For the Love or For the Money? -Samori Speaks

Have you ever heard Black people say, once I’m settled then I’m going to give back to, invest in, or build something for the benefit of Afrikan people? Me too! The reality is that most of the people who are not about the community now will not be about the community later.

I recently read an article about an experiment conducted over a 20-year period. The conductors of the experiment surveyed 1,500 people going into the workplace. Eighty-three percent of those surveyed said they would find a job that paid well and worry pursuing their passion later in life. In other words, they would stack their cheese for awhile and then do the work they love. The other seventeen percent decided to pursue their passion from the start and worry about money later.

After twenty years, 101 of those surveyed originally were millionaires. Only one came from the group who took a job because of the pay and 100 came from the smaller group who follow their passion from the start. This teach something very important. Though we may or may not want to be millionaires, it is clear that doing what we love will take us further.

Too often people become complacency in their boring, safe, purposeless jobs, which they work for the money. Many would like to do something more meaningful, but they buy a new car, get a mortgage, and have children to look after. Taking a chance and following some purpose or passion from the past or even being involved in the community like they said they would becomes a distant wish.

Conventional wisdom teaches us to merely go for the doe, but in a world where Black people are discriminated against based on their names, their hair, and their color that conventional wisdom must go. (That rhymed. I think I’ll following my dream of being a rapper!) These folks don’t have jobs for themselves, so to rely on getting a job with others who would rather hire their own first is not a good strategy. Instead, we must tap into our purpose and our passion and live a life of meaning and significance.

Take a risk. I’d rather live with the pain of risk than live with the pain of regret. While the pain of risk will not last long, the pain of regret will last forever.

We do better work when we love what we do. We possess more energy and fire which propel us toward our goal and through any obstacles. It is those who love what they do who have the enthusiasm to go from ordinary to extraordinary. Do what you love and the money will come.

Revolutionary Love,

Samori Camara