“Have I Been Conned?”
"Have I Been Conned?" read the subject line of an e-mail I received last month.
The long e-mail I received was a hard one to digest, as evidenced by the month it's taken me to write about it. It was a deeply personal e-mail, so I'm going to paraphrase.
This man, we'll call him Steve (mid-40s), said he first stumbled onto my content about 4 years ago after randomly catching one of our Meaning Over Money podcast episodes. He was drawn in by the production quality of the show, and stayed because, unlike most podcasts, our show was short and to the point. "No fluff, no filler, just compelling, thought-provoking ideas."
He said that for several years, he disagreed with more than half of my content, especially anything relating to the idea that our work should provide meaning. His mission in life has been to make as much money as possible so he can retire as quickly as possible. And if you've been a follower of my content for any period of time, you know how much disdain I have for that mode of operation.
Here's where Steve's story gets interesting. One day, earlier this year, he woke up with a pit in his stomach. As he prepared for his day, he wondered to himself, "Is this really all life is about? Work, money, sleep, work, money, sleep, work, money, sleep." In an instant, he felt like everything he had been told about life revealed itself as one giant lie. What's the point, he wondered. After spending more than 20 years in his career, it just dawned on him that he was "playing a loser's game."
"I fell for the lie that life is about making money. I lost sight of what was really important to me. As I look around, I realize almost everyone is doing the same thing. I think that's why I so frequently disagreed with your content. Until now!"
Steve isn't alone. In fact, I hear from people just like Steve every week. It feels like an awakening is happening. The wool is being pulled from over people's eyes, and they are recognizing that our culture's perspective of work and money is deeply toxic. It's led to a place where 70% of Americans dislike or hate their jobs. On top of that, mental health issues are rising quicker than ever. We are running on this hamster wheel of money, consumption, and misery, picking up steam every step of the way.
At some point, we must jump off the wheel. We need to catch our breath and realize what game we're actually playing. We live in a system that's built around keeping us obsessed with money, stuff, and status. More than ever, one of the key status symbols that we worship is an earlier-the-better retirement. That's the flex. That's the mission.
My new friend Steve sees the con now. Fortunately, his eyes have been opened. As he puts it, he's never been richer, never been more miserable, and never been this lonely, and never been more ready to stop working.....and he's still only in his 40s. It's time for Steve to start playing a new game.
I'm on Team Steve. I love this new game that Steve is opting into. Meaning over money. Impact instead of consumption. The pursuit of work that matters. It's a wild game; it's an amazing game. Maybe you can play it, too.
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