To Do What You Want Rather Than What Makes You Money Is A Luxury Preserved For The Privileged Few

12/2/2012

If you know someone that says this it is more than likely that they grew up in a well-to-do home and never knew ‘want’. They see their ‘socialist’ views on life as something that sets them above other people, but seldom do these sanctimonious individuals pause to acknowledge how much of a privileged position they are in.

Most people do not have the privilege to follow their hearts. To do so would be selfish and indeed self-indulgent. Money is not evil, it is an enabler, having a little money can be the difference between dying and having a few more breaths on this earth.

I grew up in a poor country and was naturally frequently exposed to poverty and want. Yes, I fully acknowledge that I was raised in a relatively wealthy family but when you come from somewhere as poor as Malawi, that doesn’t mean you’re completely sheltered from the vagaries of misfortune.

Fortunately for me, the things I enjoyed in life steered me towards a career that earns decent money. If for some reason I decided to follow a self-indulgent path that did not earn money, I would at the same time be taking myself off the path that would enable me to one day contribute in real, monetary terms to my family and to my country. Yes, you can contribute in non-monetary terms but I dare you to say that to the mother that hasn't been able to feed her children for two days. When you're poor, money to purchase food and shelter is all that matters. It consumes your every thought and effort.

The needs of my own life are simple and I continually try to temper them. My biggest fantasy for when I have a real amount of money is to build a series of little libraries in Malawi because it is only through study of the written word that people can gain freedom from poverty.

Most people in Malawi and indeed in many poor countries follow the path that makes money because they don’t have the choice. They need and want to help their family. The money they earn frequently goes to help with the school fees of siblings and to purchase medical supplies for any family members that are sick. Most poor countries cannot afford a state funded medical system. Free education if it is available is frequently atrocious, you wouldn’t wish it on an enemy let alone a loved family member.

I know many including Steve Jobs proclaimed that you should follow your heart not money. I agree that this is an ideal position but most lives are less than ideal. Your family are the only people that love you unconditionally. The more selfless amongst us put our families first and ourselves last and in many cases if given the choices:

1) low-income fulfilling career but unable to contribute towards the extended family or

2) high-income less fulfilling career but able to contribute towards the extended family

Most people would choose option two because they have to. So, for those that are fortunate enough to come from a background where they don’t have to make this choice, please stop being so self-righteous and count your lucky stars.

4 Comments

chimwemwe chitsulo

9/8/2016 08:38:04 am

Have seen this being posted on FB a lot lately. Beg to differ.. Wealth usually comes from providing a service that benefits/advances the lives of the masses-millions of people, including a lot of peoples "extended family". The people who invent(ed) drugs, motor engines, desktop PCs, etc all chased their dreams, all got rich and all helped advance humanity. It seems to me that it's more self-righteous/selfish to presume that our obligation to humanity only encompasses our "extended family". Its defeatist actually.

Personally, I think the key issue should be identifying a purpose for your life and having the determination to pursue and fulfill it. Certainly this path to identify and fulfill your purpose will not be without challenges and impediments. There'll be plenty! And one's financial standing and family obligations are among these challenges/impediments. However, I would suggest that the primary distinction between those who get wealthy and those who don't is more to do with one's frame of mind (outlook on life; having the mental strength/focus to identify what you want out of life and the desire/determination to pursue and achieve this) and less to do with having been born privileged.

Heather KW

9/8/2016 08:38:43 am

Thanks for the comment Chimwemwe, I appreciate all input whether it is for or against my views but in this case I think you misunderstood what the blog is about. It is not actually trying to determine who gets rich and who does not. It is directed at people who think they are better than others because they chose to specifically pursue a career that they knew will not earn them a good living.
All the specific examples you give – the development of a mass product are good examples of careers that do make money: people who work in IT or pharmaceuticals will earn a good living whether or not they invent the next big things so those are actually not appropriate examples to argue against this blog.
There are many in the developed world who think money is evil and that following a path that will definitely not earn them a good income sets them above the rest.

9/8/2016 08:39:24 am

A couple of comments from my Facebook wall:

From M Joks: "Very true Heather and well written! I am always having such arguments with people in Europe and it drives me crazy!"

From AngieCK: "Totally agree and on point, have met a couple of people telling me the same story, but yeah all them from outside Malawi so go figure!!!"

Luke Flegg

9/8/2016 08:41:41 am

Hello,
I think our globalization money-based economy is evil. Or at least very dysfunctional.
I don't think it's an enabler in the long term, on a global scale. I only think it's an enabler for you right now if you get richer (which means someone else gets poorer, because money is finite, which doesn't make sense to me because the resources that we actually need to live healthy lives are not finite in the same way money is; we could use land much more effectively and sustainably, but money makes us only care about our generation and short term solutions in a dog eat dog world where we don't rely on each other, we just rely on money).

I have followed my heart on purpose, realising I would earn less money than if I sold my soul doing something I didn't care about, so I guess I'm the person you think is self righteous, who thinks they're above everyone. This offends me because you don't know me, and what drives my pursuits is helping others:
www.lukeflegg.co.uk
I am proud of what I've chosen to do. Right now I have literally a grand total of £1.01 remaning available overdraft so many people who like our money based economy and how it operates probably despise me for contributing nothing.
I don't like contributing financially. I think at least in its current form it's a trap that we've invented which enables a select few and disables many more, and those of us who are most enabled are always the ones filling the atmosphere with pollution, destroying ecosystems and obliviously ruining the lives of indigenous people in countries where life is more basic and more sustainable.

I think most of the time someone accused people of being self righteous, they're being self righteous themselves.
I'm not going to lie - I do think more people should follow their heart instead of just blindly trying to earn as much money as possible. This is because I think the latter is the best way to distract yourself from discovering what really matters to you. Chasing money with all your energy is the best way to forget what really matters I think, which is people.
We made this trap and we can change the shape of it; it doesn't have to be the only option.
For example I'm looking into resource based economies at the moment and it makes a lot more sense to me. I don't think the only way to get people to contribute to a community is to create a system of competition, where a tiny minority can easily get minted and drunk on privilege while most of the others starve regardless of how hard they work to contribute.

If our current system worked, the richest 3 people would not have the same combined wealth as the 48 poorest nations put together!

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