When reading that title you probably think of it in financial terms, this is not a good or bad thing, it is simply how we’ve got to know it in today’s societal terms. And let’s face it, there is no way around money. It is required in our every day lives. Personally, making a lot of money or becoming a millionaire has never been an ambition of mine. I work to live, not live to work. I used to have a sort of ‘disliking’ towards money, and while I still believe it is something that is focused too much on, I realised there is no point actively disliking something you cannot do anything against. We will always need money in our lifetime, and there will be no alternative for our probable future. If money is your passion, so be it, enjoy it. Personally, I see it as means to an end, nothing more.

What I would like to pursue with this topic though, is a more personal kind of currency. The currency that you value in life and what you would like to earn loads of. Sure, everyone wants to make loads of money as well, and commonly say they “prefer to earn it while doing something I love”. A great ambition, yet unfortunately not always achieved. Either way, what people really value is often something else than money. Think of a scientist – let’s call him Bob – whose value is knowledge, it is the reason he is/became a scientist, and the financial gain is an added bonus. Knowledge, in this case, is Bob’s currency. It is what drives him to do what he does, and why he likes to get up in the morning. A police officer probably didn’t join the force in order to make money, it is highly likely he/she does it for the love of the job. Just like Bob’s scenario, the currency is not money. Also, it is possible that Bob and the police officer have completely different personal currencies, it might be that when they come home from work, they like to paint a beautiful work of art, or spend time with their loved ones, and that these are the things that drive them. (Interestingly, both these examples entail people whose work it is to help people, or human kind as a whole. Selfless professions, you might say).

I’d like the reader to think what their currency is, what drives them and makes them get up in the morning. What is that one thing you love doing and that you constantly work on and think about. You can see it as part of your passion, or perhaps even purpose, both terms with a broader meaning, hence ‘part of’. It does not have to be a profession, but anything from an object, a thought or even money itself. In fact, you can have multiple. One of mine is entertainment, I love to laugh, make people laugh and see people happy because of it. Another is knowledge, learning. I try to learn something new every day, and it excites me to absorb this and share it.
I see entertainment as a more external, and knowledge a more internal currency.

You probably know your currency, perhaps you have yet to figure out what it is or how to define it. Either way, knowing what it is that really drives you forward, will help you live your life more towards earning more of that currency, because that gives the most satisfaction. Learning more about the topics on this site and sharing that knowledge, is something that gets me up in the morning. Excited to improve and expand.

So, what would you like to earn loads of in life (especially) while doing something you love?

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A friend of mine just pointed me in the direction of this video. I did not use it for this post, but it is definitely interesting and worth the watch.
(Dan Pink – RSA Animate – Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. Source: YouTube)