A Value-Centered Career

A Value-Centered(ˈsen(t)ərd) Career(kəˈrir)

By Steve Pavlina

How do you know if you’re creating and delivering(dəˈlivər) real value?

Ask yourself these questions: If you stopped doing what you do, who would care? Who would object loudly? Who would revolt(rəˈvōlt)?

If you’re creating and delivering genuine(ˈjenyo͞oən) value, and you suddenly stop, people will notice. People will definitely(ˈdef(ə)nətlē) care. Your contribution will be seriously(ˈsirēəslē) missed. There will practically(ˈpraktək(ə)lē) be rioting(ˈrīət) in the streets.

Such people may not even credit(ˈkredət) the value to you directly, especially if your contribution remains somewhat anonymous(əˈnänəməs), but they’ll soon detect(dəˈtekt) that something important is missing from their lives. Even if they don’t know your name, the removal(rəˈmo͞ovəl) of your ongoing value creation and delivery will have a definite effect.

If, however, hardly anyone cares that you stopped, that should tell you something. It means that people just didn’t value your creative output… not really. What you were doing was either unnecessary or easily replaced. You weren’t yet living as a conscious, self-actualized(ˈakCHo͞oəˌlīz) human being. You held back from shining(ˈSHīniNG) as brightly(ˈbrītlē) as you could have.

You have a choice(CHois) of whether or not you want this to be your fate(fāt). You may have been conditioned(kənˈdiSHən) from a young age to view your life path in terms of getting a job and making money. Go ahead and live that way for a few years if you think it’s intelligent(inˈteləjənt). You’ll soon see what a pointless, soulless(ˈsōlˌləs) dead-end it really is.

When you finally begin to hear that subtle(ˈsətl) inner voice screaming at you, “This is just so wrong,” realize that it’s still possible to live a life of fun, freedom, and fulfillment — and still make plenty(ˈplen(t)ē) of money and not starve(stärv). But in order to get there, you have to focus on doing what really matters. You must clear your head of all that socially(ˈsōSHəlē) conditioned nonsense(ˈnänˌsens) and stop doing what everyone else is doing.

…
https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2008/12/how-to-make-lots-of-money-during-a-recession/