Not for money
I show up at my 9-to-5 because of the salary I get every month.
I finish my freelance project because then I’ll get paid.
When I start a startup with venture funding, I do it possibly to get RICH in the future, but I show up every day for the money I get every month.
I’ve been conditioned to do things for money
When starting my own little online startup without any funding, it’s different. I can’t do it for the money because the money may never come. Of course I want the money to come, but how can I be sure?
Yes, I might learn from it a lot but the money might never come from THIS project. And looking at other founders I see that most often they have not succeeded with their first project but it has taken them several projects, even as many as twenty or more and many of them have never “succeeded” because we only hear about the ones who did.
It’s HARD to start something without knowing I get MONEY out of it
The money may never come. There’s no funding so there’s no salary. And no one can promise me that my dear little startup will make me any money.
So what’s the solution? How can I convince myself to even start my first project?
There’s only one solution: to do it just for the DOING of it. I will have to let go of the cultural habit that I have to get money in return for all the work I do and just do it for the enjoyment.
It’s easy to say that but to actually DECIDE that I will NOT do it for the money is very hard. I can feel there’s still this lingering feeling that secretly I want to make money out of it and I expect that when I release all my wishes to make money THEN I will actually build such a great product because I don’t have any expectations and this will finally make me FILTHY RICH.
But no, honestly, to REALLY let go of the money and say to myself that “no, I will NOT make it for the money” is very hard. But it’s the only way forward.
That’s the hardest part for starting to create something when I’m so used to spending my time for money. And it’s such a STRUGGLE to break out of it.
And no, it can’t even be about reaching a goal, even if I tell myself that the goal is not about money. Because then the goal is about getting it done and building a following and in the background of all of that is still this secret wish to somehow make money.
When it’s not about money and when it’s not about reaching a goal then what the hell is it all about? Well, then it’s about CREATING and so I can work on it two hours today and two hours tomorrow and then not do anything for a week and then start working on it again.
What’s the obsession with money anyways?
