What makes you get up everyday!

It seems like such a simple question and yet it could be one of the most important.

To start off let’s have a look at the image below.

Lets call this impressive chap Fred.

Fred has a really simple and yet successful life. What makes Fred get up everyday? Simply his pre programmed desire to survive and propagate. Things are very clear to him and have been since childhood. Hunt for food, make a cozy weatherproof shelter, find a woman and make babies. After that, ensure that his kids grow strong and finally return to the earth a wise old man with a swollen tummy and a full heart.

It really is the simplest way of life one can get with ample time to share stories of bravery around fires, take in the sights and sound the wide open world has to offer. Some would argue adamantly that this was the golden age of man, where we experienced hardships yet mental and emotional bliss.

That being said, let’s fast-forward to present day.

When you wake up in the morning do you wake up with an alarm? Are you excited for the day ahead or are you just going through the motions?

I assume like most people you have to go to work. Why do we work?  Silly question. We work to make money. What do we do with this token of our labours? Very basically we use that to pay for food and a place to rest our head at night. Everything else we purchase should really be just to facilitate comfort and ease in achieving this goal. If we achieve this by all intent and purposes we are in fact successful.

This is where it gets interesting. Lets for a moment say we won the lotto, or whilst walking in the woods stumbled onto a pile of gold bullion. This would buy you, your wife and your kids a place to live and food till a ripe old age. Would you be successful ? Why would you then get up every day? Would you jump out of bed with a smile, ready for the next day of relaxation? Would you be HAPPY? Lets hold that thought for a moment.

I read a story of a normal working class family, that won a few million dollars in a State Lotto. You would think that they would have their life all sorted. What did they do? They bought flash cars, paid of their home loan, then sold the house and purchased a huge house with more rooms than needed.

They then spent all the remaining money on a start-up restaurant. They all work in this restaurant 7 days a week, dawn to dusk to make ends meet.  At the time I read the story, the restaurant was not really working out well and they had sunk every last cent they had to make it work. In fact they were running into quite a lot of debt. They were having their meals at their place of business to cut costs. The entire family was getting up begrudgingly, climbing into fancy cars to go to a place they hate, to serve tables.

What was it that drove them back into working to achieve the very thing they  let slip through their fingers. Is it the social programming, consumerism or the fear of success that drove them back into this hole? Why would you have all your financial concerns met and then put yourself in a position that you need to serve people food to make money to buy the very thing you had before you started.

Many successful business men and woman have written books with insights into what makes a person happy as well as successful.  One statement always seems to crop up in many forms but basically says the following, you must do what makes you happy and you will become successful. I am a big fan of sleeping. I sincerely doubt that it will make me successful or buy me the house I need. However I can understand the premise.

We all need money to purchase the things we need. If you enjoy the chosen occupation then you will be much more engaged , thus you should be more successful at that job. Successful in terms of you will enjoy getting up for work as you enjoy the activity. The money will be a secondary issue of importance. If you enjoy making money, you will then wake up happy to dig pig swill if the hourly rate is good. Its my opinion. You either work to live… or live to work.

This possibly explains why some men suddenly wake up one day with a mid-life crisis. Am I a success? Have I wasted the best years of my life chasing a dream that I pushed away every chance I got?  The important thing is to remember that once you have a roof over your head and a full tummy. Think very clearly… What makes me happy? What makes me jump out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning!

If it’s the thrill of making sales, then sell dodgy second-hand cell phones on street corners. If you like fixing stuff or have a bit of a DIY thing,  maybe fix and/or modify  cars. You will love the challenge.

Just don’t fool yourself into thinking you doing it to make money. You will be miserable. Chances are you will not succeed or be successful not to mention be bored to death. The only person you will fool is yourself !

Our time on this rock is very short. The time that we have to actively do the things that make us happy is even less. Be very honest with yourself and strive for those moments.

Ascertain, Engage and Achieve.

Well that’s just my humble opinion anyway.

Thank you for reading.

Dan