Last week, I wrote about the layoffs at my firm.  As I said, two of my friends were laid off.  Just a few days ago, one of those friends (on his first day as an unemployed 20-something) sent me and a few other people the following e-mail:

“Hi all, I just wanted to let you know that I am in my PJs at home, reading a good book, and as happy as I have been in two years.”

Isn’t it funny how we (the employed) are the ones who find ourselves miserable, trudging to work day after day, for that all-important paycheck, and he (the unemployed) is the one who is “happy”?  Now, granted, he got a severance package, so he has a bit of a buffer before he needs a paycheck again.  Nevertheless, that money will run out, and he will need to find a source of income.  And, yet, he’s happy. 

Although that may seem surprising, I’m not surprised at all.  The reality of not having to work, no matter how short-lived, is a reality worth striving for because it liberates us from the monkey on all our backs . . . otherwise known as a J-O-B.  The day we don’t have to work is the day we can pursue interests and ventures that truly reflect who we are.

Take my friend, for instance.  Because he doesn’t have to work, he can wake up in the morning and choose whatever he wants to do.  It could have been anything.  And so he chooses to read a novel.  That activity (and not coming into the office to push paper) is what he would choose on any given day if presented the ability to choose an activity. 

With jobs, we don’t have that ability.  But he does, and he chose something that reflects who he is.  Moreover, that activity will help him dig down and realize his own potential.  Jobs often prohibit us from doing that. 

Which is why, if you want to achieve true wealth, you should be looking for ways to get rid of yours.   

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