I love my job. I’ve been doing this for 11 years now, and I have trouble picturing myself being happy doing anything else. I’m happy because I work for a not-for-profit, so I don’t have “sales goals” to meet. I’m happy because my job is to help people accomplish their goals with my company. So each day, I leave the office knowing that I helped someone today. That is a very satisfying experience to have every day. The folks here pay me well (relative, of course; it’s a not-for-profit, not some Wall St. bank!) so I don’t feel financial stress. The folks who run the company have created a company culture that says, “work hard during the day, but when the day’s up, leave everything on your desk, walk out the door, and don’t think about work again until you get here tomorrow”. This culture allows us to enjoy our lives outside of work, which is key, I think.
Finally, I think it’s important to note that if I were financially well-off, I wouldn’t work at my job. I’d manage the horse racing business I have on the side and spend time doing things I love that don’t involve work. But that’s not realistic for those of us who are solidly stuck in the middle-class. So I’ve gotten lucky, worked hard, and made the best of it in the rat race. And I’m quite happy.