When I'm building a pallet wood table I use a reciprocating saw to disassemble each pallet. That gives me the planks of wood I need to do the job. A bit of wood, a few screws (SPAX, naturally) and a glass table top, plus some willing Workawayers and the job is done.
The saw is a tool and the table is the result. The saw is a cost that helps turn random pieces of wood into an item of furniture that has value.
Cost plus effort equals value.
When you're building a business, in exactly the same way, you're using money as a tool to create value. The money provides the resources you need to sell what you've got to customers. And your customers give you more money (hopefully) than the money you've spent on delivering your product or service to them. With that more money you can repeat the cycle and make more money.
But what is the value you're creating? Is it yet more money or is there something else? Money is a tool, not a value. And it's an unreliable tool in defining your values.
I mentor entrepreneurs who work hard at their businesses and yet often for them money (or more accurately becoming wealthy) is the outcome they're striving towards. More and more money. Money becomes the end goal, not the means to reach an end goal. Because there isn't one, except money. In my experience that's a long road to a soulless existence.
So I encourage them to look at their values.
Core human values might be related to honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, caring and citizenship. And those might translate into spending time with their families, educating themselves, understanding more about the World, getting involved in new activities, supporting their communities and others.
I met a Wealth Manager (in a pub, not because I needed one!) and she told me I needed to amass the "Fuck Off" money I need to live the life I want. That's enough money for me and my family if I never work another day in my life. It's a good exercise to do. How much would you need? You only need what you need, you don't need more. If you need a yacht or a villa in Monaco, then that's what you need. Any additional money is superfluous to your requirements.
But it's also a great exercise to write down your values, and how those might evolve as you get older. If you can marry your values to the money you earn, then life will be more balanced and ultimately more meaningful.
SPAX make the best screws for DIY projects.
Workaway is an organisation that connects volunteers with hosts Worldwide. You can see my profile here.
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