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Some folks get offended when you point out that work is not real life.

It isn’t. If you make the mistake of thinking that it is, you will lose perspective and start thinking that work is the end in itself.

Work is a way to get the things that you want out of life. You need money, money to keep a roof over your head and food on the table.

Some of us love the “thrill of the hunt” and really enjoy our jobs. That’s great as long as that’s a conscious choice.

Money

There is never enough money. It’s really true. Look at some of the wealthiest people in the world. They work every day to make more money. If you are worth $20 billion, why would you keep going?

For many of them, it’s because they love what they do. But for others, it’s the compulsion for money.

One of the healthiest ways to view money is by its ability to simply get you the life you want. Write down the things you want: a house, a decent car, an annual vacation. Be specific. Put down the size of the house, the color, the neighborhood, how much you want to pay. For a car, make, model, color, price, new or used. For your vacation, where do you want to go, how do you want to get there, and how long do you want to stay.

There are two reasons for writing them down: Firstly, you can focus on getting them and crossing them off the list. Secondly, if you have a clear destination, it will be much easier to achieve.

Time

Many of us spend entirely too much time at work. Worse, many of us spend a lot of time thinking about work even before we get there. If you are spending your weekend dreading your Monday morning, then you are spending far more time at the office than your timecard says.

How much time do you want to spend at work? If none is the answer, then you need a plan that gets you to wealthy quickly. If, like most people, you don’t hate working, you simply want to do the work you like most, then that is your plan.

Look at how you are spending your time. Again, make a list of how you would like to spend your time. If it is fishing and hiking, then how about a career change and starting a guide service?

The real key is to actually sit and think about what you really want. Most people never decide that. Therefore, no one ever really does what they want to do.

Play

For many of us, we don’t know what we want to do when we are relaxing. We default into whatever the kids drag us to or the spouse decides they want.

What do you actually want to do with your time? Maybe it’s biking or knitting or writing a book. What do you really want to do? Once you know that, you can arrange your time accordingly.

In the US, we don’t give a lot of credence to the need to slow down, but it’s that down time that recharges our batteries and gets us up to the tasks of life.

It doesn’t matter what you do to unwind, just go ahead and take the time to do it.

In many ways, the key to all of this is a satisfying job, one that we can get up in the morning and look forward to going to. We are huge advocates of that and we invite you to call us and let us help you find your balance in life.

By| Bob Peryea