Life: Money, Balance - Both

So how do we differentiate between making money to live and living to make money? First let me say I am your regular workaholic. I spend hours working on my business and can get very obsessive about it sometimes. Is this healthy? Well that depend on where you draw the line. There are two types of people that I like to talk about. Those who work for a living, and those who live for work.

Those who work for a living

These people understand that their jobs are what they do to eat and not what runs their lives. They will spend the time needed to do their jobs well but when it time to go home they leave their jobs at the work place and they go home. Unfortunately some take it to the extreme and pay little attention to their work and development. This can cause their lives to be financially stagnant.

Those who live for Work

They are people who it seems like nothing matters to them but work. They will go to work more than 12 hours a day and neglect their family and friends. When in the company of people all they can talk about is work. They won't make time for anything that is fun like sports or a hobby, and if they do happen to be in the company of others their vocabulary seems to be limited to words that surround their life of work. They thoughts are consumed with work and money. This may seem all well for them as these people are usually very successful, or are they?

Many people spend so much time concentrating on their work that they forget the other things in life that really matters. Like I said before, I too am a workaholic. However I know that there is more to life than work. It's all well and good to make sure that your future is financially secure but I have learned the hard way that at any time in life Murphy's Law can step in and you can lose all you have worked so hard acquire. Then what will you have? You can end up with absolutely noting, no money; no family; no friends and a chest full of heart aches. The other option is you can have no money but have a load of people around who love you and will support you and do what ever they can to help you back up. Now which one sound better to you? I know which one I would vote for. No one knows the future so DO NOT ever so much as to utter the words "IT CAN"T HAPPEN TO ME". It may just bite you in the ass.

"Ok Richbajan you have my attention so how do we balance creating a nice fat bank account with the rest of our lives?" As you certainly know life is not all in black and white but there are some things I've learned from my own shortcomings and achievements in this great race against time. I hope I can be of some help to you.

It's all about you.

No I am not about to tell you to be selfish, just a little self awareness. You need to know who you are before you can be anything to anyone or any job for that matter. When you come to the point in your life that you are satisfied with who you are as a person or then you are in a good place. You have to know who you are, know what you like and what you don't like. You have to develop as a person so that being around other people is comfortable for you and for them. This is when you will be the best you can be to the world around you. The hardest person to get along with is someone who is confused about themselves and life. Think about it, I am sure you know someone like that. What am I saying? Take some you time and get to know yourself. Spend time meditating and be at peace with yourself and the world around you.

Take care of your body. Eat well, dress well and pay great attention to your personal hygiene. "Richbajan what on earth does that have to do with me making money?" I am glad you asked. Well to be honest, nothing. Not what you expected? Well this is what I know. Life is a holistic Picture. One thing affects the other in some way. One drop of water in a pond produces many ripples. Your personal hygiene affect how you feel about yourself, that is if you care. It certainly will affect the people you come into contact with whether you like it or not. It will have an impact on both your personal and professional relationships. So back to my first point Eat well and dress well it will make you feel good and when you feel good you can move mountains.

Your family

Finding time for your family is very important. Why? Well they are all you've got! I know I am presumptuous. But I know what I am taking about. Your friends which I always advice to choose carefully are your friends and that all, but family is family. They are blood and they'll be there for you no matter what happens. If something happens to you and you can't work or you are in a situation where you barely making it, your family is still your family and will in most cases take care of you. Like I said before never ever utter the word it can't happen to me. This life is totally unpredictable and anything can happen to anyone at anytime. If for some reason you end up losing everything you have you will still have your family and that is more than enough to get you going again.

Let your family know that they are important to you. Spend quality time with them and give of yourself to them. If you have children make time to play with them and talk to them so they know that you care for and love them. This will go along way and play a great role in the success of your future. You don't want to be rushing away from work every minute for some problem at school or maybe the Police Station do you? Your Children are an investment just like your financial investments. Invest wisely and you will have great returns. Enough of the mushy stuff lets move on.

Friends

A wise writer once said "Friends are the family we choose for our selves." With that said all that I mentioned about your family applies to your friends. So why did I separate the categories? In my books there is small difference, your family is chosen for you but your friends you choose. This is something to take very seriously as it will impact on you for the rest of your life. I feel very strongly about the process of choosing friends. It is a great responsibility and it can make you or break you. This is why I mentioned that you should know yourself as one of my first points. People are not all good and sadly you will come into contact with both good and bad people in your life time. The upside is that you don't have to make them all your friends. If you know who you are and what you like then it will be easier to know who you like and you will soon be able to discern who like you. When I say who like you I mean those that will like you for who you are and not only what you have. You will find that people can be very good at pretending. My challenge to you is to use all that is within you to seek out, analyze and select your friends as if your life depended on it, because it does.

Other people

The rest of the world needs your attention as well. You must think I am mad don't you? No I'm not; I am very much in a good state of mind. You know the saying that goes "what you reap you will sow." It is as true as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. The Universe is a place of equilibrium, when you give you will receive. Make it your business to be a kind person. Help people who are less fortunate than you are; share a smile with people you meet; share a kind word with someone who may seem to be down; assist a elderly person across the street; visit the shut in from your neighborhood or the district hospital. You get the idea. I am not saying you have to do all these things, just that you need to care about other people as "what goes around come around." You WILL get old someday, you WILL need help from someone and you WILL need the attention of other people at some point in your life.

Are we still talking about money you ask? Yes! Remember we are looking at how to Balance Life and money. As I like to put it everything you do in life is an investment and the returns will be dependent on how much and how well you invested. If you are to have a fulfilling life you need to find a balance in everything you do. It can't be all about work and it certainly can't be all about play. Do your work to the best of your ability but make time for other things. Continually study to improve yourself and get better at whatever it is you do. Take time out for your family and friends and enjoy the time that the creator has loaned you. Once you focus on the big picture you will be on the right track. The bottom line is Balance your work with the rest of your life.