I wrote about the concept of lifestyle design and why it’s so popular a little while back. This is a topic that’s fairly new to me and I wanted to share my findings with you guys to see what you thought about it. I received some cool feedback. One comment stuck out from a usually controversial man.
Financial Samurai left an eye-opening comment:
Lifestyle design is a fine choice for those who can’t get the job of their choice due to the economy.
At some point, it’s important to see what’s behind the curtain and take a look at people’s finances.
ANYBODY can go travel the world and say how great their life is on a blog. This is why my post on “The Minimalist Lifestyle Is Not For You” was so eye opening to me and many readers.
It’s better to have a choice, then to be stuck.
That’s certainly an interesting take. I personally love to look into both sides of everything. As enamored as I am with the whole idea of creating the life of your dreams and making money “following your passions,” I also understand that a location independent lifestyle isn’t for everyone.
Has the recession sparked this lifestyle design trend?
Difficulty in finding work.
Let’s be perfectly honest here, it can be difficult to find that right job out of college. Sure you can find any job. The thing is that we don’t want just any job. After spending four years in college we have it instilled within us that we deserve a well-paying respectable position. Instead of accepting a job that we feel is beneath us, it’s much easier to claim that we’re entrepreneurs.
Avoid shame.
Instead of telling your parents and peers that you can’t/find a lucrative job, you can easily tell everyone that you’re creating the life of your dreams. I’m personally worried about this. For me it’s so much easier to focus on my online projects than it is to go out there, find a “real job” and show up at 9 AM every day like a good employee. I’m still not sure if this is a positive or a negative quality. Does it spark entrepreneurship or create laziness?
Positive outlook.
This is what I love about lifestyle design. Instead of stressing about investing in silver or complaining about the market swings, you can get out there and do something about there. I’m all for being proactive and taking action.
Ask the readers– do you think that the recession has sparked lifestyle design? Is lifestyle design a fad that will go away soon? What are your thoughts on this topic?
I’m a lawyer who has a decent job but I still find the entrepreneurial itch. So I imagine some people just have it, regardless. I always have, although I have never had much success or until recently done much about it. On the other hand, I think there are people who are simply riding out the recession the best they can. To be sure it sounds better to say you are the CEO of a company (small as it is) than unemployed. How diluted such a person is deep down is the real true consideration. To my mind success comes about through working both hard and smart, but there rarely is an easy way to riches. Most of the lifestyle design people who have money made it selling the idea of lifestyle design to others through books, etc, or at least that is what it looks like to me. Thanks for the interesting take on the subject. I never even heard the term until a couple of years ago.