Flow Friday ~ your career does not define you

The way you make money does not define you…

Most of us were taught as children that your career defines you.

On the first day of kindergarten, your teacher asks, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” They don’t ask, “how are you going to pay your bills when you’re an adult?” Probably because the latter sounds a little more gruesome and sobering.

Again and again for the rest of your life, everyone asks you the same question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

When I was really little I would always say, “writer, dancer, actress,” I said I would do all three, I would have three jobs at once! I could never decide on just one. From there, there were so many other different ideas that would come and go.

Little kids will always have big ideas about their career path without even understanding anything about it. They are still just learning about the world. You will never hear them say, “I want to work in accounting.”

Living in the USA, they always tell you, “This is America — you can be anything you want! There are no limits!” But that’s really not true at all!

Work is work

Most people will tell you it’s their dream to get paid for doing what they love.

But maybe that dream is not all what it’s hyped up to be.

“You don’t get paid to have fun,” my gramps would always say. Another quote I like is, “work is work.”

As modern spoiled Americans, we have become terrified of work. We just want to binge watch TV and eat candy all day long. Imagine getting paid to do that?! But doing this not only rots your body and brain, it also rots your soul.

Putting in work brings a sense of accomplishment, which raises our confidence. As our mind realizes how much we are actually capable of, we naturally strive for more!

Without the balance of work, pleasure loses its charm. Pleasure becomes something we expect rather than hope for. We become numb to pleasure. So many superstars turn to drug abuse and over-promiscuity because their lavish lives have made them numb to pleasure.

People who are materially spoiled will never have healthy relationships. The same way they had money and objects handed to them, they learn to expect people to hand love to them without a cost. They will never work on their relationships with friends, family, and most especially partners. They will never work for God, spirituality, or anything that goes beyond the five senses. Sure they may have all the pleasures in the world, but love will never be freely handed to them the way that everything else was.

Another thing to add is that you may very well end up despising what you love when you rely on it to make money. Your carefree hobby now becomes a stressful means of survival. You eventually stop enjoying it.

Having said that of course there should be some level of interest and enjoyment at your job. But remember that work is work.

Corporations are OK

There was a time in my life when I believed all corporations were evil and I didn’t want to work for one. As a hippie, it felt wrong to support them. Corporations have a reputation for being power hungry, squashing human rights, and not giving their employers any freedom or individuality.

However we must face the reality that corporations are inevitable in a consumer-based society. Unless you live a radically alternative lifestyle, secluded from mainstream society, you cannot avoid corporations.

The irony is that practically all small/independent/local businesses rely on corporations for their supplies. For example, homemade beauty product companies still require bulk purchases of packaging and ingredients like glycerin from corporations such as Amazon, etc.

(Having said that, I still say please support small/local/independent businesses!)

If you work at this type of business, I think that is super amazing! I once worked part-time for an independent company and it was really awesome. Having exposure to both sides, I can say that there are pros and cons to both. Wherever you land is where you’re meant to be.

Another thing to consider is that much of corporation demonizing comes from corporations themselves! Big businesses such as Target and Walmart face many, many competitors who will try to “expose” them in hopes of squashing their competition.

(I’m not defending companies that may possibly abuse their power, but you must keep in mind that all businesses are competing with one another, so the information you hear is not always reliable. Be sure to properly research corporations because certainly some are worse than others. I support boycotting corporations that abuse their power.)

Lastly, most small businesses start out with the intention of expanding into a worldwide corporation someday. Just look at Amazon, which started in someone’s garage.

Influencers & internet stars

I find it incredibly ironic when influencers and people who make money through the internet encourage others to “quit your day job” or “quit your corporate job” and become “financially free.”

Influencers completely rely on corporations to make money. What they do is sell their products. Some are open about it while others are more sneaky about it and say “I love this product and use it every day” without mentioning they were paid to say that.

Being an influencer sounds glamorous. They’re all beautiful models. But the very sad fact is that, just like models, they are relying on their good looks to keep an audience. And it’s also very sad that especially with women, their audience only wants to see youth.

There are a lot of people right now making money through YouTube videos. Do they realize that YouTube is a corporation too?! All users have to go by the same rules. They too, rely on corporations using ads to make money. All of these YouTubers encouraging you to leave your corporate job are total hypocrites!

All other Internet platforms, such as WordPress (which I use for this blog) are also corporations. Etsy works with independent businesses, but they too are also a corporation. And there’s nothing wrong with that, just don’t be a hypocrite about it.

So stop listening to influencers and internet stars shaming you for a corporate day job. Stop buying the idea that they are less stressed than you. Keep in mind these are people who get paid to convince you their lives are better than yours, so understand that they are great liars. If their job makes them happy then that’s fine but don’t let them sell you an illusion.

With a corporate day job, you can count on steady money and health insurance and other benefits. And when your day is over, you can go home and do whatever you want. You put in your hours and that’s it — you’re not on the clock 24/7. In fact many places offer generous amounts of vacation time, so you can take a long break and still get paid for it! For influencers and internet stars, “vacation” is out of the question as it means losing fans, viewers, and subscribers — a vacation can be detrimental to their paycheck.

Anyone who preaches about “financial freedom” is a scammer. The only financial freedom you’ll find is if you give up money completely, go off the grid, and live in the woods with the wild animals — which honestly sounds kind of appealing to me. In a consumer-based society, there is NO such thing as financial freedom! Our world counts on money to keep us alive and well.

And so…

In conclusion — don’t let your career define you, don’t let anyone shame you for the job you have, don’t be afraid of work, and don’t demonize all corporations. Value hard work, but keep it balanced with play. Do things that you don’t get paid for. Be your own person.