A radical rethink of our relationship to money is needed if we are to readdress the imbalances behind climate change, poverty, unhappiness and so many other social issues.
Some years ago Ken Robinson made waves in the realm of education by arguing that we need to move away from the archaic manufacturing model of education to take an approach more like organic farming. Instead of squeezing people into narrow moulds and creating compliant consumers, Robinson suggested we cultivate the uniqueness of individuals and help them find a fit in a society where they can best offer their gifts.
Nipun Mehta was a software engineer who found himself climbing the corporate ladder along with everyone else.
Mythologist Joseph Campbell once said, “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭.” Midlife crisis often stems from following the scripted path of success.
Nipun felt uneasy about his place in corporate life. Instead of chatting to a financial life coach, he spoke to monks and nuns who lived on very little money. He contrasted their happiness levels to his Silicon Valley counterparts with their big bank balances. He concluded that happiness is not proportional to how much money you accumulate.
At 25, he abandoned the ladder to nowhere and spent his time volunteering before creating the not for profit, Service Space. His journey has led him to the following philosophy about finances:
“𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗪𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳! 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵, 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆. 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲.”
Nipun argues we need to adopt a metaphorical shift in the way we view money, shifting from a manufacturing mindset to a gardening one. As he describes it:
𝗜𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝘆, “𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗡 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲.” 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁? 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. 𝗦𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝘆, “𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆.” 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲𝘀. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱. 𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄. 𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗼.
Read more in the full blog:
https://adifferentdrummer.com.au/career-counselling/blog-career-counselling/the-wealth-retreat
Read about The Wealth Retreat:
https://adifferentdrummer.com.au/career-counselling/wealth-retreat