{"id":33552,"date":"2017-11-07T02:19:17","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T10:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=33552"},"modified":"2017-11-07T07:30:45","modified_gmt":"2017-11-07T15:30:45","slug":"fuck-you-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/07\/fuck-you-money\/","title":{"rendered":"F*ck You Money"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve all probably had the dream \u00e2\u20ac\u201d hit the lottery, have enough money (that your funds would never run out), and you can just say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153f*ck you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to your crappy boss and crappy job, and finally do what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve wanted to do in life\u00e2\u20ac\u201d take photos for the rest of your life, travel, and see the world.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n “You are rich if and only if the money you refuse tastes better than the money you accept” – Nassim Taleb\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fuck you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d money?<\/h2>\nDetroit, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
I first heard the concept of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fuck you money\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from the philosopher Nassim Taleb (who was once a former trader). The concept is to have enough money to say f*ck you to your boss, and to just do what you want in life.<\/p>\n
The way I see it, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fuck you money\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a bit different. For me, it is saying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fuck you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to money itself. To not become the slave to money. To know that you need some money to survive, but realizing that no matter how much money you have, you will never have enough.<\/p>\n
What do we not need money for?<\/h2>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stare at money too long, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Medusa.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Kanye West\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
For me, this is what I need money for:<\/p>\n
\n
Pay the rent<\/li>\n
Pay for coffee\/food<\/li>\n
Pay for transportation\/living expenses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This is what I do not<\/em> need money for:<\/p>\n
\n
Buying a fancy car, camera, house<\/li>\n
Living a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153luxury\u00e2\u20ac\u009d lifestyle<\/li>\n
Using money to prop up my self-esteem<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Am I already too rich?<\/h2>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How do you know that you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have too much money already?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Seneca\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
For my entire life, I always thought that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have enough money. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have enough money to pursue my passions. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have enough money to travel. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have enough money to buy a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good enough\u00e2\u20ac\u009d camera to become a great photographer.<\/p>\n
I thought this a lot when I was working in LA, earning $40,000 a year out of college. Granted, living expenses in LA are high \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but honestly, looking back, I have enough money to really say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fuck you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to money.<\/p>\n
I already had a digital camera that was more than capable. I already had a laptop. I already had an internet connection. Sure I was stuck in my day-job\/office job \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but I still had lots of time and opportunities to do creative work. To do work in the morning before going into work, to take photos during my lunch break, and to take photos after work. To write when I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in the office \u00e2\u20ac\u201d at my house, or on the weekends.<\/p>\n
I used to blame my job and not having enough money for my lack of happiness and fulfillment in life.<\/p>\n
But in reality, the problem was myself. The problem was my mind-set. The problem was that I thought I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153enough.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But in reality \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I had more<\/em> than enough. As Seneca said over 2,000 years ago \u00e2\u20ac\u201d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153how do you know that you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have too much<\/em> already?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Abundance weakens us<\/h2>\n
In today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world, we live in a world of abundance. We have too much<\/em>. We have too much stuff (so we rent storage lockers). We have too many cameras (we get stressed out which camera to shoot with everyday). We have too many devices (we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know which device to use to check Facebook). We have too many options, stress, and anxiety.<\/p>\n
Why do we think more? Why do we think we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153enough?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
What do you really want from life?<\/h2>\n
If you have enough to pay your bills and basic expenses, and not<\/em> live in fear of not being able to pay the bills \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fuck you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d money. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need $10 million dollars. You already have enough money.<\/p>\n
What do you really want out of life? Some ideas:<\/p>\n
1. To take more photos<\/h2>\n
A lot of us blame our jobs for not having enough time to make photos. But in reality (at least based on my personal experiences), now that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153day job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d anymore \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take any more photos now (than when I had a 9-5 office job).<\/p>\n
You can be a great photographer while still holding down the 9-5 grind. You can take photos before work, during lunch, during breaks, and after work. You can shoot on the weekends, and when on holiday. You can take photos when you go out with your friends in the evening, or even take photos of your family members in the home.<\/p>\n
You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need more money to take more photos.<\/p>\n
2. To travel more<\/h2>\n
