I think so many people who want to be a philanthropist or an artist, or someone in public service might actually be better off taking that job in finance for the first 9 years, make 15x the salary and then be in the position at 33 to do whatever they really want.

It’s a truth that I think a lot of you should consider.

The other key mistake is that people aren’t self aware and they don’t realize they’re not actually that happy. The reason they are giving is because they expect something in return that they think is going to make them happy.

It’s what I would call “double selfishness.” You’re giving with expectation which is the single biggest mistake anyone can make.

To truly be selfless, you have to give without expectation. It’s the mindset of giving with expectation, which kills everything. It just doesn’t work at all. Being selfish is the gateway to selflessness, because you learn to take care of your own personal needs first in order to use that as collateral later so that you can really, truly help.

I always return to the concept of a life bucket. You need to fill it with happiness. I think the right way to do it, is just to spend all of your time to fill up that bucket, and then once you’re totally full, you can then go on the offense and fill other people’s buckets as well. I think most people don’t have their bucket full, thus, they’re always in the process of trying to fill their bucket as well as everyone else’s and they always fall short.

They are never really focused on either and it never works.

You can’t give unless you have something to give. You need to mix passion with practicality. You need to be selfish in order to be selfless.

Read the source article at medium.com