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.

Is Anybody Retiring?

I'm told my Retirement Lifestyle Planning services have gone down the drain because of the current world financial crisis. People can't afford it, they say.

Rubbish! People had already stopped retiring.

Historically, retirement had a pretty short life. It was a product of the industrial revolution, a means of telling people they were too old to work anymore, that they should get out of the way and give their job to a younger person.

Now, as people move through their 50's they start thinking about a new life, a second adulthood. One that focuses on what they really want out of life - paid or unpaid. Sure, work is important but the prime focus is on the non-monetary attributes of work - connection with like-minded people, recognition, staying in touch with the world, learning new skills, investing in one's own abilities, contribution to social development, etc

It's Work/Life harmony in reverse - Life/Work harmony. Instead of trying to fit a life around work, it's about life perhaps including work. More accurately its Life Harmony, but people love that word 'work' in there somewhere.

So nothing has really changed as a result of the financial crisis. People still want a new adulthood - it just might mean that work is perhaps a slightly bigger part of the mix than they previously had in mind.

Did this comment talk to you? Let me talk to you by clicking here to register for my next online Business Experts Webinar on "The Transition from Work to Retirement", 5.30 pm Monday 24 Nov 2008 (US Eastern Time) 9.00 am Tuesday 25 Nov (Australian EDS Time)

Walking My Talk

Given my business is about the benefits of enjoyment, people wonder if I'm one of those sickly people who is always telling everyone how happy he is. The answer I always give is that the only way to really appreciate the highs of life is to also experience the lows. People close to me in my life get to hear about those times of course. But you don't want to hear about my problems - I am sure you have enough of your own.

It's just that after more than 30 years of observing what people are like when they are doing something just for the hell of it, seeing the looks in their eyes and the spring in their step, it has become deeply instilled in me that there's a powerful lot of good in enjoyment, far beyond simply having a good time.

So I try to keep a happy look at least publicly and I will always emphasize the positives of life in my writings and business. There's enough said about life's problems and stresses. I like to enjoy being the real me whenever possible and I want you to do the same.

A Dream Realized through Business Expert Webinars

When I started my present business back in 2003, I was told a big goal took no more thinking effort than a small goal. I decided to think internationally in achieving my goal of making people in business and in personal life more aware of the powerful benefits of the right leisure interests for work and personal life success. So I started by calling my business Work Leisure International.

In the 4+ years since then, I have managed to achieve a great deal - mainly in my home city of Adelaide but also elsewhere in Australia and to a reasonable extent, given my limited resources, internationally.

But I wanted to be an international speaker and to do this I had previously imagined I would have to travel to other countries. Australia is a long way from anywhere so I felt it would probably cost me a lot of money to get me started. So I focused my attention on putting articles into Article Directories (see examples on the right hand of this page)

The beauty of articles online is not only you get known widely but you overcome one of the great issues in doing business on the internet - establishing credibility and trust. Print consistently popular articles and people start to say "hey this guy knows his stuff!"

Turns out my articles had attracted the interest of Lee Salz the creator of Business Expert Webinars and his invitation to me to speak internationally through his Webinar program. Suddenly a longer-term dream of international speaking had become a reality without me having to even leave home! I won't spell out the details here. You can to find out the rest by going to http://www.businessexpertwebinars.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=128&Itemid=29

I am excited and I know my presentations will be great! Please think about registering for the call of any of my 12 Business Expert Webinars, the first one being on 22 May 2008 (US EDT) on the topic of Transitioning from Work to Retirement.

Review of Australia's Health System

Australia's National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission has called for submissions on the future of the Australian Health System. I have put in a submission entitled "Enjoying Good Health". I have focused on (quoting from my submission) " the mutually-beneficial links between good health, enjoyment and the 'ripple effect' of enjoyable experiences, positively affecting everything that develops, nurtures and promotes good health."

Always good to at least give people in high places something to think about. Who knows? they might even like it! If you would like a copy of my submission (6 pages total), email me at peter@workleisure.com