Reason # 5 - What is 'Work' ?

Happy July 4th! This morning I met Susan and John along with their 5 boys (yep, 5 of 'em) for my community's civil parade. I loved watching the kids. They have a natural therapeutic effect on me, or what I mean to say their spontaneity (sp?) does. Whenever a band came marching by, hese two little cutie-pies next to us would just break loose like there was no tomorrow. Now if I was to start dancing spontaneously, it definitely would be entertaining to watch crowd reaction!

Reason #5 relates to my personal expansion of the definition of 'work.' The first big crack or thump to my head was reading Robert Kiyosaki's 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' book. Here's his website. I first read 'Rich Dad' in Summer 2003, right after my position with a large (but poorly run) nonprofit organization was suddenly terminated (I received a 2-day notice. Outch). At this same time I got into network marketing, via my hairdresser, who was active in Market America.

I highly recommend this book to you. It's mind-expanding, but probably more so if you're already dissatisfied with the existing trade-time-for-money system and would welcome new ideas. I could easily create a whole Blog around his ideas (which probably already exists!). 'Rich Dad' stimulated my mind & imagination because of his perspective on the 'system,' especially the fact that he believes (as I do) that we are living in revolutionary times. I even think it is evolutionary - the digitalization of life has only just begun!

Reeling myself back in, 'Rich Dad' was the beginning of my mental meltwdown in terms of redefining 'work.' So fast forward to today - 2007 - and after much personal transformation and growth, I am FINALLY at the taking-off point. I have FINALLY given myself just about all the permission I need to start 'earning' money in a non-conventional way.

It's funny - I live in a typical suburban neighborhood. Most of the homes on my street are owned by families, or couples, who've lived in them for years. There are a number of teachers, blue-collar and clerical workers. And it's a pretty tight little street. When I left my last job, I can assure you the fact that I no longer walked out of my flat every day M-F at 7:35am, got into my car and drove away to work was definitely noticed by the nosier neighbors. Going 'to' work, coming 'back,' the whole rigamarole, it's such a part of us, our way of life. Everything gets all mixed up in it, like whether you're perceived as a 'lazy' person or a 'productive' one, and if you're not at work, but inside your house all day, what are you doing, playing computer games? Watching soaps and eating bon-bons?

Kiyosaki would point out that this type of judgement is typical of someone who's still operating under the 'Industrial Age' perspective. This means most of us still perceive 'work' as sitting at a desk or in front of a machine and producing. Our education system is still operating within this framework and its assumptions, e.g. 'Get good grades, go to college, and get a good job.' But as the last 20 years have shown, this no longer guarantees a good life. We're in the Age of Information now.

So my foray into Blogging is the result of years of soul-searching and going through some interesting adventures to get to this point today. Oh, and yesterday at Barnes and Noble I came across a very recently-published book about Mitt Romney, and he is a Mormon! As Johny Carson used to say, 'I did not know that.'