Thursday, March 29, 2012

Do what makes you happy ?

I have a challenge I would love your perspective on. In the area of financial flow, I've come to believe I somehow have a block that is impeding it. I have read insane amount of books on the subject and through a lot of introspection, believe this may be the case. HOWEVER...when I see someone who has been successful in this area such as yourself, I wonder, did you always feel financially abundant, or worthy of it or somehow knew that it would all fall into place? Can you offer any thoughts on getting oneself to a place where you believe it is possible for yourself as you ARE creating something worthy and beautiful? Continued blessings, Leila

Here’s what Siver would say on this question.

It's really hard for me to know what was just dumb luck and what was great strategy.
For example, I'm tempted to give this bit of advice:

Think small. Don't think about getting rich. Just think what you can do for someone right now that they'll be happy to pay you for. Then when you've found it, think of how to do it for as many people as possible.

... but is that actually good advice? Or do I just think that's the strategy that made me rich, when actually it's something else entirely, and I somehow got successful despite my stupid approach?

That said, here's something that I know is quite solid:

The biggest change in my attitude towards money came from my girlfriend's hippie parents. She grew up on a commune in Vermont. No TV, no nothing. Her parents just did random odd jobs - like photography and sewing - but kept their cost of living so low that it was enough to sustain them to this day. Then they put their daughter through fancy ivy-league universities on scholarships and such.

By lowering your cost of living so low that you can do just a few hours of work per month to pay your expenses, then it frees you up to turn your attention to doing things that make you happy, or perhaps building things that will make you much more money in the long run. Things that most people don't have the time to do because they're too busy on the rat-race, doing some job they hate, because they need to support their expensive cost of living.

Point being: once you realize how cheaply you can live, you get a real secure feeling of financial abundance.

Then keep improving your hustle, and doing whatever it takes to make money doing what you love, and the security/abundance mixes with fun, for a damn good combination.

Src:HN