How to Weigh What Matters

The #Quest2016 Prompt today is: of these 3 options, which one is most important in my work right now:

• Quality of life
• Quality of work
• Quality of compensation 

(from Sally Hogshead – look at the bottom of my post for a gift code to do her Fascination Advantage test, which is normally $10.)

I started out by coming down unequivocally on the side of Quality of Life. It seemed pretty obvious when I literally quit my last career to move to the country and keep bees. (It turns out that I am afraid of bees, at least in batches of 50,000. Also, I picked a most inauspicious time to start my beekeeping practice. Also, I moved somewhere that it’s a bit too cold to keep bees without enormous amounts of effort. Which is all very sad, because I really, really like bees.)

“Life” seemed to be the clear answer. Until I thought about it more, and it wasn’t.

I have entangled a friend and myself in an early-stage-startup, which means that the compensation has been mostly in the form of satisfaction. Even that is mostly around “things I didn’t break today.” We have had (a wee bit of) revenue, which makes some of the other founders around us open their eyes really widely, but it’s still in the two figure range, so at the same time, it’s a bit mock-worthy.

I believe in what we’re working on (which is good, because I’m the one in charge of explaining it to others) and I genuinely enjoy much of the work. Life is good. Work is pretty good, even if this week involved being where I thought I’d be on Tuesday morning at close of day on Friday. Little bit of “argh!” there, but pretty satisfying on the whole.

Compensation… not good.

I’ve had only part time and occasional paid work for most of the last decade, and nearly none in the last three years. I have the indirect compensation that results from being a stay at home mother with a supportive spouse, but I am after something more obviously connected to my actions in the world. More direct.

I have got a handle on the other two. I would go so far as to say I am good at them, not merely that good things have happened to me. I made choices to prioritize them, and they became well-tended and successful.

Yet I have reached the end of what I can do while neglecting the third. The business (tomato) that I have planted in the world cannot become a living, growing, self-sustaining thing, unless I accept that my responsibility to this entity includes a focus on compensation.

And so, much to my surprise, quality of compensation it must be.

Speaking of money (which I have been), I would like to recommend that you check out Heart of Business’ Heart of Money program. I took it several years ago, and it hugely changed my experience of money. I am taking it again in this round, and I would love to see you there. It’s also Pay from the Heart, so if you are struggling with money (and of an open spiritual bent) this is a highly accessible way to get back on track.

[That’s an affiliate link, but I think you know I would never recommend something I didn’t believe in. And I certainly wouldn’t pay for it twice. 🙂 ]

If you want to check out more by Sally Hogshead, use this code by Jan 15, 2016 to discover what makes you fascinating: JOY-TPD (That’s for The Practical Dilettante. In case you didn’t notice.)

1. Go to HowToFascinate.com/YOU
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