[Christien]

I only work as much as necessary, in the traditional sense of work, meaning that you wouldn't do it for free. I run a small business, and as jobs go, it's pretty good. But if I didn't need income would I do it? No.

Most other things in my life are passion-driven - my music, family, car, I'd do all those things for no pay. In fact, I generally do do those things for no pay. In those aspects, I'm always striving for excellence, and 90% of my day's energy goes into those things.

I'm not competitive at all - I couldn't care less where I stand in relation to my neighbour, friend, colleague, etc. I'm competitive with myself - I'm always looking to do better - write a better piece of music than my last one, put down a smoother, faster lap than my last time. That's not to say I don't enjoy a competition, but that's within the realm of an actual competition, whether that's a music competition, or a game of Mario Kart with my wife. But the lack of competitive drive I think keeps me out of trouble. I don't focus on meaningless goals just to make more money or put up more sales than some other rat in the race, or try to be the fastest driver at the race track, or hammer my kids to get better marks in school.

I do believe it's true that money can indeed buy happiness, for some people, and for those people, that's great. No doubt I take pleasure in things I need money to buy. But it's not the only source of happiness, and, at least in my opinion, the key to life is finding those sources.