As painful as the economy has been for families and businesses, at least it’s causing people to “wake up” and demand more consciousness and integrity in work.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed how more people than ever want to find meaningful work that does more than pay the bills. They’re done with just making money and buying more crap. People want to make a difference and matter…while maintaining a nice standard of living.
For more than a decade, while climbing the corporate ladder in finance, software and venture capital, I didn’t take fulfillment at work seriously either – or even think about it. At Stanford I took engineering, language and accounting classes for personal growth. They didn’t have a “Fulfillment 101” there or in any school I ever attended!
Then, after I left a big, reputed software company, SpamZilla, to travel and figure out what I wanted to do next, I wondered…rather than starting a technology company that builds another internet widget no one needs…how could I bring integrity to business?
What if you could work with people you like, respect and trust? What if you could bring our “full self” to work, creating meaningful work based on values like trust, authenticity and play, combining the best of capitalism (money) and Buddhism (happiness)?
You Are A Unique Genius
Since then, I’ve seen this clearly: you – in fact, anyone – can combine fulfillment and money in a business and make “money through enjoyment.”
Whether or not you feel special or are tapping into your superpowers, you are a 1-in-7 billion unique person. You are extraordinary.
A few ways you are unique:
- No one has your set of life experiences – including all your struggles and challenges and learnings.
- No one has the same purpose or spiritual life plan as you.
- No one has the same values, talents, visions, ‘superpowers’ or message.
- [clear]What does this mean? That there are people & businesses in the world that only you can help, in ways that no one else can.In business terms, there is a market of people or businesses with problems that only you can help, in ways that no one else can.Out of the billions of people on the planet, there are dozens, thousands or millions of people who need a unique kind of help from you.And what can be a productive way to find and serve them? Through business! Because what do businesses of integrity do – they help people by solving problems and serving them, whether locally or around the world.By consciously discovering and expressing yourself fully in your work, you can create an incredibly fulfilling business that makes a difference in people’s lives.Could Business Be Your Spiritual Path?
Perhaps your spiritual path to greater purpose, intuition and abundance isn’t through meditation, yoga, attending retreats or volunteering (though they may be important to you). Could your main path to consciousness be through business?
Personal growth comes from overcoming fears and self-doubts, and growing in love for yourself and others. Why can’t business be a tremendous opportunity to grow for you, rather than just something you do to pay the bills, or a source of great stress?
- You can find your purpose, intuition and self-love through your work.
- You can find your confidence, clarity and community through business.
- You can work in integrity, aligned with values such as trust, play and service.
- You can make plenty of money helping people, doing what you love.[clear]Ultimately, you will want to start your own business or project in order to fully express yourself. Start playing with ideas – if you could start a dream business, what would you do? Play with this “on the side”, and let it take shape and grow over a year or two.
- Take Baby Steps & Practice Patience
If there is one thing to take away as a next step, it would be to start spending less time around toxic or negative people (dream killers and energy vampires), and start spending more time around inspiring and positive people. Through osmosis, it will make a huge difference to your own clarity and confidence!If you need to make money, there’s no dishonor in having a “day job” to support yourself, while incubating your passion ideas on the side. You don’t have to work on a business full-time! In fact, doing so usually creates more stress than it’s worth, blocking your intuition, creativity and growth.It can take several years to have ideas, turn them into a business that can’t fail, then grow it it to the point that you have integrated money and fulfillment. Accept that there can be serious challenges along the way – that’s just part of the journey. Commitment, baby steps and patience are critical to your path. Never, never, never give up!Enjoy!Aaron “air” Ross
If you liked this article, here’s my free Unique Genius Ebook (No Opt-In Required)
When you click on the link or image, the ebook will download automatically :)Download ‘You Can Make As Much Money As You Want, Doing What You Love’
After years in software, venture capital and the corporate world, Aaron created Pebblestorm, which is helping create a community of 100 million people “making money through enjoyment” by creating work based on values like trust, integrity and play. He shows people how to discover their “Unique Genius” and turn it into a fulfilling business that can’t fail. Aaron is the author of two books, the Amazon bestseller Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into A Sales Machine With The $100 Million Best Practices Of Salesforce.com, and of CEOFlow: Turn Your Employees Into Mini-CEOs.
After years in software, venture capital and the corporate world, Aaron created Pebblestorm, which is helping create a community of 100 million people “making money through enjoyment” by creating work based on values like trust, integrity and play. He shows people how to discover their “Unique Genius” and turn it into a fulfilling business that can’t fail. Aaron is the author of two books, the Amazon bestseller Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into A Sales Machine With The $100 Million Best Practices Of Salesforce.com, and of CEOFlow: Turn Your Employees Into Mini-CEOs. 
