Millionaires, Cattle Herding, and Timeshares

In the midst of double digit unemployment and the most unstable US economy since the great Depression, gainfully employed people are walking away from their jobs.

Alexandra Levit, a former nationally-syndicated business and workplace columnist for The Wall Street Journal and the author of Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success, writes about this phenomenon in an article titled, “Good Culture Is In, Inflated Salaries Are Out.”

Ms. Levit says, “Employees at all levels—especially women—are stepping away from positions that will pay them the highest salary, and moving into ones that provide them a better quality of life.”

She goes on to explain that satisfaction with one’s life and one’s income really has little correlation by using the following example:  Certain  global surveys have asked people to rank how satisfied they are with their lives on a  scale from 1 to 7 with 1 being “not at all satisfied with my life” and 7 being “completely satisfied with my life”.

American multimillionaires ranked at an average score of 5.8, which doesn’t sound surprising one way or the other until you realize that the Masai people of Kenya, Africa, who live without electricity or water, and spend their lives herding cattle, also score 5.8.

Life is short and our days are precious. The security of a home, job, and savings are important. But so are the gifts we give ourselves in life … time with those we love, sunsets across quiet water and sunrise on the mountain top. You may never own a second home, or even a first. But do everything in your power to step back from your routine, to duck out of the rat race, every now and then.

So what if you can’t buy a cabin in the mountains? Buy a timeshare resale, load up your kids and the dog, and for one week a year be the “owners” of that mountain getaway. Perhaps your demands are so great you cannot take a week away from your job. That’s okay, too. Take a couple of days or a long weekend in a timeshare rental; you won’t even have to pay to eat out. Just get away. Take a holiday. Give yourself a break.

… Because you won’t find happiness in a paycheck or a bankbook. You’ll find it in the moments where you break free and create everlasting memories with those you love most.