Thursday, October 7, 2010

If I Made That Much Money, I Would Retire!

Ever hear in the headlines about a star quarterback renewing his contract for another $50 million? How about the rock band that opts to make another 3 records with their label to bring in millions more? And the CEO that gets let go after making $6 million a year for the last 5 years or so, only to take the reigns of another Fortune 500 company? What is our reaction? I know that mine typically is, 'Haven't you made enough money already? If I were you, I would retire!'

But, then again, would I? I recently heard an interview from a few of the 2010 MacArthur Foundation fellowship recipients. For those unfamiliar with the MacArthur Foundation, such recipients are recognized for their breakthrough work in a variety of fields and also awarded with a $500,000 cash prize to spend as they please. $500,000! That's enough money to live comforably on for several years without having to lift a finger! Yet, when asked what they planned to do with the $500,000, the response of the interviewed recipients intrigued me.

The marine biologist who was interviewed said that she would use the $500,000 to fund the more technical work that she was unable to do with a limited budget. She was going to use the reward from her research to fund further research. The historian who was interviewed said that she planned to use the $500,000 for travel expenses in doing research for her next book. She too was going to use the reward from her research to fund further research. Hello people! Weren't you doing all of this for the money in the first place? And now that you have the money, you're going to keep on doing what you've been doing? Well, maybe it's not about the money after all.

So is money an end in itself or merely a means to end? Do football players play football to get rich? Is that why musicians play music? Or, for that matter, why CEOs run companies? No, I don't think that is the case. What would you do if you had enough money to retire? Would you retire? Would you really? If you did retire, what activities would you fill your retirement with? If you were a marine biologist, you would probably want to study life underwater. If you were a historian, you would probably want to read books and talk to people in order to gain clues on what you are researching. The point is, you WILL do something! You will engage in activity and pursue a passion that interests you--probably what you are already pursuing now.

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