky. The added bonus is that real estate will not continue to suck your time the way a small business often does, and the returns will inevitably be greater and more secure than stocks. This is why I really encourage you to look at real estate if financial freedom is a primary goal of yours.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t open that storefront you’ve been dreaming about or support your favorite budding green business with a capital investment—there are many factors beyond time and money to consider when deciding what investment is right for you—but just don’t pour your all your time and money into something that is not going to help you reach your financial goals in the near future. Keep an eye on the big picture. Because after you make your first million in real estate, you can pay someone to do all the hard work to get that business off the ground or invest in whatever you like. That’s the beauty of financial freedom.

Enjoy the Journey

Recently I had a young man come to me in a near state of depression. I was surprised at how down he was as he usually very upbeat and positive. When I asked what was going on he said he was frustrated and felt like a failure. He had huge goals which he’d been continually working on but he felt he wasn’t progressing fast enough. He wanted his future to happen now.

I have found this to be a very common state of mind these days. Our advanced technologies have led us to habitually expect that we can access our wishes immediately. Super fast internet, instant downloads, DVRs, and multi-functional cell phones give us the ability to have some level of access to whatever or whomever we want whenever we want. But life, in general, doesn’t work that way. As a result, we are experiencing more and more frustration and impatience which ultimately leads to depression or anger.

Reaching a goal is a series of small, necessary steps but even when you are making steady progress, it may feel like it is taking forever to attain it because of all you must go through to get there. The key to a truly successful goal, however, is not only reaching it but also enjoying and celebrating life while you work towards it. In other words, you need to learn to appreciate the journey, not just the destination.

Over the next few weeks, I will talk more about what is often referred to as “living in the now”. Much of what I want to talk about is based on principles outlined in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living. It’s hard to be passionate when you are frustrated and impatient but it’s not hard to be passionate about anything if you are passionate about living and enjoying the moment. That is really the ultimate goal.

You Never Have to ‘Lose’

Last month I had the chance to play a very special doubles tennis match with Governor Gary Herbert of Utah. I had my partner, Judge Andrew Valdez, and the governor had Jeff Robbins of the Utah Sports Commission (who also played the pro tour for a while!). It was very close but, in the end, the governor and Robbins beat us. Still, there were no losers that day. First of all, the match itself had been a dream of mine. Not only that but the wager was that if the governor won, I would donate $5000 to the Granite Education Foundation, an organization that supports Utah schools and Utah kids. So when the last volley ended, I was as elated as anyone because the kids were the big winners and I could celebrate for them.

I wish that we could all look at the events in our lives and think about the wins not the losses. In the tennis match, the governor won the game, the kids supported by the foundation won additional funding, I achieved a dream, and players and spectators alike were uplifted by the exciting event and the philanthropic theme of the day. We didn’t win the game but there was no way I could look at the day and say we lost.

This positive outlook is something I call a “God’s Eye View.” It’s a way of seeing things from the perspective of humanity as a whole. It means believing that someone, somewhere, is getting joy and/or some kind of enhancement in his or her life even when you are not, and you can be happy and rejoice in the moment for them. Living this way, never being concerned about what you didn’t win, what you did not personally get, makes you a happier person. And that in itself is quite a win.

I talk about this “God’s Eye View,” at length in Chapter Twelve of my book, “How to Ignite Your Passion for Living.” It is intertwined with thoughts on the many benefits of giving which is also part of the “God’s Eye View” and something I try to do on a regular basis. In fact, the flip side of that tennis wager was that if I won, the foundation would get only $4900. Because if I had won the game and the kids lost the donation, my dream to play with the governor would have been a rather empty achievement. The best goals are ones that not only fulfill your dreams, but allow you to give back in some way as well. What they want. And there is no reason why you can’t be one of them.

Get your FREE copy (you pay shipping and handling only) of the book,  “How to Ignite your Passion for Living.”

Related articles by Zemanta

• Open Yourself Up to Unexpected Opportunities (ignitemylifenow.com)

Sharing your Passion Benefits Everyone

As some of you know, I fast regularly. It’s not a particularly fun process and there are times when I feel like it would be so easy to just give up and not go through my fasting. But I know I will always do it. It’s not just that I know how good it is for me, that I will really enjoy the benefits and would miss them if I didn’t go through with it, but it’s also because I am accountable to more than just myself. I write about my fasting routine in my book and talk How to IGNITE Your Passion for Living to other people about its great benefits. So how could I skip a fast after all that and let people down?

This is one of the reasons why I encourage people to share their goals and to talk about their passions. I call it a wise selfishness. You tell others about what you are doing because it drives you but also, the act of having to explain your intentions will help you focus and puts it out there publicly where, now, there are expectations that others are also aware of. It is amazing what that can do to keep you on track.

The act of sharing your goals is not really a wholly selfish act. You are actually doing others a disservice by not sharing because talking about what you are planning can be a tremendous inspiration to the people around you. Passion is contagious. Share your goals and your passion as you work towards them and just watch the people around you get fired up. It’s win-win.

