On taking a job for the moolah...

I know.

You have to pay the bills and you have mouths to feed and, well, sometimes you just have to take a job that's being offered even if you know in your gut that it's going to suck, make you unhappy, and basically leech the energy right out of the lives of you and everyone around you.

I do get that. I have been a provider for a little person for five years and, trust me, I know the pressure of making sure I actually do that thing called PROVIDE.

But when you take a job mostly (or entirely) because the interviewer has made grand claims about the POTENTIAL money you're going to make?

Use some serious caution.

Especially if there are not also grand gestures being made about such things as:

• how much the employees like working there, or
• how much this company values its human capital,  or
• how the challenges that come with this assignment are going to make you feel all proud and glowy inside.

I've seen too many people -- people who I care a whole lot about -- grab at jobs that offer big moolah promises and little else. Rarely, it seems, do they ever deliver the big moolah. But even when they do, in my observation, they often leave the job taker regretful and no more wealthy than when they started.

(Don't even get me started about multi-level marketing)

Folks, this is your life we're talking about. You are going to spend a bazilion waking hours at work during your lifetime. Do you want those hours to just suck?

YES, money is necessary and cool and totally makes you feel a lot calmer when you know you've got some in your wallet.

I like money, I do. I love the freedom that comes with it, to be certain. But I know this to be true:

Success is about satisfaction.

It's about knowing your contributions matter.

It's about accomplishing things of significance.

It's about being good to yourself and the people who depend on you FOR MORE THAN JUST MONEY.

So if you're looking at some options that look appealing ONLY because of the cash promise? Please, I beggeth you...

Consider the big picture before you grab at the greenbacks.

This.

is.

your.

life.

(photo: Earlstees.com)