Do Work You Hate to Build Wealth?

I’ve seen articles lately in which purported business gurus are giving advice about how to “build wealth.” Their position is that we’ve been sold a bill of goods all these years with the “follow your heart” and “do something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life” advice. They say you should choose work that makes you richest quickest.

I couldn’t disagree more. In my career counseling work, I’ve often run into people whose parents told them “choose (fill in the blank) job because it pays well and you’ll always have work.” The folks seeking career guidance are talking with me because they have plenty of money, but they are absolutely miserable in their lives. They’ve spent their entire working lives doing something they don’t enjoy or sometimes even hate.

The case that comes up most often is accounting. I know plenty of professionals who love being a CPA and are very successful at it, but those aren’t the folks we’re talking about. I’m talking about young people whose strengths and passions are not those required to enjoy a career in accounting.

Me, for example. I’d rather hit my thumb with a hammer than deal with spreadsheets and numbers regularly. I admire folks who do accounting well, and it’s a valuable contribution to our society, but it’s not a good fit for my strengths and passions.

What about you? Doing work you love is literally one of the four major sources of happiness. It’s especially important because you’re likely to spend a lot of the hours of your life doing it. Are you spending that time doing something that you hate because it’s profitable, or are you doing something you love and still making plenty of money?

I’m fortunate enough to be in the latter category. I would never advise someone to forgo happiness just to “build wealth.” For starters, research shows that the uber wealthy are the least happy people in America, and besides, there’s no need to choose between being wealthy and being happy anyhow.

I say, you deserve to be rich AND happy!

Don’t be a stranger. (770) 993-1129. tdockery@TheResolveFirm.com