“… that question is bullshit…there’d be no janitors because no one would clean shit up if they had a million dollars.” ~Michael Bolton, Office Space
The question is not bullshit, as Michael Bolton claims, but he does have a point. Who would clean up shit for a living? More on this later. First, what would you do if you had one million dollars?
Let me clarify, to find out what you should be doing in life, as a career I suppose, one method is to ask yourself what you do if you didn’t have to worry about money — if you had a million dollars. Whatever you choose is supposed to be what you should be doing for a living.
In the movie Office Space, the main character, Peter, is asked this question. His response was simple, “Nothing.” Now, this is bullshit: We are not designed to do anything.
I’ve realized this in recent years, mostly because I did practically nothing for a couple of years. It’s boring. This is why I have written essays about giving up on retirement. To strive not to work is one of the biggest lies we’ve been told our entire lives. We need to work. We need to do something with our lives. I believe it is to use our gift.
Anyway, what would I do if I have one million dollars? Well, I did it. I wrote books and fished in the mountains. I didn’t have a million dollars, but I didn’t have to worry about money. Isn’t it funny that it didn’t take a million dollars to do whatever I wanted? I think that is a different essay, though.
OK, back to the original questions. Someone hands me one million dollars, what am I going to do? Probably real-estate.
I have always loved real-estate. I have always wanted to build non-conventional homes, like turn an old filling station into a house or build houses out of shipping containers. If I had a million dollars, I would buy a piece of property in the mountains and build multiple cabins on it (probably made of shipping containers) and rent them on Airbnb.
Am I missing something?
In-Office Space, Samir claims he would take half of the million and invest it in mutual funds and take the other half to his friend, Sadulach, who works in securities. Michael Bolton quickly points out to Samir that he is missing the point. The question isn’t how would you invest one million dollars.
So, am I missing the point by saying I would invest in real-estate? No. Because I love every aspect of the process. I would enjoy the search for the perfect property, the build, the marketing, the maintaining, and all the intricacies of running a small business. The income would be a benefit, not the reason why I would invest in real-estate.
Michael Bolton does have a point.
If everyone got to do what they loved or work their dream job, who would clean up shit? The answer? You! You would have to clean up after yourself. You may have to end up doing a lot of things for yourself. You may have to cut your own grass, butcher your own livestock, debone your own chicken. You may have to do all the stuff you don’t like to do — that we think is beneath us.
Imagine how the world would be if you couldn’t pay someone pennies to clean the mess you made. You’d have to either do it yourself or pay a premium. Either way, you would appreciate the people who did do that for a living. You may even pay more attention to how much of a mess you made in the first place.
If you have ever been a server, you know what I’m talking about. People who have spent time waiting tables tip better, stack their plates, and even wipe the table down with their napkin. They are more patient and understanding with the server. All because they have done that job themselves.
Now imagine an entire world of people like this. This is what would happen if everyone did what they loved for a living.
What would you do if you had one million dollars? Fell free to let me know in the comment section below.