Posted 3 years, 2 months ago in the late afternoon by oso
This post is the second in a series. You can find the first here.
My father is a notoriously difficult person to shop for. Three times a year - Christmas, birthday, and Father’s Day - I am faced with the same conundrum: what in the hell could I possibly give this guy that I haven’t already given him before and that he will actually either value or use?
He is Spartan-like in the way he lives his life: just as content driving a VW bug as a Porsche. What he values is accomplishment and solving challenges, but one cannot wrap a process in wrapping paper. Inevitably, after a couple days of thinking I might actually come up with something, I end up buying him a book or magazine subscription.
Given that I take after my dad’s preference of experience over consumption, I am always surprised when on my own birthday or for Christmas, he gives me gadgets like a GPS or electric razor. The only exception was about a year and a half ago (for Christmas I think?) when he gave me a book. The only book he has ever given me. (wait, that’s a lie. when I was a young child he gave me the book, How Things Work) It was a book I was aware of. It was hard not to be … every single bookstore was full of hundreds of copies. But it didn’t seem like my type of read at all and I could only respond with a bewildered “thanks, I’ll make sure to check it out.”
That night it got tucked into last place on a long and impatient book shelf demanding my attention. But I did make a mental note to make sure to one day at least skim through it. My dad was obviously making a point in giving it to me and I was more curious to understand his thinking than find out what the book itself had to say. More than a year later, looking for lightweight books to bring down with me to Monterrey, I slipped it in my suitcase. And a couple months ago I finally started, and finished, Rich Dad, Poor Dad - What the Rich do that the Poor and Middle Class Don’t by Robert Kiyosaki.
In all honesty, I expected the very worst, but by page 44 my expectations were exceeded. The essential plot of the book (and by plot, I mean in the sense that a porno has a plot) is that the author grew up learning his life lessons from both his real dad - a department head at the University of Hawaii - and his “rich dad,” the entrepreneurial father of his best friend. In the first few chapters of the book, Kiyosaki explains how he ended up listening to his rich dad’s advice and ignoring the advice of his father.
His real dad essentially tells him to attain a good education, a secure job with union membership, and to invest conservatively into a pension fund that will allow a comfortable retirement. His “rich dad,” on the other hand, says to focus on just one thing and that is financial literacy, which basically means, knowledge of what makes you money and what takes it away. One day (on page 44) Robert Kiyosaki is talking with his “rich dad,” who is explaining the mentality of one of his employees:
“He’s not much different from most of my employees,” said rich dad. “I’ve met so many people who say, ‘Oh, I’m not interested in money.’ Yet they’ll work at a job for eight hours a day. That’s a denial of truth. If they weren’t interested in money, then why are they working? That kind of thinking is probably more psychotic than a person who hoards money.”
As I sat there listening to my rich dad, my mind was flashing back to the countless times my own dad said, “I’m not interested in money.” He said those words often. He also covered himself by always saying, “I work because I love my job.”
So right away, it was clear to me that both Robert Kiyosaki and his “rich dad” have a perspective of human beings (and what motivates us) different from my own. In their eyes, everyone wants to be rich and every person works only to make money.
While there are definitely many people who feel an intense desire to become rich (the book, after all, is a bestseller), I don’t think solely being rich is their main desire/motivation. Rather, they want to reach a certain level of comfort (like we all do), but after that, it’s a matter of attracting attention, power, and envy. That’s understandable … those are all normal human desires, but Kiyosaki doesn’t take into account that there are other ways of attaining them apart from one’s bank statement.
The second idea - that we only work to make money - probably has more currency than most would like to believe. It’s very unfashionable these days to say we don’t like our jobs and that we go only for our paychecks. That is a good thing. If you’re going to be spending 40 hours a week somewhere, it’s important that you enjoy what you are doing. But the real question is, would you still do the same work if you weren’t paid anything for it? Few people can claim to be in that column.
But that doesn’t mean it is “psychotic thinking” to say someone works solely for the enjoyment of what they do rather than what they earn. The difficulty comes in defining “work.” If I were a writer, than this would be my work. If I were a web master, than helping someone with his/her website would be my work. If I were a cook, than making someone food would be my work. If I were a translator, then translating pieces from one language to another, would be my work. If I were a radio producer, then making audio content would be my work. And if I were a photographer, taking pictures would be my work.
As it turns out, I do all of these things, but when someone asks me what my work is, I respond that I am a teacher. Which supposedly means, I am paid to impart my knowledge of a subject to someone who finds value in it. But I happily do this whether I’m paid for it or not. If someone asks me a question about English grammar and I happen to know the answer, I tell them without second thought. It’s laughable to think I’d charge $5 for the answer.
The reason I reply that I’m an English teacher is because external forces have decided that it is the work with the most value. But that doesn’t mean I think it’s the work I do with the most value.
