Zen Capitalism is a term either coined by Randy Komisar or what his followers call his business philosophies.  Randy is a Stanford lecturer and best-selling author of the book “The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living”.  He has an interesting take, one that I have adopted, on the proverbial Work Life Balance.   The idea is quite adaptable and can be subject to a lot of interpretation.   In its purest form, the philosophy is about pursuing your passions and being successful while meshing the two.  Here’s the kicker; he goes on and explains that being successful at what you do doesn’t necessarily mean that your life is fulfilling and balanced.

What exactly does that mean?

It means that there is no satisfaction or sense of fulfillment without passion.  You can’t have balance if you have no financial stability.  Even if you have all the money in the world, there is no balance if you’re not pursuing a life based on your principles and what you truly care about.

So what it comes down to is the trade off between the balance of money (financial success) and a high quality of life (defined by your passions).  Sometimes high quality means making less money so you can be more happy pursuing your passions.  Everyone will have different thresholds between balancing the two, but the idea is finding that optimal financial lifestyle where you can enjoy or position yourself to have a fulfilling life NOW free of financial constraints.  It’s that simple.

Easier said than done right?  Riiiiiiiight.  It took me a while to figure it out.  My problem was that I was passionate about everything (the same problem Randy Komisar had after graduating from college).  I spent all of my money pursuing all of my passions and faux-passions instead of honing in and having my money and passions work together.  I was a reckless driver that had no control over the wheel or gas pedal.  I lived as long as my paycheck lasted.

Here is what my work life balance looked like when I was a slave to my money:

GREEN = WORK | BLUE = PASSIONATE LIFE

Take note, broke socialites do not include those that are living within their means, but rather those that trade off excitement now for financial instability.  I was a broke socialite.  It was a FUN lifestyle where I pursued my passions, but under it’s grand appearance, it was a lifestyle prisoner to financial constraints.

On the flip side, here’s the other extreme.

GREEN = WORK | BLUE = PASSIONATE LIFE

A rat race workaholic does not imply that you actually enjoy your work, but rather feel compelled to do it.  These people are usually financially stable, but have lives that are not governed by their principles or what they truly care about.   They tend to act upon what they feel is necessary in hope that someday they’ll have the freedom to do what they want in the future.  Randy Komisar calls this the Deferred Life Plan.

Ultimately the goal is to achieve that optimal financial lifestyle where you can make a living while creating a life defined by your passions; an optimal financial lifestyle free of money constraints and freedom to do as you please.  Whether it is a 60/40, 40/60, or 50/50 split only you will know your balance.

I believe that I’m at a (60 social / 40 work) balance.  I subscribe to the live more, work less mentality.  I describe my work life as income generation on cruise control because I love what I do.  Keep in mind, I still operate under the influence of the financial constraints that my “social life” has delightfully left me.  I don’t have any credit card debt (when I was maxed out on 3 credit cards on 2 occasions), my credit score is well above 700 (when it was in the 500s for years), and I have a decent investment portfolio (after being wiped out during my undisciplined years).  You’re probably thinking, “What the heck?  You just said that you’re under financial constraints.”  In my defense, it’s true.  I still go to bed at night and think about how I’m going to pay the bills at the end of the month.  I still have to budget.  I still can’t travel as much as I want to.  I still can’t buy my dream car.

What does your work-life balance look like?  Be honest with yourself.  Where do you guys stand on Randy Komisar’s philosophy of work-life balance?  Do you define a fulfilling-balanced life the same way, as a product of financial success and passionate living?  Does financial success alone mean fulfillment to you.  I would love to hear your comments.

Sayonara

Photo Credit: Andy Macdonald

Conent Source: Academic Earth , Academic Earth

Related posts:

1. The Zen Capitalism Philosophy – A Life of Passions