Quick question.
Be honest now…
If someone gave you a million dollars to do the same job you do now, would you be happier?
That’s essentially what the McDonald brothers did back when they sold their business to Ray Kroc.
He opened up a few stores, sold a few burgers, and the rest is history.
The Empire
But how did McDonald’s become such an empire? The whole country was starting to talk about this small burger joint. However, these two found it to be more important to have a business that was close to their house than to grow it to the more than hundred billion (yes with a “B”) dollar company that it is today.
I’m never gonna poo poo anyone’s decision to pursue more joy in their life. But I would have you consider that if your version of happiness is to do nothing, then that’s exactly what you’ll have in life…nothing.
Work
The difference between Ray Kroc and the McDonald boys is how they perceived work. You see, broconut, Ray saw work as play. As he said in his autobiographical book, Grinding It Out, “[I remember when I was younger] people would say hard work and no play make Jack a dull boy. I always found for me that I had just as much fun at work as I did when I’d go out and play baseball.”
Ray was having fun with work. He enjoyed it just as much as he enjoyed playing.
McDonald’s became an empire because the person that ran it was truly interested, even curious about the business. It didn’t matter how much money he made, Kroc just wanted to play the game.
So what about you?
My guess is that even if someone gave you a million dollars tomorrow to do exactly what you do today, you’d probably be happy for about a year, maybe two, then all the fancy stuff would wear off and you’d be looking for more work somewhere else.
Don’t Be Fancy
Look, the moral of the story here is that there are plenty of things that you can do to ensure your happiness. But there is only one, maybe two things you can do that can give you real joy in life.
Joy is when you wake up every day and you don’t care how much money you make, or how nice of a car you or someone else drives. Joy in life is doing what really makes you happy while simultaneously crushing it in life because you are progressing every day.
Stop looking for happiness and find joy in your life by simply making progress every day.
Jerry “found it” Washington
P.S. One thing that I would strongly encourage you to consider after reading this. If you are gonna take that next step towards joy, be practical. Don’t just bet the farm on something you have a hunch on. You feeling confident about making a change? Then use that confidence to fuel you during your side hustle and save up AT LEAST 8 months of float. Share this with a friend that’s thinking about leaving their job. Talk soon!
