Why "9 to 5" when you can be alive?

I just finished a weekend of funerals. Two funerals in two days. Yesterday's funeral was more of a celebration. In fact, it was called a "Celebration of Life." This celebration of life was the best funeral/memorial service EVER! (Great job, Pira Tritasavit)

The event was full of memories and stories all funny and heart tugging. So many people packed the church and the overflow area downstairs. Most of the people who attended and spoke were mostly family, and friends, people my aunty partied with. The stories told were not about how good she was at her "9 to 5." They were mostly about the things she did, the people she met, the places she went, the lives she affected.

That's how I came up with this gem: "Why '9 to 5' when you can be alive?" Working is not living. Working is just one way to earn money. (Stay Tuned: if you want the other way to earn money) Life and living is doing the things you want to do. The things that make you happy. The things that you are passionate about. The things that make a difference. The things you would rather be doing than work. You know....those things.

"Those things" are what The 5 Habits of Money are all about. Whatever "those things" is for you, The 5 Habits of Money can help you do them. The 5 Habits is all about doing the things you "have to" do first, in order to do the things you "want to" do.

Wouldn't it be great to travel the world? Live in different countries. Learn new languages and experience new cultures. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to help a hundred, a thousand, a million people? To better the life of a single child or an entire community. Wouldn't it be fun to have coffee or lunch with an old friend? An old teacher or classmate? Or if you have no friends, make a new friend?

What are "those things" for you? What would you do if you didn't "have to" work? (and don't say "work." the teacher won't accept that answer. The first part of getting what you want is to ask. Tell me, I wanna know!)