The $100 Million Dollar Question

Finding a fulfilling career is no easy task. It demands on us lot of thinking and exploration. It also requires life experience and knowledge of our strengths and talents. It is ideal to know and have all these through our years of education. But there are people, especially young adults, who, after years of studying, still finds it difficult to choose what career to embark in. 

There are other factors that contributes to this indecision such as lack of opportunities, resources or support. But the most prominent of all is the question of making money. The choice between the conventional or the novel; passion or tradition.

It is the feasible choice to find a career that not only yields inner satisfaction but external rewards as well. A work that is rooted in one's authenticity but also provides stability. In the effort of finding clarity myself, I came upon a helpful question that allowed me to introspect better. A question powerful enough to make me rethink the role of money in our lives. 

The $100 Million Dollar Question

Imagine this scenario. Tomorrow, you would suddenly have $100 million dollars in your bank account. What would you do? Perhaps you would spend the first couple millions buying a house or a car. You might take your family to the most luxurious restaurants or buy all the material things you have ever wanted. You might also travel to parts of the world that you have longed to go. You might give money to your relatives and share your abundance. In short, living in grandeur could become the theme for the next year of your life. 

Now, having acquired all the things you ever dreamt money can give you, you checked your bank account and you still have million dollars to spare. You realized that you haven't even spend half of all your money. What would you do next? This the $100 million dollar question.

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We spend the majority of our time acquiring money. It is a resource that is necessary for our survival and well-being. But what would you do if it's no longer a problem in your life? The $100 million dollar question challenges us to think and make us remember our genuine motivations that have been long buried because of our conformity to make money.

Ask yourself the question and see what thoughts emerge. What would you do next after satisfying all your material desires? Perhaps now, at least in imagination, you can now work on your childhood dream of becoming a pilot or a chef. You can work on your passion project like writing a book or making a film. Or you can dedicate the next years of your life to contribute to societal change; volunteering for charity works or caring for the environment. It will depend on your values and character but the point is your brief detachment from money can remind you of the deepest and most meaningful work that you can do. Your momentary freedom can make you see you rediscover your prime desires and inclinations.

Now, there is another question worth asking ourselves. If we have all these authentic values and desires within-things that we know in ourselves that will make us fulfilled-why are we waiting to have a hundred million dollars to act on them? Finding a worthwhile and meaningful career for ourselves can simply be the removal of our piled up layers of hesitation, fears, conformity, and beliefs about money. Until we touch upon a core that holds our genuine values, passions, and ambitions that reveal the true things we want to accomplish in our lifetime.

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I believe that each of us has the desire to change the world and make it better. Seeking my answer to the $100 million dollar question myself, I knew that the change we are seeking can be brought about by choosing a genuine career. Meaningful change can be made when we do work that we want and love. Because when we give value to the world through our work from this point of authenticity, the world gives value back to us in equally abundant ways. 

We must always be aware of the role money play in our lives. It is not only an effort that will give us wisdom but also serve a reminder that we must not mistake means as our life's ends.