I always thought that the more I traveled, the happier I would be. In reality, traveling hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t made me any happier. Sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had great experiences, met amazing people, and opened up my eyes to other cultures\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but traveling didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fix any of my problems.<\/p>\n
Traveling didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make me any less anxious about my finances and family problems. Traveling didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help me become more creative. Traveling didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help me become less envious or jealous of others more successful than me. Traveling didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help me make better photos.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also realized\u00e2\u20ac\u201d traveling doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t require you to be far from home. Sometimes even a 1-hour drive can be enough to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153travel\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from your own neighborhood. Also as an American \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realize how many interesting cities you can travel within<\/em> America, before traveling abroad. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve probably enjoyed going to New Orleans, Seattle, Chicago, Portland, and New York more than going to a lot of exotic countries overseas, and Western Europe.<\/p>\n
Before you want to earn a lot of money to travel, realize you can travel close to home \u00e2\u20ac\u201d try to do a 1-2 trip on the weekend. Often that is enough to refresh your spirits, and break out of your daily routine.<\/p>\n
3. To not work anymore<\/h2>\n
This is the biggest misconception I think \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we want to earn a shitload of money, so we never have to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153work\u00e2\u20ac\u009d again.<\/p>\n
But it is shown that when many people retire, they get depressed. By no longer having any work to do, they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any way to structure their days, their time, and their life.<\/p>\n
The healthiest and happiest people work until they die. But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153work\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can include doing charity work, work for a local community center, or creative work.<\/p>\n
If you had a shitload of money, you wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to sit at home, watch TV, play video games, and check Facebook all day. You would rather want to do something meaningful and purposeful for your work.<\/p>\n
What if I really hate my job?<\/h2>\n
You might have a job which you hate and abhor. You feel that your energy could be better off doing something else.<\/p>\n
You have two options:<\/p>\n
\n
Quit your job, and find a job that gives you more personal fulfillment.<\/li>\n
Make the best out of the job you already have. Perhaps scale back the hours you put in the office, or commit less. And use more of your free time to do your creative work.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
There are no \u00e2\u20ac\u0153right\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wrong\u00e2\u20ac\u009d ways to do this \u00e2\u20ac\u201d just figure out what works for you. But don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t blame your job, only blame yourself.<\/p>\n
The richer you are, the poorer you are<\/h2>\n
Often we think that if we had a bunch of money, we could finally afford to buy a BMW, to live in a big house and buy a Leica. Trust me, I know many people who have all the physical possessions in the world to make them \u00e2\u20ac\u0153happy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t any happier than the rest of us. Many of them are even more<\/em> miserable \u00e2\u20ac\u201d because they compare themselves to people even richer than themselves.<\/p>\n
How do I know that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not too rich?<\/h2>\n
I remember one study I read in college in one of my sociology classes \u00e2\u20ac\u201d they did a study in which they polled different social classes in America (poor, working-class, and rich) and asked them: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How much more money would you need to feel secure?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d All of them said that they needed to earn 25% more than they currently earned, to feel \u00e2\u20ac\u0153secure.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
So trust me, no matter how much money you have, you will never feel \u00e2\u20ac\u0153secure.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Even for me \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I know that I already have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153too much<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d money; yet I still worry for the future. I worry for my future family, my future kids, and my future security. But I always try to remind myself:<\/p>\n
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eric, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry about the future. First of all, realize you have too much<\/em> money. You have more<\/em> than enough money. In fact, you cannot blame not having enough money for anything in your life. You have enough to pay your bills, expenses, and coffee. The only limit you put on yourself is your own mind\u00e2\u20ac\u201d your own creativity, and resourcefulness. Realize that having more<\/em> money will make you more<\/em> complacent, and less innovative. Know that you already have all the tools at your disposal \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need any more cameras, gadgets, or equipment to help you reach your potential. So don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry, and just get to work.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So friend, I also encourage you \u00e2\u20ac\u201d realize that you already have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fuck you money\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in life\u00e2\u20ac\u201d because you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re alive and well. You will always be lacking in money. But know that you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need more<\/em> money to be more<\/em> creative, and more<\/em> happy.<\/p>\n
If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re currently living in poverty, cannot pay your bills, cannot pay rent, and constantly living in fear of creditors \u00e2\u20ac\u201d this advice doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t apply to you. If this is your case (I know how shitty it is, because this is how I grew up) figure out ways to cut your expenses, and earn more money. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a photographer trying to earn some more cash and trying to learn how to build more value, see my series: Photography Entrepreneurship 101 ><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n![\"Detroit,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eric-kim-street-photography-Only-in-America-12-2000x1325.jpg?resize=2000%2C1325\")