Article by Helmut G. Flasch, CEO Flasch Business Expansion

 

This has been a hot topic for decades now, and it's getting hotter. Personally, I think that the entire "figure - figure" about it is for the birds.

All the looking at demographics and trends and income potential has little, or shall I say nothing to do with what profession one should choose. Even the tests at what one is good at have very limited value . In those tests it is someone else saying you are "good at this or that" it is a pure evaluation and even though it might be true that one is good at this or that but so what? I am very good at engineering tasks - even have a diploma in it yet have made my living in three other - completely - un-related fields which all of them I enjoy so much that I honestly can say that I never really worked a day in my life.

So, whether someone is good at something is only marginally important because if you don't like to do much at what you are good at then you will have a miserable life and usually even make little money.

On the other hand it is kept away form people that, as long as one does not have severe and visible handicaps, such as brain damage, one can learn just about any task. Anyone can become a doctor if he/she wants to. Some might be smarter and take only eight years and for others it might take 24 years but at the end they all would manage IF they want to and are WILLING to pay the dues in terms of sweat!!

The worst however is to try to figure out which profession will be in need in the future. Hasn't any one yet observed that a shortage today will be fixed way before you will enter the market? Look at it: in the 70s, we needed doctors badly, so everyone went to medical school and the government started opening the doors to foreigners!

By the time those new doctors were ready to graduate, paw, no more shortage. And at the same time new doctors struggling including the old ones. What about computer programmers? The masses that graduated after the year 2000 and later can't get a job: hell, even the old ones are out of a job.

And besides, to do something all life long only because it makes money is a sure way to have high blood pressure, and unhappy marriage, and all other undesired symptoms such as depression. Those undesirable symptoms making money will also not happen EVEN if the particular field is swimming high on the economical wave! I know for many that is too philosophical and you say that such a statement might have been OK a hundred years ago but not in this world where money rules!!

Yeah, and the 98% of people who retire on social security and who spend more time with doctors than with their grandchildren probably were all following the "money rule".

They all followed the statistics and the money - poor souls. They may do better in their next life!

So here is what one has to do, and let's make no mistake about it, it is pretty much the only thing one can do to stand a chance at a happy, successful, financial rewarding life with enough health or sanity left over to enjoy even the old days.

One has to look at what one wants to produce in life!!

Something one actually would want people, or at least a range of people on this earth to have. Obviously this product or service should improve the person's life in one way or another, otherwise it is not worth producing or providing!!

However, that does not mean one should be only a doctor or some sort of saint like Mother Theresa.

Do you think Graham Bell was out to make money when he started inventing the phone? I don't think so - he probably thought it would be great if people could talk without having to physically go and see that person. He thought that that would make life easier! He enjoyed overcoming some great obstacles as all great thinkers do. He was passionate about it despite the extreme financial difficulties!

What about a more modern example, like Bill Gates. Do you think he did what he did thinking of how rich he would become? I don't know the guy but I tell you it is highly unlikely.

He wanted, as he said, a computer on every desk and household in the world. He thought that life could become more playful or exiting or that one could do things one could not do at the time he had his dream. And he did it. I think Bill Gates proves what I am saying above by still being there and working despite the lunatic amounts of wealth this man has achieved. Bill Gates motivated by money? I don't think so! He had and has a vision - a vision that he saw through! This is what motivates all successful people on this planet!

You can't be good at what you do if you don't like it and don't have a vision attached to it. Oh yes, you can be good, but do you have passion?

And passion, belief, a motivation of duty is needed to excel!! Money? Money will come to these people almost all the time, but even if those passionate type of people like Bill Gates or Graham Bell never reached great richness, they certainly would have the most fulfilled lives you can imagine.

In fact I believe that those types of people will be the happiest people even if those passionate goal-makers never quite achieve what they set out to do. They will be too excited about doing what they are doing to have time to worry and get depressed.

Because it is NOT the achieving of the goal which makes one happy but the overcoming of the challenges in order to achieve those goals.

It is the journey, which is better than the vacation!! It is not that those people do not care about looking at their finances too oh no, they do care about finances too, but they are too busy and too exited, too confident that they will achieve what they set out to do. They will be happy doing what they are doing till the day they die - no matter what the checkbook says. Maybe what I said now makes no sense to you but what I am trying to say is simply this:

	Have some goals in terms of what effect you want to create not of what you want in terms of house, car, boat etc.
	Have goals and dreams about what you want to create realistically - with a huge amount of doing-ness from your part and you will get all the house and boat as well but even if you don't - you will be the most fulfilled happy, probably one of the most healthy person you can imagine.

Anyhow I have never met Mr. Gates or Mr. Bell or any other of the millions of outstanding people on this planet personally and what I am saying here is my observation of all happy and fulfilled people.

They, in their way are all very successful!

Success is not only measured in how much we make or have, In fact there are lots of statistics which show that some of the most unhappy people are the idle rich. Some were born rich and never had any goals of any purposeful creation and thus no challenge which followed with unhappiness, depression etc despite their financial independence. Some people stopped having new great and difficult goals in terms of creating something and that is when they too became unhappy.

Looks to me that Bill Gates will never be one of those people who forget to get to a new adventurous unreachable goal. Looks like Mr. Gates will always be out there creating something new, for the sake of creating and NOT for the sake of money only!

Mostly I can speak for myself. I get high on creating what I do even though I am light years behind of where I want to be - so let me get back to work to achieve the effect I want to create on this planet. (Sorry - the word is - back to play, because play is what my work is to me and that is how it should be, at least most of the time.)

I hope this helps in choosing a carrier or profession or business!!

You may be happy and rich too.

Helmut G. Flasch
CEO Flasch Business Expansion