Snowboarding Vs. Careers - Let's de-bunk some myths about careers
Ever have someone tell you that you’re wasting your time snowboarding? I strongly disagree, but even if you are wasting your time, they’re probably wasting just as much time at their ‘awesome’ careers.
Why? Because most people in careers are in it to make money and retire. That plan has horrible odds and will likely end in failure.
Now, allow me to show you why.
Out of everyone with careers, how many of them love their jobs? Not many. Okay, now how many of the rest that hate their job or find their job ‘okay’, are doing it because they want to make money and live a life that money can buy. Nearly all of them.
So, let’s de-bunk the biggest reason they give for choosing a normal career:
“A career allows you to save money for your future and retire quicker”
They base this statement from this sort of thinking:
“$10,000 saved in retirement accounts for 40 years with 10% compound interest will make you a multi millionaire when you retire.”
Okay, now let me explain why this is a stupid plan for making money and retiring:
1) Inflation
There’s this thing called inflation. In 40 years, each $1 mil in their bank account will have the real world value of about $250k in today’s world. Their millions are worth a lot less in tomorrow’s world.
2) Stock crashes
What happens if 5 years before they’re meant to retire, the stock market crashes, just like it has in recent years? Say goodbye to 40% of stock investments.
Know what experts tell people to do when this happens? Wait for the market to recover and keep investing. That’s fine for the young, but if someone is already 55-60 years old, this means no retirement for another 15 years. That’s basically the rest of their life.
3) Premature death or illness
Okay, so now say everything works out okay. They put in enough money into their investment account to cover rising inflation and the economy doesn’t tank just before they retire. What about premature death and illness?
What happens in the event that they are either dead or physically unable to enjoy life at retirement age? Money and retirement doesn’t mean much if they can’t use it.
4) 5 days of work for 2 days of fun
Let’s say everything goes well. They make enough from investments, the stock market doesn’t crash and they’re still able bodied and alive at retirement age.
Great, but they just spent 5 days of each week working their butt off. To be one of the few who successfully retire rich, before illness or death destroys their bodies, they need to be working A LOT.
I don’t know about you, but 5 days per week in exchange for 2 days of enjoyment sounds like a crappy deal. That’s what’s expected at a typical career type job.
If snowboarding makes you happy, you’re not wasting your time
The key here is loving what you do. I’m not saying all careers are a waste. In fact, I’m running my own business right now, that definitely counts as a career. I’m more saying that career or not, you should be in it for happiness, not purely in it for money, retirement or ‘success’.
You need to love what you do and do it because it gives you a life that makes you happy now, instead of betting everything on being happy 40 years in the future. The odds are horrible if you’re in it just for money.
I’m in a career and I’m happy, but I also know that if someone else is working for $7.50 an hour at the local restaurant because it allows him be happy by snowboarding every day, then he’s just as successful as I am.
Happiness beats everything else. I don’t care if someone has a career, is a billionaire or if they live paycheck to paycheck and snowboard every day. If they’re happy, that makes them successful.
Being truly happy is never a waste of time.