ObsessedTV.com Debuts – Inteviews Passionate Entrepreneurs

Have you heard of ObsessedTV? It’s a show that interviews entrepreneurs to talk about their passion. It’s an online-only talk show. Rather than showing people fighting, it’s about happy people doing what they love.

“We want to create a destination that takes a deeper look into personalities that we know will make the audience and advertisers both very happy.”
—Gary Vaynerchuk, host — along with Samantha Ettus

The first one (it’s geared towards women) features renowned floral designer Preston Bailey.

I had a chance to do a quick impromptu interview with Ettus.

Why is it important to get story behind the entrepreneur?

Because if we could use anything in these difficult times, it is a dose of pure passion. All entrepreneurs have it in spades. For people who have their own businesses or those that have entertained dreams of starting them, there is nothing more motivating than hearing the stories of successful entrepreneurs.

Will my Mom want to see this show? She’s 50 and loves Oprah.

Definitely! This show is geared towards those people that love to hear the story behind the person. If you like to know what motivates people, what their personal lives are like, their professional paths and their personalities, then this show will become your favorite source of entertainment.

Putting your show on the web as opposed to television is a no-brainer, but are you worried that the “Oprah audience” is mainly still attached to their set top boxes?

We believe the Oprah audience is ready to take their passion for people online. But they are also representative of the kinds of people we are aiming at attracting. Those that love people and their stories. Most of our guests appear on talk shows every day giving expert advice but rarely are they asked about their paths to success and their personal stories. There hasn’t been an episode yet in which a guest hasn’t exclaimed, “I’ve never shared that before.”

The possibilities are endless on the web. What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned so far?

The web makes it so that we are no longer constrained to three minute segments like TV talk shows and that has made these interviews far more compelling than any other medium can offer. Of course, I am constantly in awe of how much more there is to learn – it is exactly as you describe – endless – and changing at a jaw dropping clip.

Will you use social media tools on Obsessed, and how will you build the community?

We are going to get in the trenches – Our attachment to our community will be very different than any other show out there because I will be interacting with our audience on a daily basis through Twitter, Facebook, and Ustream. This will enable us to be in touch with our viewers likes and dislikes and respond rapidly to give our community the best show possible.

Check out ObsessedTV and tell me what you think in the comments!

Andrew Mager is an associate technical producer at CBS Interactive Business. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

Looking Ahead in 2009 – Life Goals

My focus for the new year is my health and diet. Thanks to my daughter I’ve enrolled in a yoga class. There is everyone from a 7 year old to a 70 year old. As you age you lose your flexibility, you can’t move as easily. You must counter-attack this by pushing yourself, and by stretching. Another thing is by being in a group you introduce competition, which can push you to try harder and to not give up.

I’m eating more fruits and vegetables and natural foods now. It’s harder to do that eating out at a restaurant. So I try to stay home and eat where it’s easier to control. When I do eat out, I bring my own whole wheat pasta or choose healthier dishes.

Another focus of this year is that I have re-ignited my passion for public speaking. When I recently spoke to a Kiwanis Club group, I remembered how much I like speaking. It went well and I remembered why I like doing it.

I want to be on Oprah to talk about igniting your passion for life. I’ve been on 11 radio stations, and various TV promotions, but that would be the top of the top. Why do I want to meet her? She is a self-made multi billionaire who started from scratch. And she built this without taking advantage of other people. She did it through work.

What about you? What do you want to do in 2009 to live a passionate life?

Coasting Through Life or Living It?

“Lucky are those who have passion for life. But blessed are those who have passion all their life.”

That’s one of my favorite quotes. My heroes are people who have been leaders. Their personality creates an atmosphere. They set mind stimulating goals rather than take the easy way and think “I’ll just coast.”

One problem is we rarely have good examples of people who live with passion their entire life. In the movies people who are successful and happy reach a certain destination. They reach some pinnacle of success and the movie fades out with them sitting around the pool. If you truly want passion all of your life, you can’t lounge around. You have to start creating it yourself. You must continue to challenge yourself to accomplish goals that are meaningful to you.

Instead we might be tempted to think, is this all there is? Happiness comes from the process of setting and reaching goals. We as humans feel so good when we’re totally involved in something. You’ve felt this when you’ve gotten lost in a novel, playing sports, or at work. You lose yourself, you are living in the now. You’re in the moment. That is living!

Great Ideas Live Forever

The great books of the world, unlike the great people, never die. Take the book: Think and Grow Rich. The message hasn’t aged at all. It is still spot-on today.

So far, in the month since it was released, my book seems to reach people of all ages. We’re at our home in Hawaii and as I talk about the year and look to the next, I’m seeing whales spouting off our back porch. One of our house guests here told me they gave a copy to their mother who is in her 70s. We also heard about a retired surgeon who is very excited about the book. I’ve also heard from someone in his 30s, who is already quite successful, and how he just loved it.

Right now my book is available on this site free of charge (get your free copy of How to Ignite your Passion for Living). I ask people to pay for multiple copies because they’re not for people to sell on eBay, but to spread ideas. It is my gift to you, in the spirit of giving.

I’d like nothing more for my books to leave a legacy that will continue to reach people who want to live passionately long after I’m gone.

« Previous Page — Next Page »