Are You Just Working For A Paycheck?

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Partial Transcript

[The following is a partial transcript of this episode of The Scott Alan Turner Show. Listen to the full episode to hear this story, listener questions, money hacks, and inspiring stories of people that are changing their financial lives. Subscribe to the free podcast on iTunes or Google Play]

National Football League players decorating cupcakes as a side hustle.

Cupcakes, is there anything they can’t do? More on that in a minute. Listen to this:

I’ve only been working here three days, and I’ve been late all three of them. It’s not that I don’t love my job. I mean, it’s probably too early to actually love it, though the repetitiveness of fixing comma splices and misspellings is actually relaxing. No. It’s him. Precious seconds tick by while I fight with myself. Dignity loses. I straighten my shoulders and head for the shiny chrome and glass building. It’s ten stories high and glistens under the too-bright sky in an obnoxiously ultra-modern way, but it’s stunning. Thankfully, the conference room door is still propped open when I get there, unlike yesterday. The brainstorming session is already in motion, but my boss stops talking when I enter. His intense, amber eyes trail down to my damp shoes, which are leaving watery footprints across the pearl-glass tiles. “Did you really think those were the right shoes to wear after a downpour?” he asks, his smooth voice bored and annoyed. His comment causes all the other eyes in the room to drop to my feet as well, and smirks and snickers ripple through my coworkers. “Take those to reception.” He sips his soy caramel macchiato while I gather the envelopes in my arms. He swallows, deliberately slow, and gives me a hard stare. “At least the temperature is right today. Try to show up on time tomorrow.” Then he continues the meeting like I was never there.

That’s a fictional story from the book House of Falling Embers, by Krystal Jane Ruin. Krystal is an author and one of the many talented listeners of The Scott Alan Turner Show.

If you’re like me as you listened, you thought – that sounds like it could have happened. In fact, you might be thinking back to an old job or old boss. You went through a situation like that.

For most people work is nothing more than collecting a paycheck to pay the bills. We start out in life dreaming about what we want to BE when we grow up. Somewhere along the line people lose that and start thinking about what they are going to DO.

We’re human BEINGS. Not human DOINGS.

All along the way people are defined by what they do. People are valued by what they DO. Wealth, happiness, and security can only come from what you BE.

It’s hard to get excited about a job that brings no joy. People get excited by a raise or money but that wears off pretty quick.

If you don’t believe me, think back to how you looked forward to starting whatever job you may have now. Or a job you had in the past. Compare that to your level of happiness now.

• 20% of employees and even business owners, are company cancers.
• Half of people are just collecting a paycheck
• Around a quarter of people really enjoy what they do.

Did you hear about the three NFL players that opened up a cupcake shop in Austin, TX? Michael Griffin of the Tennessee Titans said.

“It’s not just about investing. It’s about learning where your money is going. Players’ businesses often fail because they’re hands-off. They just throw money at stuff. And when it does fail, you don’t know why it failed.”

That’s great advice by itself.

It’s kinda like people and investing. Hands-off. Invest the money where someone tells them to. They make less and fund someone else’s retirement, college savings, and vacations.

But the cupcake story is about preparing for the next chapter in life.

Retirement has become – when can I leave my dumb job and do something I want to.

Retirement. I know is a long way off for many listeners. But the sooner people figure this out, the more you’ll live life.

• Travel more
• Spend more time with family
• Get away from these bozos at work that suck the life out of me like energy draining vampires.
• Live and work on your terms
• Eat more cupcakes

I want those things for you now – especially the cupcakes. Or as soon as you can get to them. Not in twenty years. Not in ten years. Not in five years. Maybe this afternoon for the cupcakes.

Why shouldn’t people have fun in what they do for work now?

I know you’ve asked these questions to yourself before:

• What careers make a lot of money. Which leads to being unfulfilled, burnout, divorce, depression.
• What’s in demand. People do what studies tell them to do.
• What’s safe and secure. Which implies someone can predict the future.

When we should be asking ourselves and challenge younger generations:

• What gets me out of bed in the morning
• How can I help others?
• How can I get paid for doing what I love?

Katie’s college friend traveled for years. She lived in Peru giving 6-week guided tours. Imagine that. Getting paid to travel.

In The Millionaire Mind the author looked for some things millionaires had in common. One thing in common was they loved what they were doing.

You see it’s hard to train for and run a marathon if somebody hates running.

I was bored to death at my first job after working there six years. I left for a startup company. Very new and exciting.

If you’re unemployed, underemployed, unhappily employed, get ready for the change. Or make your own change.

You’ve heard plenty of stories about people who leave their jobs and switch careers to do something more significant. That one person who left a high paying job to go start a cupcake shop. Heaven on earth!

“I wish more and more guys would take that risk or that jump. It keeps you busy. My favorite part has been learning the business side and gaining business acumen. I encourage other players to start something they’re passionate about and build their money from it.”

Link in the show notes to that story. Read it and share the story with someone. NFL players decorating cupcakes for a side hustle. That’s worth talking about.

Evaluate where you are and think about if that’s where you need to be. You have time to make your life count.

Come up with a plan.

• Because frustration is replaced with hope when you have a plan.
• Stress is replaced with peace of mind, when you have a plan.
• Dread is replaced with enthusiasm, when you have a plan.

I’ve shared my story – I made my first big move because I had 6–8 months of emergency funds saved up. That let me take a 65% pay cut and leave corporate life. My first self-employed paycheck paid for my needs, and that’s all.

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