Essentially, it’s not the pitch that matters, but how the ump calls it.
Which Bangladeshi singer or group...
Good stuff Oso. The attitude or viewpoint makes such a huge difference because it changes the variables.
My attitude toward money & work changed significantly after reading the book “Money or your life”. Cliché, I know. But it drove a point home: money (&work) was just a trade. A piece of my life for X. After changing my viewpoint, I couldn’t help but examine my life. Before I couldn’t be bothered with a lot of financial details (keeping tabs on spending, looking at total costs for debts, etc) because I was not struggling. Those simple details suddenly became very important.
It also made me re-evaluate what I wanted out of a job. At that time I was considering taking a different job that would have given me around a 20% boost in salary. But as I looked at what really mattered, it turned out that total hours worked (on and off the clock) were more important than salary. In my case, vacation time is worth much more to me (being in IT) than most people, and has become a major priority.
My situation didn’t change, my perspective did.
nice post oso. just as you are not what you own, you are not what you are paid to do. have you asked your dad why he wanted you to read this book.
my husband read this book and relayed to me what it was about. it helped change my perspective as to how i viewed work. actually, it was kind of timely because it was around the same time that i began to realize how much i disliked my job. but i also realized that while i do like money no raise was high enough for me to want to keep doing it…
but i’m curious too, why did your dad give you the book? is there a third installment you’re working on?
I work for nothing and quite enjoy it. Certainly wouldn’t mind getting paid though.
In reading you, I’ve learned about myself. I’ve felt the same way about differencing work from hobbies. Does anyone else have hippy-geeky-ish thoughts about OpenSourceSocieties? Working for the good of mankind for free?
I wish there was a political system that could benefit our needs… and that could also be explained by cows.
This reminded me of the recent issues that have been of much say on the radio, and newspaper: the ‘Hoy no Circula’ plan for Monterrey.
I can’t help but thinking of a ludicrous solution… switching jobs… or getting jobs closer to your residential zone. This might prove a difficult task, but it might be a radical solution if Monterrey plans to become the “Ciudad Internacional del Conocimiento“.
Well, it’s either that, or getting a bigger, better bus system…
I truly can’t find a job that I like and even teaching to a certain extent is something that I do not because I enjoy it but because its the career that sucks the least. Dont’ get me wrong..teaching sucks because of all the restrictions and pressure that is put on you by the state. The area of teaching that I do enjoy is subbing but you would be better off waiting tables in trying to make a living with what subs make. I thought college was supposed to help us clarify these doubts. Maybe I am just a lazy ass huevon! LoL
Hi:
I’m moving to Monterrey around July 29. Looking for a decent one-bedroom apartment close to Tec campus for around $US350 - $US400. Short of that, I’m willing to rent a room near Tec campus until I can find something more permanent . . . . Any takers?
I work in software engineering and get paid decently, but honestly it just sits there in my bank account. Would I do software if I didn’t get paid? Yes, I love the mental puzzle, I even do some stuff on my free time and would love to do that Open Source stuff, but probably not as many hours a day and probably on something more socially worthwhile than cellphones.
Why don’t I do something about it? Because I need that green card and my quality of life and connection to people and friends in this country is at this point more important to me than a couple hours extra free time everyday. I’m definitely tiring of the situation though, I’ve been working at the same company four years, and the INS is the slowest moving bureaucracy you could ever imagine.
Nice post, oso.
Damn, I didn’t know you liked baseball?
Weird. I thought I was gonna get a lecture about how free market forces are the objective measure of what work is “valuable.” You guys are so easy on me … I love you, I love you all.
Chris,
I should definitely take a look at that book. Now that I’m back where there are actualy libraries, I’ll keep my eyes out. (BTW, we need to grab a beer)
Rajeev and Irasali,
I haven’t asked my dad why he gave me the book, but I have a pretty good idea. In this post I come down way too hard on the book. I would actually recommend it to a certain type of person: hardworking, smart, timid, and always earning someone else their fortune. I think my dad could very well fit into that archetype and I suppose he was worried I would as well. Luckily, I don’t plan on making a fortune for myself or anyone else for that matter.
Abo,
Give it up. No one’s gonna pay you for putting out.
Rolando,
Thoughts coming on open source … Monterrey has a while to go before it becomes the knowledge capital of the world.
Gustavo,
There was an excellent piece in the NY Times partly written by San Fran writer Dave Eggers a few weeks ago about just how bad teachers have it these days. Good luck on the hunt.
shimonkey,
I thought the best way to go was to marry a gringo?
Revaz,
You kidding me homie? I was starting half-back all throughout high school.
Oops, I forgot to mention that some guy named John T. Reed has all the cheese about Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki.
Oso, I’m ready for a cerveza when you are (or some tea @ panakin during work hours) gimme a ring. I fly back to CAN for a couple weeks on Tuesday.