Passion = Prosperity
Yesterday afternoon I purchased Joe Vitale’s The Attractor Factor at a local bookstore. I decided to read a little bit before going to sleep. By 2AM I finished the book. Interesting stuff! Although our perspectives are quite different (his book is spiritually oriented, while mine works with any belief system), the underlying principles are somewhat similar (e.g., detachment, appreciation, turning something bad into something good, etc). On page 35 of his book, Joe talks about a study that was done back in the 1960’s.
“Years ago, Srully Blotnick conducted a study of 1500 people. They were put into two categories: Category A said they would pursue money first and do what they really wanted to do later. Over 1245 people went into that group. Category B, made up of 255 people, said they would seek their interests first, and trust that money would follow later. What happened? Twenty years later, there were 101 millionaires from the entire group. Only one came from group A. The remaining 100 millionaires all came from group B, the group that said they would pursue their passions first and let money come later.”
Passion and prosperity are not mutually exclusive. When you “have the life you want now”, money finds you rather than you having to chase it.
P.S. This study was originally published in “Getting Rich Your Own Way” by Srully Blotnick in 1982. I have since learned that Blotnick’s work is questionable. I do believe that the premise is correct. The numbers are suspect. See the comments for more details.
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9 Responses to “Passion = Prosperity”
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I defenitely belong in group B!! The labour of love, right. Such an interesting observation. I wonder what the people in group A were thinking 20 years later…
Amazing – yet totally believable.
Question: The B group made more money than A. I wonder what percentage of people from group A and B ever realized their dreams?
In his book What Should I Do With My Life (review: http://www.positivesharing.com/journal/00000155.htm) Po Bronson talkas about the lockbox fantasy. This is the idea, that when faced with a choice between pursuing a normal job or some crazy dream, you can always take the job for a while, putting the dream in a lockbox, save up some money, and then return to the dream later. Po bronson writes, that out of all the people he talked to, nobody had ever been able to take this route. The people who’d promised themselves to return to the dream later never did.
So I would guess that the people in group A probably tend to get neither the money nor their dreams.
Alex, interesting observation and a great parallel. I suspect you are right about group A — they get neither the money nor the dream. With group B, it may not be as straight forward. From my perspective, whether or not you “achieve†your dreams is immaterial. It’s more a matter of living your dreams now. Aspirations are not a place to get to. They are a context for creating exuberance today. When “meandering with purpose†you end up in unexpected places. Having said that, you are more likely to achieve your dreams if that is the game you are playing.
Another interesting observation about this study relates to the percentages. Only 1/6 of the population (17%) go after their dreams; 5/6 (83%) chase the money. A recent nationally syndicated article about Goal-Free Living generated more responses than any other article written by the journalist (with the exception of one article debating whether you should always wash your dog’s feet before they enter your house). Most people were against the goal-free concept. But some – a vocal minority (17%??) – were all for it. The goal-free message may not resonate with everyone. But it will certainly make a huge impact for that vocal minority (50 million people in the United States). And I do believe that even those in category A will benefit from applying even one small lesson from the book.
That sounds right: When you pursue your dream in a goal-less way, your dream is liable to change. Which is a good thing.
The percentages you mention are thoroughly depressing – especially when you combine them with the work of economist Richard Layard. He looks at what really makes people happy and guess what: Being rich isn’t important. Having enough money to get by is, but anything above that does not make you noticably happier.
We need to free ourselves from the notions that money=happiness and money=success. Would it be totally unfair to say that Americans are the people in the world who believe these notions the most?
I saw the same study quoted in a book called, “Making a Life, Making a Living” – although I couldn’t tell you the author offhand.
It speaks volumes to me about the choices we make, and how important “the moment” is compared to a picture of a “better future.” I’ve chosen the B route, and I’m the richest, happiest, most successful person I’ve ever been (no outside comparison needed), and it’s only getting better.
Word is that Blotnick is a fraud. I agree there’s a lot to be said for loving what you do/ doing what you love, but Blotnick has no data to back it up in terms of financial results, as the purported study (which he based all 4 of his books on) never took place.
Oh, and his “PhD” was found to be from a diploma mill.
For more info, google the web with the words srully blotnick fraud. The full story was published in a book.
Alas John, it looks like you are correct. This was pointed out to me by someone at lunch before your posted your comment. Here’s was I found about him on the internet:
“…although Blotnick claimed his was a groundbreaking twenty-five year longitudinal study, he would have been only seventeen years old when he purportedly began his data collection. The ‘Dr.’ title he had adopted ‘turned out to be the product of a mail-order degree from an unaccredited correspondence school,’ Faludi reports. When a U.S. News & World reporter finally investigates Blotnick’s credentials, it was discovered that ‘almost nothing on his resume checked out’ — but U.S. News never published that story. It was only after New York State launched a criminal fraud investigation against Blotnick that Forbes finally discontinued his column. News of Blotnick’s fall from grace, however, was almost completely ignored by the press.”
Oh well. I do take some solace in one book review I read:
“Over the years, I have received a lot of help from Blotnick’s writing, and I have to say that Getting Rich Your Own Way is one of the few books that has changed my life. True, I might not trust Blotnick with the key to my safety deposit box, but in a world where wisdom and long-term thinking seem to be in short supply, a genius who writes well can have a lot to offer, even if he does need to make up his facts. “
Its all about the benjamins baby!!! No $ does not unequivically=happiness but it surely makes ones life more comfortable and provides one with multiple choices. As for Blotnick’s study, I haven’t read it but and most likely won’t as its basis is not in reality. Happy New year everybody!
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SANJAY SHARMA, INDIA