Two Fridays ago, I was leaving for lunch when a co-worker of mine passed me by and stopped me to ask if the South Park character on my T-shirt was me. When I said that it was and then told her that I work for South Park – her first question was how much money do they pay me. When I told her that it was a minimal salary that does not even cover my rent – she was confused as to why I would do something that does not even pay me enough to live on. And then when I told her that I also host a TV show about wrestling that does not pay me one cent – she simply shook her head and walked away. Her disgust that I would do something for little or no money made me wonder – is money the only driving force in our lives?

I understand that if I worked for free at the DOB – I could not afford to pay my rent and bills and thus not be able to live in my apartment. But if I have a full time job that pays my living expenses – what is wrong with doing something on the side for free – as long as I enjoy it?

As I have stated many times, my goal in life is to be successful – and to me – success is not a grillion zeroes in my bank account – success is enjoying what I do and looking forward to doing it.

Sure Ring Fever doesn’t pay me and South Park only pays me a minimal amount, but what about the other things that they bring me – enjoyment, happiness, recognition, fans, gifts, friends – and success. Should I throw all of that away because I don’t make enough money doing them? To be honest, if Rob told me flat out that Ring Fever was never going to pay me a cent, and Comedy Central told me that they would stop paying me today – I would not leave either position. I do what I do because I enjoy it – not for the financial rewards.

Let me put it this way, if the New York Rangers asked me if I would like to be the commentator for their hockey games, but told me there would be no salary – I would decline. The reason I would decline is not because there would be no salary – but because I don’t like hockey. My feeling is that if I have a full time job that not only affords me a living – but is also something I really enjoy – then why not welcome the opportunity to do two other things in my life that bring me more joy and happiness then any amount of money can.

I think that people who look toward the future with dollar signs in their eyes really need to stop and rethink their futures – because while money can make someone very rich and well taken care of – it can not make them enjoy what they do – and that to me is priceless.