I love this question from Mike:
“Dan, I’ve seen the quotes about security being the enemy of creativity and passion. I was wondering what motivates you and your other successful friends that I assume probably have a fair amount of financial security? What keeps you and others like you working hard after achieving financial success?”
Mike references a quote I recently shared that says: “Nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.” Security is not our friend. It is more likely to bury our adventurous spirit and our passion for being fully alive.
The complete quotation comes from a letter Chris McCandless wrote about his attempt to live off the land in Alaska (quoted by Jon Krakauer in his book Into the Wild):
“I’d like to repeat the advice that I gave you before, in that I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will no take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater job than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
Okay, back to Mike’s question. If security is not our ultimate goal, what is it that keeps us going – “what keeps a person working hard after achieving financial success?”
At the risk of having a full length manuscript here, let me borrow some concepts from Daniel Pink’s book Drive. He trashed the idea that money is a good motivator – and has plenty of research to back that up. He says the key to high performance and ongoing satisfaction at work and at home is the deeply human need to direct our lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.
To put it simply – what motivates us to keep working hard is our innate desire for:
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Autonomy
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Mastery
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Purpose
Don’t ever think money alone will give you a lasting sense of peace and accomplishment.
What’s your view on why we work?
Dan, I think the desire to provide for one’s family is a strong motivator. However, I get fulfillment from doing things well. Even if all our financial needs were met, I would still want to be trying to develop personally and complete worthwhile work. Watching The Price is Right and playing golf a few times a week would lead me to an early grave. I think Daniel Pink is right on.
Dan,
Having had passion in the work I did for 20 years kept me going. Moving to a “secure” corporate “dream job” nearly broke me emotionally and physically (i.e. achy joints, feeling tired all the time, increased injuries, increased illnesses due to lower immune system, etc.). In addition, the stress of knowing I was in a “secure” job that was NOT working in my passion made the days VERY long and added a lot of anxiety to our family’s lives (when mama isn’t happy, no one is happy).
Having recently made the leap into working on my own (consider “unsecure” by some) has given me a new zest for life as it has lead to being out of my comfort zone nearly every day. Leaning into those fears has really brought a lot of excitement and joy back into my life which has made for a richer existence not only for me, but those that I serve.
So what is my view of why we work…it is not only to meant to support my family financially, but really to bring a lot of joy, fun, and excitement into my life, to help me grow, and to help serve those around me…it is meant to cause a ripple effect into other peoples lives so they can have joy, fun, and excitement in their lives as well so it helps folks go from their weakest points to become their strongest selves. In addition, our whole family has grown from the experience. The cool thing is that my new roles will surpass any amount of money I could have made working in the “secure” type environments I would have been destined to be in if no leap had been taken…my family and I owe a large part of this mind shift to YOU. So thank you Dan for doing what you do. You inspire, motivate, encouragement and let us see what most of us can’t see within our own selves – you give us clarity and the confidence in moving forward in all the work you do. MUCHO GRACIAS!
Jen
Oh Jen – you are so welcome. You’re such a poster child for how this is supposed to work – decide what you want your future to be, create a plan, and take clear specific action. You’re the queen!
I confess – I love getting fan mail from satisfied clients and inspired readers. This might be ego talking, but knowing that something I’ve written or done has genuinely added value to someone’s life is just as gratifying as a fat paycheck. When both happen to come, it’s Christmas.
I feel incredibly blessed to be doing work that I ABSOLUTELY love. As a leading purpose strategist and coach, my heart is lifted when I’m able to empower high potential women to live a life of clarity and confidence and walk in their God-given purpose. When I see women with tears in their eyes saying things like, “I’ll never be the same…thank you”, or “You gave me confidence” or “I’m finally happy with myself” – that’s worth it all. The money is simply a byproduct of serving people extremely well.
That quote is terrific, and reminds me that I need to read Into the Wild…I’m continually inspired by the number of people out there who are doing well by doing good.
I definitely resonate with everything you’ve said here – I get tons of value from connecting, helping, and supporting others – in fact it’s really the key to everything I do in one way or another. If that were taken away, no amount of money could fill that gap – the joy and sense of fulfillment that I experience by fulfilling others is simply too great.
It seems from the comments that all of us find this to be true as well.
Joshua,
Yep – you’re right on track and in good company here. Lots of us are discovering the reasons that keep us moving forward – other than money. Thanks for your comments.