This week I want to pose an interesting question to you; 

How much is enough? 

It obviously elicits an extremely personal response from each of us, so I’m not going to attempt to tell you the answer to what I think it should be. 

But I will point out how much could lead to making a mistake.

Which begins when you blindly remain on a forward trajectory, getting lodged in that perpetual cycle of needing more – more money, more work, more success. You get caught on a fast-paced treadmill built by a capitalistic society. And you never stop to think about whether you’re happy. Cause that’s the real goal, to be happy, isn’t it? 

Now, this is an easy train to get fastened to. It’s very easy to get stuck in a mindset of more and confusing more with happiness. Especially when we live in a society that profits from consumerism. 

You’re sucked into believing that as you make more money and have a better income, you should be buying more stuff – bigger, nicer things – a larger house, a more expensive car, more holidays, more toys and gadgets. You go to nice restaurants and spend more on seemingly important things. 

We all do this, and I’m not saying you shouldn’t indulge in nice amenities when you have more cash. You’ve upgraded your lifestyle; it’s quite unavoidable not to. 

And these amenities are desirable – you want them, I want them too – that’s what good marketing is… 

But this want, this desire is never satisfied. There’s always more. Bigger, better things to buy. 

Though, I think it would be a shame to chase the dollar and realise later in life that materiality wasn’t what you were after. 

Now, most people, when I ask them, which I do as part of my onboarding process, say they want more money, but they also say they want more time off, more holidays, no weekends working, more time with their kids and less stress. 

There are usually three things: money, time and stress. 

So before you get on the money treadmill, have a pause and reflect – ask yourself what it is you want from your life. 

So ask yourself; how much is enough? 

They say money does make you happier, so there’s that, but there is also a price you pay in working more and getting addicted and maybe carrying more stress because you’re always chasing. 

Remember, if you continue on the road of endless cash, you’re going to sacrifice the time off you wanted. This idea that you’re going to make millions of dollars a year and not work very hard is possible, but it’s unlikely; it’s difficult. And there are a few reasons for that. 

One is if you continue spending the money you need to keep making more money, you’re likely to catch yourself in a perpetual state of working. And working hard to remain at a constant level of step upward growth. 

To constantly chase money means you won’t tone down the amount of work you do. Therefore no time off… 

Working hard, making changes happen and succeeding is quite addictive in itself. I get that. 

This is another reason it’s so easy to get caught on the treadmill. We all know the term ‘workaholics’ you might even be one… or have the potential to become one. There’s that risk. 

This article is illustrating that you have an active choice in what you want for yourself. 

And showing you that more is not always the answer. 

Sit down, and ask yourself; 

How much money do you want to make? 

How hard do you want to work? 

How many hours a week?

How many holidays do you want to have? 

What do you actually want/need (amenities-wise)? Will it make you happy? 

A small part of this is thinking about not buying stuff, not upgrading the house if what you really want is to not work so hard in a few years.

Think about this with your partner. Discuss what the balance point is between work and amenities and money. 

It’s your call. But make it a definitive call. Don’t drift around the idea and get caught on the treadmill. 

When we’re starting someone out in the Tradies Toolbox Program, the first thing we do is write a strategy. The first part of writing a strategy is setting out a vision for your business – a word that we use for your three-year goal.

We ask – what do you want your business to look like in three years? Which, of course, means more than just money. 

It’s more than just a money goal although money is part of it. 

So think about how much money you want and then about how much you need your business to make, but also think about what else you want for and from your business. 

At Small Fish, we use a tool called the Balanced Scorecard to help us set our vision, and that covers not only money but the other things you should consider within your business; the time and the stress, your customers, your team, and the organisation itself is important too. 

If you don’t consider all these other stakeholders, you’re unlikely to have as much success. 

If you’d like a copy of our vision worksheet, comment ‘VISION’, and we’ll send it to you. 

It has the Balanced Scorecard and more about how to write a vision statement for what you want. 

Take control of what you want, don’t just drift.