My co-worker, Amy, as she was leaving the edit bay said this, "I read this quote, it's, 'Imagination is worth more than knowledge.' " It seems, imagination is worth much more than knowledge when it comes to working a normal type job, or coming up with an idea that everyone will want.
Here's my thing(s) though. About the whole no-job thing. Even if you're working for yourself, you still have a boss and a timetable. My favorite comment on lifehacker was, "I used to be self-employed, but I quit because my boss was an idiot." All this talk about stopping your normal 9-5 so that you can work for yourself seems a little naive if you ask me. If you start working for yourself you are very likely to work 7a-10p or something ridiculous--just because you can / or because a client needs it, like, right now. And things get crazy, when you don't have a traditional 9-5, things aren't as steady--even if you are loving what you are doing, you may not be getting paid for it.
Part of my response to this article was a memory about how we were created to work. That we find fulfillment in our purposes (there might be a better word...actions?). I'm not sure if I'm recalling that learning correctly, but it seems that there is a Christian calling to be working people. Whether that be working at bestbuy or at microsoft, you are working, as everyone else is. it seems much more likely that you'll have opportunities to show your faith and even share your faith while you are working.
Where does passive income fit into being a working Christian? I'm not sure. It would seem responsible to be forward thinking and working towards financial independence (especially from college debt). But part of me wants to say live for today, for tomorrow will worry about itself. But what if today includes a passion for writing software that people will be paying you for a long time? what if it's making art that will appreciate over time? what if it's buying art that will appreciate? should appreciation exist in a mindset of a working man?
Conversely, what if you are completely content with your 9-5, should you still be looking for and finding ways to earn that passive income? One website suggested, you may never know when the pink slip my slide onto your desk, so passive income is a must. Whenever I think about things like this I'm reminded of this joke from either junior high or early high school (imagine a mid-puberty boy telling the joke):
So there's this guy, I'm not sure what he does, um, well, how about, he's a steel worker. And he lives in this place where it rains a lot, you know, like, yea, it rains a lot. And this one week it starts raining a lot a lot, and people are freaking out. But this guy, he's a christian, and he always says, "God will provide." And it keeps raining. Soon the rain has totally filled his main floor, so, this steel guy and his wife, they are stuck on the second floor. So this guy in the national guard shows up in a boat, floating to his second story window, and he's like, "Sir, we can get you out, the water is rising" and the steel worker is like "God will provide, thank you, anyways." So it rains more. The water floods the second floor, so this guy has to go onto the roof. This time the Army comes, they are in a helicopter, they drop a ladder and this guy he just tells them, "God will provide." And he doesn't leave. His wife, right there with him on the roof, and the helicopter flies away. And it rains more, and more. Now this guy, and his wife are on the chimney, the last, highest place they could be. A Navy boat comes to them, they plead with him, they plead with his wife, but they stay, saying "God will provide." They both drown. (dramatic pause.) When the arrive in heaven, this guy he's mad, he wants to see God. Finally he gets into the thrown room and he's like, "God, what happened, you said that you'd provide??" And God is like, "Well, I sent the National Guard, the Army, and the Navy."
And of course, there would be uproarious laughter, especially if this is at some cadet (read boy scouts) type event, and the boy telling the joke is one of those kids who just can tell a joke, even if he stammers around his words a little bit.
The punch line of the joke is so scary some times. God will provide, but we need to take him up on it. If we have the opportunity to make some passive income, or, if that we have the desire to make the opportunity, should we do it? Should we take him up on it?
Posted by jack. | | Email post 
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I sometimes have the same sort of reaction to the stock market. At times I think what a great way to make money, and at the same time I think what a completely screwed up way to make money. There have been a couple of times where I thought about investing and looking back I know I would have made money (quite a bit actually) but I still hesitate. I often walk a fine line between thinking money will destroy a person and then remembering Job and that wealth isn't a bad thing as long as it doesn't control you or become your obsession. But that is the tricky part of money as well as with anything addictive; once it has you its hard to get rid of and there is no way to ever totally free yourself from money in our world today so it will always be a temptation. I could go on but I won't, I just think I agree with you about what you have said.
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thanks dane.
I feel very similarly about the stock market. You make a good point too about money being addictive. It is definitely something that you can become addicted to, and there is no way to avoid it.
So, money, like beer, must be used in moderation. Too much can make anyone act like an idiot.
It's easy to know how much beer to drink, but I'm not sure how much money is enough.
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Money is most definately as addictive (if not more) than drink.
There is no doubt that it is a risky business investing in the stock-markets...
My motto 'everything in moderation'..
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That's Dad's motto, usually when it concerns food. But you know what? It works every time I've tried it.
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the thing about money is that no matter how much we have, it can still be an obsession. i do not consider myself a greedy person. but not having alot of money hasn't exactly made my life much easier, and i still think about money more than anything else. not because i want to be able to swim in a pool of gold coins or something, but simply because i am wondering were i'm going to get enough to pay for next year's tuition? rent? groceries? can i even wish for a trip to the US at some point in the near future? money is my constant worry. i'd like to think that having just enough to cover those basic concerns would make my life easier. maybe it wouldn't. maybe i'd turn into some green monster...
about stock markets, as far as i understand it, its not just putting some money in an account and by magic getting more back...when you invest, you are/could be helping some company/organization to do something with that money... so, if you invest, make sure you know where it's going and what your money is being used for. if its something good, why should you consider this a screwed up way to make money?
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but interest is, basically, free money. well, it's free because your are keeping it somewhere and not spending it. That doesn't feel like much effort. Yes, choosing a company and investing money into it, and that company doing well, is work, but again, if you pick the right company, it feels very easy--and can become addictive.
i totally hear what you're saying though, about it being a constant worry. it's so consuming. in church last night a friend said this, "i'd rather have a million dollars in the bank, than learn to trust God to provide." And i feel the same way--but the million dollars in the bank isn't going to fulfill, and it's going to run out. God has access to everything, he will provide for you to groceries. (whoe else knew that my comment box sucks?)
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This perspective on money reminds me of how I've often thought that we don't share enough. Basically, one guy makes a million a year doing something and another guy makes 17K grinding it out doing something no less important, just for lower pay. And a guy like Joel Z. makes music and almost never gets any money for it. Personally, I think we owe him money. Not just respect, or the price of a CD, or "encouragement." Money.
And I agree that people are designed to work, not just to accrue. In a way, if you're accruing, you're not working, merely getting money; so in theory, you owe society some sort of "work." Kind of like Bill Gates is doing all of this charity work now. I think that's completely fair. As hard as he presumably worked to gain his empire, did he earn the right to take the rest of his life off (if we're talking about an egalitarian-type ideal)? I think not.
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i knew you're comment box sucks. :)
can i borrow $10?
(that was a joke)
i don't think there is anything wrong with "passive income" if it's creating software or a video game or something that is not destructive. it is wrong to be lazy. so if you suddenly don't have to work you should be generous to people in need, give to social justice campaigns, missionaries, run for office...rather than stocking up on all of the latest mercedes. you should give of your time - work- by volunteering, going on mission trips, helping out... you know!
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