How do you view your life and the world? Have you ever thought about it much?
I am nearing in on 1 month until I finish my undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering. It is this time in most people’s lives that they begin to question what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Do you continue school/education? Do you find a job? Do you take a break? Do you do something on your own?
It seems to be no one seems to question much other than what job they want to get and how much money they want to make. Everyone I know is so focused on finding a job and graduating, and that is all they are focused on. I ask why? It seems we all (in the US) grow up with the idea that we will get a high salary job when we go to college and work hard. Why? So we can lead a lifestyle that we please (and we see others doing it). Without money, we’re very limited to do anything. But how much money do we need such that we aren’t limited?
I find this time of my life very interesting. While everyone I know is looking forward to graduating and getting a job, I am excited to do anything but that. It is my last intention at the moment to go out and work for someone else. I am at the point in my life where enjoyment is well beyond money. I find it strange that almost everyone in society spends so much of their time to make money, and then they use that money to buy time (whether it is working extra hours to get the next Friday off, or work harder to retire sooner). I am the opposite. I am willing to make just enough money to get by to maximize my enjoyment. Alternatively, I can make money and maximize my enjoyment, but I wouldn’t sacrifice my enjoyment for money. I think almost everyone gets caught up in this. It seems almost every conversion I have these days is about how good of a job I will get when I graduate. I’m not interested in that, and you shouldn’t be either. You got throw aside all the bullshit distractions for a bit and think: you only have so long to live, do what you want with it.
Before I go out and work for someone else, I will try to start my own business. Why not try? Yeah, you need some capital before hand and that is why people start working first, but the mentality I see isn’t that. People are so focused on getting out into the “real world” (I hate that term – it is misused and not representative) and making their own money. I suspect people don’t mind working for another company since there is little risk on them. If you start your own business, the risk is on you. When I tell people that I plan to start my own business before I work for someone else, they are always surprised. How do you know you can’t do it if you haven’t tried? The minute I fail and go broke is the minute I will start working for someone else. However, I don’t see happening. The amount of money required to live a decent life is very little (relatively). Something that pretty much sums it up is: “if you don’t have big dreams and ambitions, you’ll end up working for someone who does”. Everyone talks but very few follow through with their ambitions.
People always talk, but never act. They always say how much of a dream it would be to travel the world, or to run their own company, or to be their own boss. It isn’t a dream, do it. Work. Work, and work more, for yourself. Traveling the world and working is becoming more and more possible with the internet, and the potential is huge. If you are willing to think for yourself and put hard work into it, you can certainly meet your ambitions. I’m in the stage where I am trying to find out. Time will tell whether I succeed or not.
People always talk about how fast time goes, or say something like, “oh you’re young, enjoy it because it goes by fast.” Yeah, no kidding. Why do people always talk about this but do nothing? Time (or the way we perceive it) does go by fast, mainly because of all the distractions that we have. Distractions aren’t bad, but enjoy them. If you wake up every morning not wanting to spend your entire day working on something you’d rather not be doing, then in my opinion, you’re wasting your time. Yeah, it may pay the bills, but is that all you’re out looking to do in life? Everyone gets caught up in this lifestyle and before they know it they are 40, have a wife and kids, and regret not doing more when they were younger.
I just wish more people would think. Perhaps I’m at a stage in my life where I overthink everything and question everything, but at the end of the day, it makes sense to do what I’m doing. It seems everyone wants to do it, but ultimately very few do. Our lifetime is really insignificant in the grand scheme of the world and time, so why not enjoy it to the fullest? Don’t let money dictate your life. Find a way to make it doing what you love. Either make just enough to get by to maximize your enjoyment, or make so much they it becomes insignificant. Put doing what you love ahead of money. Ask yourself, would you be doing what you were doing if you weren’t getting paid? Why or why not? What would you rather be doing? Be realistic.
Patrick
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