3 tips for balancing money, meaning & magic
People want three things from work: money, meaning and magic. Money feeds the stomach; meaning and magic feed the spirit and the soul. Let’s explore how you can get the right balance in your work.
1) Money.
“I’m not sure I will ever have enough money,” said one person. “I seem to spend whatever I get.” Different people have different relationships with money. Researchers tell us that, once people go beyond a certain financial threshold, then increased money does not mean increased happiness. On a scale 0—10, to what extent do you feel you get enough money in your work? Would you like to improve the rating? If so, how can you make this happen?
One key point: How a person spends their money - and whether they can do so more wisely - is a separate issue. Many excellent books have been written on this subject. The Seven Laws of Money, by Michael Phillips, remains one of the best. Published over 20 years ago, it shows how people can enjoy a better relationship with money. Providing you have enough money to live, the issue then becomes one of lifestyle - making money your servant, rather than master. As Gandhi said: “The world has enough resources for everybody’s need, but not for everybody’s greed.” Try completing the following sentences.
The extent to which I feel I get enough money in my work is: ___ /10
The specific things I can do to maintain or improve this rating are:
*
*
*
2) Meaning.
On a scale 0—10, to what extent do you enjoy a sense of meaning in your work? “I love my job,” said one person. “I provide solutions that help people to take more charge of their lives. Like many people in the service business, I aim to help customers to succeed. And that gives me an enormous buzz.”
“Looking at my professional life,” said one knowledge worker, “I must get the right balance between innovation, implementation and impact. The final phase, impact, is important - because I like to see positive results. In my last job, however, I spent all my time implementing other people’s tactics. There was little scope for innovation or impact. So I returned to what I do best. Now I can see results - which is what I find fulfilling.”
Looking to the future, how can you maintain - or improve - the sense of meaning? Try completing the following sentences.
The extent to which I enjoy a sense of meaning in my work is: ___ /10
The specific things I can do to maintain or improve this rating are:
*
*
*
3) Magic.
When do you enjoy a sense of magic in your work? When do you get a creative high? When do you flow? When do you go into your equivalent of the sporting zone? Looking to the future, how can you create more of those spell-binding moments?
“I started by giving myself treats - visiting customers again,” said a sales director, “which was far more rewarding than boring internal meetings. Slowly I pieced together these visit like a string of pearls, until 80% of my week was spent with customers. The orders rolled-in and, because our team burst the bottom-line, I was given extra heads. So I did three things. First, found a co-ordinator to manage the team. Second, got everybody to write down their strengths and how they could use them to achieve the team’s goals. Third, gave the co-ordinator power to harness these strengths and fill the gaps. That released everybody to do what they do best. Now we have a superb team.”
Richard Florida’s book, The Rise of The Creative Class, describes how millions of people are being more creative in their work. If they cannot satisfy this drive inside an organisation, they go outside. Companies that harness this spirit will create ‘win-wins’ - both for the organisation and the individual. Bread is vital to stay alive but, as we are told, people do not live by bread alone. Many are taking steps to get the right balance between money, meaning and magic in their lives. Try completing the following sentences.
The extent to which I enjoy a sense of magic in my work is: ___ /10
The specific things I can do to maintain or improve this rating are:
*
*
*
“I’m not sure I will ever have enough money,” said one person. “I seem to spend whatever I get.” Different people have different relationships with money. Researchers tell us that, once people go beyond a certain financial threshold, then increased money does not mean increased happiness. On a scale 0—10, to what extent do you feel you get enough money in your work? Would you like to improve the rating? If so, how can you make this happen?
One key point: How a person spends their money - and whether they can do so more wisely - is a separate issue. Many excellent books have been written on this subject. The Seven Laws of Money, by Michael Phillips, remains one of the best. Published over 20 years ago, it shows how people can enjoy a better relationship with money. Providing you have enough money to live, the issue then becomes one of lifestyle - making money your servant, rather than master. As Gandhi said: “The world has enough resources for everybody’s need, but not for everybody’s greed.” Try completing the following sentences.
The extent to which I feel I get enough money in my work is: ___ /10
The specific things I can do to maintain or improve this rating are:
*
*
*
2) Meaning.
On a scale 0—10, to what extent do you enjoy a sense of meaning in your work? “I love my job,” said one person. “I provide solutions that help people to take more charge of their lives. Like many people in the service business, I aim to help customers to succeed. And that gives me an enormous buzz.”
“Looking at my professional life,” said one knowledge worker, “I must get the right balance between innovation, implementation and impact. The final phase, impact, is important - because I like to see positive results. In my last job, however, I spent all my time implementing other people’s tactics. There was little scope for innovation or impact. So I returned to what I do best. Now I can see results - which is what I find fulfilling.”
Looking to the future, how can you maintain - or improve - the sense of meaning? Try completing the following sentences.
The extent to which I enjoy a sense of meaning in my work is: ___ /10
The specific things I can do to maintain or improve this rating are:
*
*
*
3) Magic.
When do you enjoy a sense of magic in your work? When do you get a creative high? When do you flow? When do you go into your equivalent of the sporting zone? Looking to the future, how can you create more of those spell-binding moments?
“I started by giving myself treats - visiting customers again,” said a sales director, “which was far more rewarding than boring internal meetings. Slowly I pieced together these visit like a string of pearls, until 80% of my week was spent with customers. The orders rolled-in and, because our team burst the bottom-line, I was given extra heads. So I did three things. First, found a co-ordinator to manage the team. Second, got everybody to write down their strengths and how they could use them to achieve the team’s goals. Third, gave the co-ordinator power to harness these strengths and fill the gaps. That released everybody to do what they do best. Now we have a superb team.”
Richard Florida’s book, The Rise of The Creative Class, describes how millions of people are being more creative in their work. If they cannot satisfy this drive inside an organisation, they go outside. Companies that harness this spirit will create ‘win-wins’ - both for the organisation and the individual. Bread is vital to stay alive but, as we are told, people do not live by bread alone. Many are taking steps to get the right balance between money, meaning and magic in their lives. Try completing the following sentences.
The extent to which I enjoy a sense of magic in my work is: ___ /10
The specific things I can do to maintain or improve this rating are:
*
*
*
posted by Mike Pegg at
15:53
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