ZENVESTING: Freedom

If you could work 40 hours a week doing anything, and you'd get paid four times what you make today, what would you choose to do? I've asked this question to help people visualize the right path for expressing their creativity and gifts. I remember a bankruptcy attorney saying, "I hate what I do, but 20 years ago I needed a client so I said I'd help a businessman through the legal process of selling off his business, and I made good money and got known as that type of attorney, so here I am. I hate it, but I'm stuck!" 

Now hold that thought about "career" while we chat about receiving a potentially life-changing amount of money. 

Let's say you come into a chunk of cash, say 10 times your annual income. What to do? Here are my suggestions, and I must say, I have opinions that bias my advice. I believe we are all here to help, to work for the common good, to serve. In my book, Zenvesting, I tell this story: 

A Zen Master in his late nineties fell ill and was bedridden. He refused to eat, explaining, "In our community, to eat today, you must work today." His students pleaded with him, "Master, we will share. Please eat." To which the Master replied, "To eat today, work today." The students were unable to persuade him until they finally lifted the Master's bed and placed it in the garden; tossing out the scarecrow. Productive again, the Master spent his last days throwing rocks at crows and munching on juicy tomatoes fresh off the vine. divI believe we need to flow into a balance that blends the best use of our skills, resources, and time. This balance is different for everyone - as is the "work" we anticipate with optimism and excitement. 

So, what if you found a rather large check in your mailbox from an attorney who represented an estate of someone you had shown a kindness to years ago? Here is my advice: 

1. SIT ON THE MONEY. Put it in a no-load government money market fund - Charles Schwab has a good one.

2. DON'T TELL ANYONE. The money came to you; it's yours to steward. You need to think about it, unencumbered by friends and family telling you what you "ought" to do with it. "Ought," like "should," "always," and "never," are five- and six-letter words much worse than the four-letter kind, except for the worst of all words: "can't". 

3. RELAX - DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE MONEY. If you have credit card bills, school loans, car loans, and owe money, it's probably best to just pay 'em off. Don't pay off your mortgage yet, however.  

4. RELAX SOME MORE. Go on with your life as if nothing had happened. You'll be led to what's next - it might take a month, a year, or 10 years. Time doesn't matter. During that time, you might read a book or two by Marcus Buckingham, go to a career counselor, or visit an orphanage in Rwanda. Have fun . . . smile.

5. FIND AN ADVISOR. A good fee-only, all-the-time financial advisor who has at least 10 years' experience, and chat with him or her.

6. TRUST YOURSELF. Take all advice with two bags of salt and keep in mind that this is your life, so use your common sense and heart to help guide you. 

7. BE RESPONSIBLE. There are no "shoulds" in this. But what does having no worries about money represent to most people? Simply freedom? I would add that with freedom comes responsibility. 

So are you still thinking about some great jobs at four times your current pay? Here's what comes to my mind - H.H. the Dalai Lama's bridge partner, consultant to President George Bush on matters concerning the establishment of a Department of Peace, Bono's lead guitarist - gosh, I'd do these jobs for free. Shoot, I changed my mind: this "four times" exercise has no value. Zen Master Dogan would hit me over the head with a stir-fry pan - first, for calling him a "master," and then for writing a column that chats about such rubbish as worrying about anything other than this moment. I, of course, would answer his frying pan thusly: "In life, Dogan," I would say, "we need to find out if we are polar bears or camels. A polar bear is great in the Arctic, but put her in the desert and she dies. The camel can go for days without water and eat nearly anything, but put it in the Arctic and it will perish. So, sir, I am just trying to help people get off their butts and find a place where they will be happy!"

And we know money isn't about happiness; money is about freedom!

Paul H. Sutherland is president of Financial & Investment Management Group and manager of Utopia Funds. See an excerpt from his book Zenvesting at SpiritualityHealth.com/zenvesting. To ask a question or chat, contact him at paul@spiritualityhealth.com.