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Category: Money

How much do I get paid?

6 October 2016 /

Pay Kids for inventionsAround our house we have duties that everyone has to do each week on rotation as a part of being in the family. Then there are the tasks like mowing the lawns which I can do for free, or the kids can do for money.

Of course the first question is “how much do I get paid?”

We are taught from an early age to value our time when we work. We are rewarded for the hours we put in, not the outcomes.

Which is weird, because as adults we know true success is not determined by how much we earn.

Success is defined by what we do.

What we learn.

What we create.

Invent.

Start.

Who we help.

Connect.

Love.

And how we shape the lives of people around us.

∴

I’m not sure I want my kids to grow up with a ‘wage’ mentality. I would rather they have a ‘change’ mentality.

Maybe those of us with kids should start paying them for the hours they aren’t on devices or watching TV.

We could pay them to read, or exercise, or learn new stuff they don’t teach at school.

We could start offering to pay our kids when they are writing, or creating, or making art.

Better yet, we could pay our kids for each invention they make, regardless of how successful. Or fund any social project, no matter how short-lived.

I’m sure there will be a downside to all of this, but it must be better than just paying them to mow the lawns

Why cutting corners matters!

21 March 2016 /

When you cut corners often enough, people will follow your example.The road ahead of us bends to the left and intersects with our small cul-de-sac which climbs off to the right. With our ‘L‘ plates front and back, and me in the passenger seat, I clearly instruct the first time driver “don’t cut the corner”. It is after all a perfect corner for cutting. My words echo around the car as she whips right, cuts the corner and heads towards home.

“What part of ‘don’t cut the corner’ did you not understand?” I banter.

“You do it all the time” my daughter factually quips.

Instantly I realised that’s what I do. I cut that corner. Almost every time.

 

A few years ago a friend of ours was in a recovery programme. As a part of the programme they would often go for long walks around urban streets. As you know, footpaths generally curve around the intersection and then cross a few metres into the next street, so that its safer.

They had to ALWAYS cross where the footpath crosses the road.

They weren’t allowed to cut corners.

Ever.

Even if the roads were empty they still go the long way, because they wanted to reinforce that there was no cutting corners when it came to their recovery.

I cut those corners too.

Often.

Without even thinking about it.

 

We cut corners in life repeatedly. Usually because its quicker or easier or the least expensive way. What we often don’t see when we cut corners, is the message that sends to those around us. To our children, students, work-mates or even people we lead.

When you cut corners often enough, people will follow your example.

∴

Realising that I cut corners more often than I thought, has made me resolve some areas I never want to cut corners.

Honesty.

Safety.

Finances.

Caring for people.

Relationships.

Because cutting those corners will leave me a lesser person.

Should you choose Passion or Pay?

14 October 2014 /

042313.passion_pay.web_I was wondering the other day how I would guide my kids if they ask me what is more important in a job, passion or pay?

Suppose they are passionate about an interest, but it really doesn’t pay that well, should they pursue the interest or get a good paying job?

When I talk of a good paying job I mean a job were you can provide well for you (and your family) without spiraling into consumer debt just to stay alive. And passion is probably best describe as something a purpose that brings joy to your heart, does good and makes you feel alive.

Obviously if you can have both you are incredibly fortunate, but in reality few people have both.

So which should it be?

Firstly seek both. Take a hit on a high paying job and take the job that you are passionate about. Just make sure you can live within your pay comfortably because nothing kills passion more quickly than money problems.

Secondly, if you must choose one or the other. Choose Pay, so long as the job doesn’t suck all the life out of you. Choose a good paying job that provides for your needs AND leaves you with time and energy to pursue your passion.

∴

Keeping your head above water financially is important, but so is pursuing a passion. I know many people who have chosen huge money over passion and grumble about their work most times I see them. Their pay may be good, they may have everything they need, but that lack the joy that comes from chasing their passion.

Passion or Pay … which would you pick?

2 tips for being more generous and compassionate.

13 October 2012 /

On a wet humid evening we sat outside on the bustling street corner, in the heart of the action, waiting to enjoy our meal. The restaurant we chose, our clothes and the colour of our skin screamed to the locals that we were wealthy foreigners to Phnom Penh, and almost immediately we were confronted with invitations to purchase or give. Girls the age of my daughters selling bags, young men selling books and a Mother with a young child simply begging. At first we engaged with them, then quickly learnt it was easier to ignore them and their need.

Later as we meandered along the streets we saw a young child (12 – 18 months) standing on the footpath. I glanced down to see her mother bent over a rubbish bag scavenging for food. As I walked past I realised it was the women who had begged from us at dinner. The woman and child I had ignored. I returned and gave her some money, she thanked me, and went back to scavenging in the rubbish.

I learnt some lessons that evening, learnings that have implications beyond the poverty encountered in Cambodia.

We must be prepared to give:
When I hit Cambodia I hadn’t formed this thinking, which meant each situation I encountered required me to make yes/no decisions. Soon the answer just becomes NO.

You can’t fix everything you see, so being prepared means having the forethought to know what you believe in giving to, and how much. And to whom.

This applies equally back home. Knowing what we will give to, helps when people knock on the door or telemarketers call. Importantly knowing what you believe in giving to, means you will give. If you’re not prepared the answer quickly becomes NO.

We must be ready to give:
If being prepared is a state of mind, then being ready is practical. For us it meant having small amounts of money available for donations. Whether running in the morning or on a Tuk Tuk, we had money to give without hesitation to make a small difference.

At home, I barely ever carry money, and therefore it is significantly harder for me to give without hesitation to make a small immediate difference.

∴

I know a lot of people like me have a heart to give, to be compassionate and yet miss opportunities. So may you prepare your hearts to know when and how you will give. And then may you be ready to give without hesitation.

May you encounter the joy of making a difference.

Lesson 1 from Cambodia visit 2012: Being prepared to give.

243 |365 Just in Case

24 May 2010 /

Fire Was thinking the other day about things we own just in case we need them. A fire extinguisher is an extreme example. They hang around looking all red and waiting for its big moment that we hope will never come.
 
But that’s at the office surely we don’t have ‘just in case’ things at home. Like appliances packed at the back of the cardboard, just in case. Or clothes we never wear but keep, just in case. Or exercise equipment we will never use but keep, just in case.
 
I wonder how much money I have spent or misused or wasted, just in case.
 
A significant amount I would expect.

177 | 365 Things we value

20 March 2010 /

Day177.jpgMoney is a medium of exchange for things of value. This means that we use money to buy things we value.
 
If I pay you wages it’s because I value your time and give you money. If we buy art or food or clothes or coffee or toys or random stuff. In each case we decided to spend our money on something we value.
 
Therefore, personally I value café coffee every couple of days more than other things. It’s that simple! More than saving the money, more than paying off the mortgage, more than using it towards buying my wife flowers, more than giving it to the good.trust to give to the poor.
 
If you asked me if I value coffee more than these things I would say ‘NO’, but the cold, hard reality is that the way I spend my money shows I do.
 
So if you want to see what people really value, look at how they spend their money.
 
[177 | 365 – ‘Things we value’ – Last night, I had no photo, so choose to take a photo of twenty dollar notes falling in front of my camera]

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