***Different Varieties of Success

Generally there are two types of people who claim they “don’t do it for the money”: those who already have plenty of money and those engaged in fundamentally non-lucrative creative or service-oriented fields like the arts or social work. In both cases, passion or some other deeply held personal value is what drives them to keep working and succeeding on many levels.

Artists epitomize the idea of working vigorously for something other than money. The creative realm is one of extremes--feast or famine--and the vast majority of artists make little or no money. They often pursue their “real” work as a sideline to some less than fulfilling job that pays the bills. Even successful, well-compensated artists usually started quite modestly and worked for years making no money while honing their talents. Visions of wealth and riches might be a key factor in the ascent of some artists, but even they must enjoy making art for its own sake to be successful at it on any level.

The process of making art, the day-to-day engagement with technique, and the whole experimental/trial-and-error mode at the root of creativity is miles away from the realm of dollars and cents. An artist will not be successful artistically or financially if he or she is not focused on the creative process, and that process is separate from the process of moneymaking.

Products or enterprises spawned from passion and whim, rather than some wholly commercial impetus, have a different character. Compare a Motel 6 in Any Rest Stop, U.S.A, to a bed and breakfast in Vermont. Compare a blockbuster Hollywood movie, backed by a multimillion-dollar marketing/merchandising campaign, to a more nuanced film that is an obvious labor of love. When something is done not just for the money, it shows.

There are more than a few professions that require years of study and training, yet assume that whoever makes the effort will not get rich. Law enforcement, social work, environmental preservation, and countless other fields attract the sort of people who work for something besides money. It may be the feeling of making a difference in the community or helping others that motivates people to spend so much time training for a job that may actually result in a long period of financial struggle. In many of these cases, the work and the feeling that comes from seeing the results is its own reward.

Money is essential to the “business of life,” which revolves around food, shelter, intoxication, entertainment, and the rest. But so is the fact that there are aspects of human beings, deep-seated and very basic urges, which have little or nothing to do with money. Of course, money intersects with everything in this society, including all of our passions. That’s why some people who honestly claim they “don’t do it for the money” may actually make a lot of money doing what it is they don’t do for the money.