Money, so they say is the root of all evil today.

Bang, bang, let me hear you say hey-ooooh. So, what's up? I want to tell you about money. What it really is and how to use it.

You know that saying in the title, that money is the root of all evil? It's not true. That's just an oversimplification of an entirely complex dynamic between money, people, and stuff. But to understand how money is not the root of all evil you have to understand how money works.

All right, money is a way to buy things. But why? Why can you give paper and digital information to some one in exchange for something of value? Because everyone agrees to do it. You can learn all that crap in a micro-economics class, learn about barter and limited-resources and how money is just a way of rationing the resources out to those who posess enough money to purchase the stuff they want.

But, what exactly is money? It is a token, much like a game token at Chuck'E'Cheeses. It's an arbitrary token that represents two things; time and talent. That's it. If you have ever worked a job for a wage then it will be easier for you to understand the concept. For example, if you work for $10 an hour then a $10 bill represents one hour of your time and the actual labor/skills/talents you put into the job for which you received pay.

Some people get all hot and bothered and claim they are more valuable than whatever wage they are payed for their job. The truth of the matter is that you are not "worth" more than you are paid unless you are sold on the black market. It is illegal to assign a monetary value to a person. There was a war supposedly fought over the whole principle of selling human beings in exchange for money. So, while you may feel you have more value than the wage you are paid the sad truth is you are not.

You are getting paid for your time. But that alone is not all that valuable. Anyone can sell their time if that's all the employer needs and usually that's why there are so many minimum wage jobs. If all you do is sit for several hours doing something that anyone anywhere can easily do then all you are getting paid for is your time. So apparently one hour of anyone's time is worth at least minimum wage. If you get paid more than minimum wage then the amount of pay you receive is the value of your talent, education, and skills to that employer. The fewer people who can do what you do the more money you will be offered to do it.

Let's say I get paid $12.50/hour to do what I do. I deliver stuff. I pick up heavy cases, stack them, roll them around, put them in a van, drive from place to place, and drop them off where they are supposed to go. The minimum wage is currently $7.25/hour. So, the actual value of everything I do is $5.25. For being healthy enough and strong enough to lift 33lb boxes a couple hundred times a day, smart enough to not crash a van into the side of a building, and smart enough to read an invoice and correctly deliver product I get paid $5.25 (remember, the other $7.25 is just what federal law says some one has to pay you in exchange for one hour of your time).

While you may feel you should get paid more for your job, it really depends on how difficult it would be to find some one else who is willing to do it for equal pay or less. If there are thousands of people just as capable of doing what you do without any special training then it's really hard to convince and employer to pay you more. If there's only 50 people in the whole world who can do what you do in that job then you will get paid a whole, whole lot of money.

If you want to get paid more money then learn how to do something very few people can do that employer's need done.

Take the stripper, for an illustration of this concept. Yes, a stripper. Male or female, though I'm going to insist we go with female since I'm the one writing. A "good" stripper gets paid a lot of money. Why is this? Well, for one, it's really hard to look the part. People are generally fat in the United States. Hey, I'm just paraphrasing statistics. So, a stripper automatically is some one rare by being fit and attractive. Now, being fit and attractive isn't all that rare. But, being fit, attractive, and willing to get naked and dance in front of strangers is pretty rare. It's the rarity of all those qualities that earns the high amounts of money in the exotic dancer's profession.

Now that you know money is a token of your time and talents, then you can start making better decisions on how to spend it. You spend a certain amount of time working a job that you may not even care about so you can cash that time in and go do something you really want to do. Make $10/hour, buy a $30 dinner then you exchanged 3 hours of your life in return for some food. Don't forget however much time you also spent eating that food.

If you want to save money then evaluate things you enjoy doing that require no money. Go swimming, walk in the woods, sit in the middle of the mall and stare at people as they walk past... whatever you like. That way you're only spending the time the activity takes instead of that time plus whatever time your money represents.

You want to be happy in your job and career? Find something that you would love to do for free but some one is willing to pay you for doing it. That way the time you are spending at work is bringing you value and fulfillment and on top of that you are getting money to spend elsewhere.

My magnificent opus...

Hello everyone. And by everyone I mean you, the individual who is at this moment reading these words, though I like to imagine that everyone at one point in time will read what I write. I like to imagine a lot of things.

My name is Sean. There are lots of people named Sean, including the actor Sean Connery who is the person that inspired my father to name me Sean. I'm not sure that says anything about me, personally, but it does say a few things about my father. A few things like... he was a James Bond fan. Maybe he wanted to be in her majestey's secret service and have a license to kill. Who wouldn't want such a thing?

So, you've made it through two paragraphs and are still reading; that's encouraging. As you have been reading you've wondered why I am writing these words. Don't deny it, you have been. Even if you don't realize you've been wondering, you have. Well, I'll tell you why I'm writing. I am going to help make the world a better place by sharing what I have learned in my life and experience. And, by default, I am going to make your life better by sharing what I've learned in my life and experience. If you follow along and diligently read everything I write over time and you think about all the things I write about then you will have a better life.

Well, there is a small chance that some one who reads this already has a good life and won't find themselves having a better one as a result of reading my blog. Sure, there's a chance, but as I said it's a small chance. If you such a blessed person who won't benefit from my writing then I invite you to read along for no other reason than to be entertained and to explore ways that you can put into your own words why you have joy in your own life.

Before I get down to the nitty-gritty of making the world a better place I'm going to preface this entire blog by laying down some general statements of how things are when you read my work. First off, I write off the cuff. In this blog I will write one draft, no revisions. Second, people have a tendancy to call me arrogant or accuse me of having a "big ego". Once those criticisms bothered me and sent me into an introspective examination of whether or not I was as awesome as I believed. I have found over many years of such introspective soul searching that yes, yes I am as awesome as I think I am.

Descartes said, "I think therefor I am." So Sean says, "I think I am awesome, therefor I am."

Second, I use a "shock-jock" approach to my writing in order to entertain and grab the attention of my reader; to grab your attention. The narrative style is through a persona, a character, and is not an accurate representation of who I am. I deliberately say things in such a way to elicit a response, yet the content of my writing contains valuable information. If you are unable to read past the tone and presentation of my work to see the value in the underlying message then that's your problem, not mine. As Abraham Lincoln said, "You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time." Odds are I don't even know you, dear reader, so I don't know how to cater to your individual needs when it comes to receiving information through reading. I say it's impossible for me to anticipate every need of every reader in order to communicate. So, since there is just one of me but there are potentially millions of you, readers, then the burden of relating to what I write lies entirely with you.

I spent the entirety of my self-aware life in pursuit of happiness. During that pursuit I have experienced life, the universe, and everything in as full a manner as I could imagine. I have gained insight, education, and have learned through my successes and more importantly through my failures. I offer 28 years of experience, insight, and lessons to anyone who cares to have them. All this, and more, for free!

So read on, comment, and ask questions. If they are entertaining questions, which means they don't even have to be good, then I will answer them to the best of my ability.