Why I Chose Simplicity over Wealth

I was speaking with a friend awhile back about career paths and such and he said something to the effect of, “With all of your experience in computers, you should be making a ton of money at a big company. How come you’re not doing it?” I smiled to myself, knowing what this person’s life is like. He is a classic super-achiever – puts in 80 hours a week, takes minimal vacation (if any at all) and purchases large expensive toys, most of which he has no time to enjoy.

I was like that once – I worked for a major banking corporation and was pretty much on the same track – I worked a ridiculous amount of hours with the goal of eventually becoming stinking rich. I’m not sure when this goal changed for me. There was no great epiphany that struck me one day, but rather a slow realization that this was not the life I wanted to lead. It reminded me of a quote that my father used to say jokingly, “I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I”m pretty sure it wasn’t this!”

After a bit of reflection, about what I wanted out of life, I came up with the following reasons I chose the path I am on:

Freedom

Freedom has always been important to me. I remember once when I put in a vacation request, my boss simply said, “Nope, can’t have it during that time.” I took my vacation anyway – I just called in sick for that week. This was probably my first clue that I was not cut out for the corporate environment. Working for myself has enabled me to work when I want, go on vacation when I want or even conduct my business from France or Ireland, if I so choose.

Not to have to go to work to a cubicle every day

I used to hate this more than anything. I found that being in a cubicle all day long sucked the life right out of me. This is probably because I was raised on a 160-acre farm and simply was not used to being in such confined quarters – it’s a personal preference. Many people have to problems at all working in such an environment – but for me, it just didn’t work out.

A life with minimal (or no) meetings.

I honestly recall being at a meeting where the goal was to decide when and what the topic of our next meeting would be. I loathed meetings and usually found them to be not only a huge waste of time, but incredibly boring as well. It’s been years since I’ve been to a meeting – I find that most of my business can be conducted via e-mail, Twitter or Skype from the comfort of my own home office or outside deck.

To be surrounded by peaceful, loving people

This was a big one for me. Being surrounded by fearful, frenzied, rushed, competitive and uptight people made me fearful, frenzied, rushed, competitive and uptight. I recall that just being in the presence of these “super-achievers” got my adrenaline going – and not in a good way. I was constantly nervous, stressed-out and in a frenzy whenever these folk were near. These days I am surrounded by relaxed, peaceful people and am much better for it.

To be able to explore the creative side of myself

Exploring my creativity was something that I did not do until I became an entrepreneur. Creating my business sparked additional creative outlets for me – writing, public speaking and learning a musical instrument, just to name a few. The corporate environment where I found myself had little room for personal creativity – there was a system to follow and all were expected to strictly adhere to it. Now I realize that not all corporate workplaces are like this – many are quite supportive of personal creativity. Mine unfortunately, was not one of them.

A life not bogged down by unnecessary possessions

I’ve been a minimalist for a good part of my life and there’s a good reason for that – I hate clutter! There is also the idea of freedom as well – one cannot be too free when bogged down with possessions. I have been in houses that are chock-full of stuff and literally found it difficult for me to breath. I know that I could have much “nicer” things if I had stayed on the corporate ladder path. But at some point, I decided that my freedom was more important to me than stuff – freedom of NOT having to work 80 hours of week to pay for my crap and freedom of not being a slave to my possessions. I find my life much more pleasurable being surrounded only by those things that I enjoy and that add value to my life.

Plenty of down time so that I can enjoy life

I sometimes wonder whether I’m just lazy but I am unable to see the value in working long hours. I personally love traveling, bicycling, camping, being outdoors, experiencing new things and new people — basically just getting out there and being a part of my community. When I used to work for others, I would come home so wrecked and brain-dead that there was little energy or motivation for anything else. I prefer less work and more play.

These were just some of the things that were important to me in making my compromise – and yes, there was a compromise involved. This comes back to my idea of deciding who you are, and being it. I decided that I wanted to lead a simpler life with more opportunities for travel, creativity, personal development – and less focus on wealth, possessions and upward mobility. I have deliberately kept my business small in order to maintain all of that mentioned above. In doing so, I sacrificed being rich, living in a mansion and having expensive things. If having a lot of money is important to you and something that you strive for, by all means pursue it – everyone should pursue that which is important to them.

I made my decision. While I know that I could be making a lot more money, I chose instead a life of freedom and simplicity – and am more than happy with my decision.

Photo courtesy of lanraga