The pursuit of money is an action almost all of us encounter. As common as the occurrence is, the plight varies in surprising ways. We have people consumed with the pursuit with no regard for anything else. Others are filling themselves with guilt during the pursuit, waiting to obtain any decent amount to stop. Some of us possess a level of disgust with ourselves because they don’t feel the pursuit should be a required task of life. The rest understand the pursuit and see it for what it is, a necessity. The latter is the group I’d like everyone to be a part of by the end of this piece. Money should not consume us, but guilt and disgust shouldn’t play a role in the pursuit either. All of the groups mentioned understands a piece that the others need.

The group consumed with the pursuit has the drive needed to get to the money they want. We need money in this world, and since everyone needs it, there is stiff competition in grasping large amounts of it. Obsession can give the edge a person needs to separate themselves from others pursuing the same thing. One issue with people in this group is they forget life is still going on outside the pursuit of money. People in this group tend to miss out on family milestones, functions, and social events. It is a sacrifice they are willing to make, but these occurrences are 1 of 1’s, most of the time. Missing them is missing them for good. It’s a helpful idea for people in this group to balance out the extreme diligence with incremental forced timeouts for life. Take a weekend a month to give to life. Yes, you are most likely working to supply unlimited time for these occurrences, but most will be gone forever by the time we reach that reality. The time to make time is now.

Those filled with guilt are early survivors’ remorse sufferers. Usually, people achieve success and then feel bad because others who may be deserving have not. These early sufferers feel bad for having the opportunity to make money. Their heart is in the right place, but the mindset isn’t. The people in this group can have an adverse relationship with money. Believing it breeds negativity or is “the root of all evil” will make the journey towards it difficult. I was discussing the pursuit of money with a friend recently, and they made statements that are a perfect example of this stance. Without divulging the specifics of the conversation, they stated in the scenario of creating something and then selling it for 8 figures they would be okay with what they sold being worth 9 to 10 figures soon after because the 8-figure sell is “enough.” We went back and forth. I wanted to remind them of all they wanted to do in life, and selling a business or idea for such a low figure may not be the best idea. Yes, it is enough money to live off of for the rest of their life, but not enough to fund their entire vision. Never cap the amount of money you can or should obtain. The way life works, it will gladly give you your cap regardless of your ability or ideas being worth much more. Don’t do this to yourself.

The people disgusted with the pursuit of money see it as a necessity but don’t accept it. It is the equivalent of being upset that oxygen and water are required to live. Whatever level of ridiculousness we feel money is, the creators of it were successful. The world has adopted it. The step people in this group will need to take is accepting it. The use of money will not change in our lifetime. A change of that magnitude will take generations, just as going from bartering to money did. When you are feeling disgusted or frustrated in the pursuit of money, remind yourself of everything you love outside of it. It will be a necessary evil for you, but it does have to be a negative experience. Find something you like in the journey and have it carry you to the end. Have a plan and work diligently towards the goal. Set yourself up for the freedom you desire.

In closing, the pursuit of money is a necessity. It is not evil. We must know our reason(s) for pursuing it. We also have to be mindful of the world going on outside of our pursuits. There isn’t anything evil about removing barriers that stand in the way of doing what you want to do in life. 90% of the time, money is the barrier. Stay focused and cut a couple of gates open to make your vision clearer. There is no shame in that. Get the money.

Food for thought. You do the dishes!