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2011/09/04

Don't Get a Job

We all want highly paid jobs because we believe that it can provide us the kind of money that we want. We want a lot of money because it would give us the freedom and time to do what we want, when we want it.

However, working or employment is based upon exchanging freedom FOR money. And sometimes it requires forgoing or compromising certain freedom. A rather contradictory approach if you are using this strategy to achieve freedom by having money.

And have you ever given thought as to how much a job cost you?

Below are some of the costs you bear as an employee, but my disclaimer is: Not all cost applies to everyone so be critical about what I share below; if it applies to you then take note. Otherwise, it's someone else's cost and not yours so read consciously.

Cost #1: Time

On a job, when you stop working, you stop receiving money. This coupled with the fact that you need money to survive means your freedom and time are completely tied down by your work.
And if you’re going: “Hey, 40 hours-a-week is not that bad. My life does not revolve around working for survival.”

You are greatly mistaken my friend, 40 hours-a-week is what your corporate employer tells you and that’s based on 8 hours-a-day.

What about your 1 hour lunch break, doesn’t that count as time? Don’t you rather spend that 1 hour with your family or maybe your close friends? 1 hour at work is equivalent to losing 1 hour with loved ones. So that’s 9-hours-a-day gone my friend.

What about the time taken to commute to work? If you are working normal hours, the average time spent on travelling to-and-from work would be 2 hours (if not more). That’s 11 hours-a-day gone, my friend!

And if you take into consideration that you sleep 7 hours-a-day that’s 18 hours-a-day gone again my friend! This leaves you with just 6 hours (out of 24 hours), which is equivalent to having only a quarter of your total time, to do what you really want with the people you love. One quarter! WAKE UP!!!

Cost #2: Adapting to being ‘Handled’ or ‘Managed’

In every company, the chain of command works upward. You report to your superiors, and your superiors report to their bosses, etc. The whole corporate structure is designed based on an adult-managing-child mentality. Your boss is the adult, you are the child and your boss is responsible for your actions.

“Do this, do that, be nice, listen, etc…”
“Good boy, good girl, etc.”
“Here are some treats, now return to your seats and do your own thing, etc.”

Sounds familiar?

In the real world, when an adult makes a mistake, we try to reflect how the mistake was committed, take a quick mental note, learn a lesson and move on to learn new things. In the corporate world, when a ‘child’ makes a mistake, he/she is brought to a corner and lectured:

• “Why did you do that?”
• “Sit there, and think about what you’ve done!”
• “How can we help to avoid this going forward?”
• “Help us help you.”

Tough being human and an employee at the same time, isn’t it? Humans learn through mistakes while employees must learn without making any mistakes. Mistakes usually mean trouble, instead of a valuable lesson or experience.

Cost #3: Employment = Enslavement

Honestly, why do we even call that ‘employment’? We should call it ‘paid slavery’ since an employee is no different than a slave other than the fact that employees are paid a salary:

The master still makes all the money, and you get paid peanuts for doing the heavy lifting and the master decides your life and death with just two words, "You're Fired".

Sure, you get medical benefits, just like how all masters feed their slaves to ensure that they are healthy and can continue doing the master’s heavy lifting.

And the older you get, the further your value as a slave depreciates. Who wants an old and sickness-prone slave anyway? More of a liability than of use. Older slaves usually find it hard to look for a new master when they've been kicked out by the old master.

If you show some initiative, the master may also make you lead a team of slaves. And as the slave leader, you are to ensure that the master’s orders are carried out effectively and efficiently. Should any slaves step out of line, the master will deal directly with you. How empowering!

And if you do not perform your slave duties well enough, your master will release you back into the ‘slave’ market and you will have to find a new master. Oh no, that’s devastating. Why? Because you can’t live without a master :) Other slaves will look down on you and say, “Look at this man, he is master-les.” And you would be so ashamed.

Sometimes you also try harder to be a more valuable slave. You go to college, pursue a post-graduate qualification just so you become a ‘Certified Slave’ so bigger and more dominant masters can enslave you.

However, I’m not saying that being a slave doesn’t have its benefits. As slaves, the roof over your head, the clothes you wear and the food you need are all taken care of. Unfortunately the same cannot be said if you were an employee; you’re paid a salary to take care of all the above by yourself. If you make a bad decision with your money and lose all your food, clothes and shelter, that’s your problem!

But nevertheless, a job offers great 'security', doesn’t it? You are basically safely 'secured' to your master’s wishes :) Great to be employed, right?

Cost #4: Stress

A job gives you stress; stress that you are not in control of, stress that’s created when someone exerts control over you. This is another COST you are bearing as an employee. Some may argue that without a job, life can be stressful as well because if we're jobless, we’ll be financially unstable and that would lead to stress anyway – Not true and totally irrelevant.

Financial stability has nothing to do with being unemployed. Open your eyes and look around you, lots of employed people are still financially unstable. What they don't realize is that the stress from financial instability is caused by the lack of control over their personal money (income, spending, saving & investing), not due to being jobless.

If you have a stable income, wise spending habits, ample savings and good returns on your investments, would you still need a job? :)

To reduce the stress levels from financial instability, the correct and only method is to successfully manage your personal money. By having healthy income, balanced spending, healthy savings and investing, your finances would be stable; there’ll be no financial stress.

Most people let themselves believe that job stress is normal. All jobs have stress and you need jobs anyway so stress is only part of the job. Sure it is, but do you know the price you pay in taking up all these stress in addition to the financial stress that you already have?

Here’s the list of what you may be experiencing due to stress:

• Emotional exhaustion (Burnout)
• Psychosomatic illnesses (Sickness caused by mental stress, not by viruses or malnutrition)
• Physical health illnesses (Sickness such as heart diseases, hypertension, etc.)
• Physical deterioration of sex drive (Losing interest in sex altogether)
• Memory problems
• Inability to concentrate, poor judgment
• Anxious / anxiety (racing thoughts)
• Moodiness
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Depression or general dissatisfaction (unhappiness)
• Eating way more, or eating far less
• Sleeping too much or too little

All the effects of job stress could damage other areas of your life: Personal Development, Relationship, Social Interaction, etc.

After seeing all these costs, I really have to ask: "IS IT TRULY WORTH IT?"

"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind."
- Aristotle -


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