A Value Driven Life

Are you living a values driven life? (Emphasis on the plural word: values)

Do you stand consistently by a non-changing set of values? Or your values change with circumstance? When there is money to be gained, you tweak them and when it's someone else to be judged you bring them on full force.

Sadly, the world is full of people who no longer pay attention to the golden rule. They have varying sets of values: one set they talk about and push on other people, and a much weaker version they apply to themselves. They are quick to say but my case is different and equally quick to say damn him to another person in same situation on another day.

To me they are just living a gain driven life. Not a values driven life.

How about me? Am I living a values driven life? Unfortunately, I don't know.

I am sure, though, that I am living a value driven life. (Emphasis on the singular word: value). I try to add value wherever I am. I don't do things for any other purpose than it generates identifiable value. The day I find out that something I do not longer adds value, I get this terrible feeling inside and the only way to get rid of that feeling is to stop doing that valueless task. It is the one thing I even hate in consulting business that made me shift from consulting to product building. Valueless meetings, annoying politicking and mindless back-rubbing. I can't cope with it all.

I even don't engage in conversations that have no headway. I don't make a move until the value is obvious. I am obsessed with value. Even when I don't know how to translate the value to money, I'll still go ahead to creating it. In fact, my only test for whether to do a thing or not is -- is it the type of value I will like to create? 

There are some value I am not interested in. Like teaching secondary school students Microsoft Excel. I'll rather leave that to someone else. And repeatedly trying to convince someone that I am right. Even if the value is enormous, if I tell you twice and you won't agree with me, I'll move on. But once I have found a value I an interested in, I will even spend my money and time and resources to create it. Just like I did with my Excel online tutorials. I bought the gadgets and locked myself indoors for weeks to create them. Then I gave them away for free.

Even my daily writing. I put on hold client jobs and even turn down some paying opportunities because they will interfere with my daily writing. And I don't make money from it. I get adsense earning of $20 - $30 a month and spend $45 - $50 a month on the email delivery tool. I can't count the numbers of training classes I have gotten late to because I was trying to get done with the daily post writing.

I have come across people who just can't seem to understand me. I would work crazy hard for N200,000 and reject N1,500,000 of much less work. They don't know that the crazy hard work I did for N200,000 was not just for the money but more for me. It must have been what I really want to do. Maybe would still have done it if no money was attached. 

I don't have values, like an identifiable set of values that I can consistently list out any day. But I do recognize value and know when I am creating one. More importantly, I try to create value always. So I might not be living a values driven life but I am sure living a value driven life :)