Work is a Means to an End!

I am sure many of us have heard this before......."Work is a Means to an End"! But how many of us know why we working or what we working for. Some people are slaves to their job putting in 12 hours a day and even 7 days a week.

Is that why we are brought into this world.....to work? That's sad. Even if you love your job, there must be some kind of balance to your life.

I have two friends in Malaysia who are lawyers. I have known them for more than 10 years. They used work day and night with very little time to party or meet up with friends. They used to complain about working long hours and yet they continued doing so. Fortunately, whenever I went up to Malaysia, we managed to meet up and go for dinners and drinks. I used to advise them to make more time for themselves so that they can have a life. I even dispensed this advise over emails whenever I had time and I complain that they only have time to come to Johore for their cases and no time to cross over to Singapore because they are so busy even though I had made at least 10 trips to meet them. The good news is that both these friends have settled down. One friend has a 3 year old son and ironically she is in Singapore and she now has a shorter working hour as a in-house lawyer. The other friend had her wedding in Bali (the most exotic wedding I have ever attended) and she is expecting her first child. She is now lecturing. I am so happy for them. These are things that bring meaning to your life-friends, happy marriage, children, your pets, etc. Not work as they have found out and I did long time ago.

I am not saying you should not work. You should work. Just don't let it control your life. Take a break from work if you had worked continuously for at least a year. You need to recharge. You will be surprised what it do to your outlook of life and your productivity at work. And you should take time to exercise because Health is Wealth. I had a friend in the F & B line who died of heart attack recently. He worked hard and he played hard. He was only 43 years old. When I hear about these things I wonder if it is worth sacrificing your life for work. Stress is a major cause of illness and pain in our body. So, please take good care. Minimize the stress in your life.

Here are some things to consider:-

1) If you hate your job- Sack the company. Look for a better one.

2) If you hate your BOSS!-Sack the BOSS. Find a new BOSS in another company who is not BOSSY.

3) No Time- Make time or Find a New JOB!

4) Take a Break from your JOB!- take a week or two off every year or every 6 months to recharge. Travel. DO CHARITY WORK!

5) Take up a Part-Time Course then change industry so that you have a better pay and more time to spend the hard earned money well.

6) Become your own BOSS- start while you on your current job (if you can) and build it. Once it has grown big enough you can quit your job. May not be easy as you think but you have to start somewhere. Just don't wait too long.

7) Have Business on the side that provides you passive income so that you do not have to work so hard in your current job. Rental from investment property and network marketing are two options you can consider according to Robert Kiyosaki.

I hope I have given you some idea about what work means to me. Don't quit just because of what I said. You have to make an informed decision on why you are doing what you are doing. Plan your life (read my April 2008 article-"You Are the CEO of Your Company: "ME Inc."). You work to feed yourself, have roof over your head, buy clothes, go for a movies, save for RETIREMENT, share some of your wealth with the less fortunate and basically have a Good Life. Enjoy the life you have properly. Don't be a slave to your work.

Have a Great Life! Don't Worry Be Happy!

Cheers,

Mark