Your Money or Your Life - A Comment on the Financial Crisis

Which do you value most?: Your money or your life? This was what highway robbers used to demand. I mean the ones that used to ride horses in the olden days. TV and newspaper coverage of the world financial crisis at present would lead you to believe most people are opting for the money. Terrorism, climate change, droughts and warfare are being pushed aside in the rush to beg for mercy at the shrine of the stock exchange.

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to belittle the seriousness of the situation. The crisis is causing very real, life-changing problems to many people and to their dependants. I did however say life-changing, not life-threatening. Some of you may still argue with that too. If you don’t have the money, what value is there left in life?

That’s where I believe the situation really gets serious. The day we put money at the centre of life is the day we stop valuing the natural wealth stored within the authentic self – the inner person we are, have been since birth and will continue to be until death us do part. That’s the person who is the source of:
• personal growth, satisfaction and lifelong desires.
• passions that drive potential, stored within a unique mix of natural-born skills, abilities and talents.

In the last couple of decades or so, humanity has had to come to terms with dramatic changes, stresses and pressures to perform. It has been made easier by the ready availability of money to buy almost anything we want. The sudden loss of that money availability – and the need to pay back loans - has reminded us that happiness and financial wealth are located on two entirely different life paths.

Personal values have become vague and uncertain in deference to the politics of economic rationalism in which everything is measured by the dollar.

They say good comes out of all ills. I am increasingly hearing positive, human responses to the economic crisis:
• Deciding to love the person they are, no matter what money they have.
• Philosophical reflections that life goes on no matter what,
• appreciating more what they have, rather than what they would like.
One of my friends, who owns a very successful business, has developed what he calls a minimalist approach to life – enjoying the fact that, within himself, he has everything he needs, irrespective of any impact the financial situation has on his business.

This isn’t a debate on which is right – financial worth or self worth. It doesn’t seek an either/or answer. It’s about respecting the fact that success is found from within, utilizing all the resources - natural and material – at our disposal. It’s about respecting the dignity and worth of humanity – self and others.

We come into the world with nothing and we will leave it the same way. It’s what we did along the way, not the money we spent, that others will remember after we’ve gone.

Work Leisure International is Re-locating to Sydney

It’s time to take the next step in developing Work Leisure International. Carol and I are re-locating to Sydney as from mid January 2009. The move not only gives us the opportunity to test the Sydney market but also to further develop our national and international operations. Our services to Adelaide clients will continue.

True to my professional and personal beliefs, the move is a joint agreement between Carol and me. We both feel blessed in having found new love later in life and we share our decisions – especially ones as major as this. We have agreed to reassess the situation after six months.

To our Adelaide clients, colleagues and friends, Adelaide will continue to be an important part of our lives. To those of you who see potential value in the services of Work Leisure International for you or someone you know in Sydney, please let me know (thank you to a number of you who have already done so). Our early days there will be very much a ‘listening and learning’ expedition.

Watch this space for more news on this fascinating and exciting phase in the growth of Work Leisure International and in the lives of Peter and Carol.

The Free Things in Life are Best

Employers of choice know one of the big secrets to winning and keeping staff loyalty is to give them free rewards. These rewards come in the form of dignity, respect, recognition, social acceptance, self esteem, trust and attention. Research is showing that the simple “thank you for a job well done” is being seen to offer a greater return on staff investment than an increase in salary.

People don’t work for organizations – they work for people, they stay because they are treated as human beings, they leave managers who seem to have forgotten they (the managers) are themselves human beings.

The current world financial crisis is hurting the employment scene greatly. Even more so in these tight times will business need to employ the right people for them. If they truly believe that the free things in life are best, they will have a much better chance of surviving and thriving, despite a tight salary budget.