It’s Not All About The Benjamins
Why I’m Not Worried About the 100 Follower Requirement
Sometimes “side hustles” add way more stress than they need to. I’m figuring this out now after a sweet bout with burnout. I really don’t need a side hustle, and I’ve been busting my ass for way too long trying to build one unnecessarily. For me it’s been a selfish pursuit, and I’m switching my focus to solely helping others with my free time; paid or not.
The Epiphany
Do you ever sit around and have one of those thoughts: the kind that are way too simple, but have eluded you for years? Well I’ve had one, just now, and I’m going to blab about it. Simply put, I don’t need to monetize this blog. If I can get 100 followers and continue to monetize, great. If not… great. Honestly, I don’t need the money. Not that I’m raking it on on this platform. The point is, I have a great day job, a wife and child, and several neglected hobbies. Sure, I want to help people, and if my articles help, then I hope the world gets to read them. But I don’t need to do it for me. If I qualify for the PP, that means that I’m reaching people, but if I do not, hopefully people are still pulling some value out of my work. In fact, even if I do break 100 followers, I’m unsure as to whether or not I will maintain my status and put my articles behind the paywall.
Why Just Give It Away?
I have been in a situation, recently, where someone needed something that I was able to provide at no cost to them. Despite it costing us, my partner and I jumped at the opportunity. We get something new out of the deal — that we are paying for — but the benefit to someone we love is worth it. Would we do this for anyone? No, not at this scale. Okay, so we’re giving someone we love one of our paid-off vehicles and buying (financing!) a new one. I don’t want that to seem like a brag, because it’s just a fact, and I hate dancing around it.
I’ll tell you, it feels fucking good. One of the benefits of our combined incomes being much higher than we require is the ability to upgrade some stuff in the name of giving the existing stuff away. That way it’s selfish enough that the people in our lives who need things won’t put up too much of a fuss. They certainly wouldn’t accept us buying them high value products brand new. We also can’t afford to do it without going into a bit of debt here and there, and it’s worth it. One of the benefits of being reasonably rich is that you can take care of your finances while helping others take care of their lives.
We Don’t Just Give Stuff Away, Though
Along with giving things to those who need it, we also provide help from a knowledge perspective. This is touchy, because not everyone wants help here, even if they need it. So in some cases we simply work with those who want the help getting their affairs in order. Like for instance I have a Questrade account with a tax-free savings account (TFSA) for my folks, which I manage using the Passiv app. I occasionally throw money in there if I have some spare kicking around, but for the most part I’m just letting it grow and reinvest any dividends until one day they need it. I don’t consider this a gift, given all of the times they have helped me out… it’s more of a payback for them.
So Why Am I Telling You This?
What’s the point? Sounds like I’m bragging, right? No. Maybe? I don’t know. Not the purpose of the article, anyway. I wrote this because I think that sometimes we’re inundated with shit about putting ourselves first, and how we can’t help others until we help ourselves. I think that’s nonsense. When I’ve put a lot of effort into just helping myself, it’s turned me into a wreck. When I put forth the effort to make the lives of others better, without any guaranteed return — just the satisfaction of knowing I did something good for someone — I feel amazing. It helps me perform better in my day job, which means I get more pay. It helps me be a better husband and father, which gives me infinite satisfaction.
I wrote this piece because you don’t always have to focus on yourself. When you focus only on yourself you leave others in the dust. Even if you don’t agree, think about it and feel free to tell me otherwise. I’m not saying that you should do everything for free, and that you have to give away your cars. I’m just suggesting that if you put others first (others does include others in your household — if you’re not making enough money to support the household, then that should be your primary focus), you may find that providing help to others where you can helps you, as well. Food for thought.
