Max Bottaro

I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven;
When I awoke I spent that on a necklace-
I told God I’d be back in second,
Man, it’s so hard not to act reckless…

Once upon a time, there was an corn farmer who lived near a baseball field. On the weekends, the neighborhood boys would play baseball on the field. All the homeruns would fly into the farmer’s cornfield, and as the boys retrieved the ball they would damage the farmers crop.

At first the farmer yelled at the boys. The boys would simply run away and come back a few minutes later. The farmer tried everything you could imagine- he bought guard dogs, notified the police, and even tried calling the boys’ parents. Everything failed- the boys continued to play, and the farmers crops continued to be ruined.

Exhausted, the farmer eventually decided to stop these direct tactics. The farmer was a smart man, and eventually he came up with a plan. One hot afternoon while the boys were playing, he quietly approached them. As they began to run, he told them to wait, he merely wanted to offer them something. The boys cautiously approached the farmer:

“I just love seeing you boys play, it brings me back to when I was younger… tell you what, I’ll pay each of you $5 just to let me watch you all play for an hour.”

The boys suspiciously accepted, and after the farmer had made good on his word, were rather thrilled to be paid for playing. The farmer told the boys to come back tomorrow, and that he would pay them again. This continued for quite some time.

Eventually, some of the boys stopped coming, and after two weeks the farmer had completely rid himself of the boys.

One of my college professors, John Greathouse, opened his Entrepreneurship class by telling the students not to let money be the main reason to get into business, and never make earnings your primary goal. I can remember thinking that statement was a load of moral manure. That’s easy for him to say, I thought to myself. Greathouse is a retired chief executive who sits comfortably behind a successful VC firm. Of course he is going to say money isn’t important, he probably wipes with twenties. I was like the impatient twelve year old in karate class- I didn’t want to hear about social responsibility or turning the other cheek- when do we learn how to snap some necks!?

Learning that money isn’t an effective motivator is something I would have to learn on my own, the hard way. I grew up in a middle class household, and as far back as I can remember I always wanted what my rich friends’ families had. SUV’s, camcorders, big screen TV’s,plush carpets, and rich mahogany furniture. I felt secure with these lavish surroundings; I would even go as far as to say I resented my parents for not being rich. I went to a rich high school and it was the same story. Most of the kids were learning how to drive in BMWs. I was grateful for what I had, but I always wanted more.

In college my craving for material things was far from satiated. I felt that a the mark of a true man was his earning potential. I went into this summer with the same beliefs. I took a crappy sales job because of the potential for high earning based on commission. I did well my first weak, close to a thousand in commission-but I am hating life right now. I work 12-14 hour days, and I have no life outside of this job. I pushed myself hard because I wanted the money, but because I don’t even enjoy sales, my motivation is already tapering off. This week’s paycheck will be much slimmer, and I don’t see it going up in the near future. I can no longer mask the fact that I hate what I am doing- I have lost motivation, and it is energetically taxing trying to do something that feels forced.

It’s not that I think money isn’t important- it is. But you need to find something that you are good at and that you like, focus on doing that and the money will follow. I don’t care how much you are getting paid to do a job; you will never do it as well as someone who enjoys what they are doing.

In psychology this is know as intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is what you create- you want to make the most commission this week because of you, not because you need to prove anything to anyone, but because you love your job and you are good at what you do. Extrinsic motivation is something like money. It could also be your boss breathing down your throat or any number of external factors.

In a study with second graders, the difference between internal and external motivation was documented. All the children in this particular class loved to paint- they did it everyday on a regular basis (internal motivation). The researchers then began to pay the children 1 quarter for every drawing they did. After a while, the children would only paint if they were paid, and even when they were the quality of the paintings deteriorated rapidly. The children appeared uninterested in drawing time, and eventually stopped drawing altogether, stating that 25 cents wasn’t enough. This was the point I was getting at with the parable in the beginning of this post- extrinsic motivation is no replacement for intrinsic motivation.

It’s true that money can buy happiness, but if the way you earn money is a struggle, you will never be happy- or rich for that matter. You cannot struggle your way to joy- the two states of being are inherently separate. Struggle and joy can not be fully appreciated at the same time- money and joy can, and struggle and money can. Most people fall into the latter category.

Focus on creating value, and doing what you love. The money will follow. If you do something well and enjoy it, you will excel past anyone who is in the field for monetary purposes- your intrinsic motivation is stronger than their monetary motivation, and as a result you will be better, work harder, and thus earn more from it.

Some times when you lean desperately towards something you push it away. If you are too eager to seal a deal, you often get a poor deal or no deal at all. If you try to hard and appear desperate for a girl, chances are she will be repelled as well. Money is the same way. If you are desperate for it, you often end up paying to much too get it.