I’m kind of embarrassed to admit this but one time when I was 17 I nearly had a nervous breakdown while I was making sandwiches.

I was working at this cafe in my hometown, and I became aware that I was spending, hours, weeks, months of my life doing some repetitive task that meant nothing to me.

Suddenly overwhelmed by the preciousness of life, how short it is, how beautiful, and how much I didn’t want to spend my time making sandwiches for rich people, I ran to the kitchen and slid to the floor in a lump of tears. My manager sent me home.

I quit that job, but for the next 20 years I found myself in jobs that made me just as miserable. Some of them far worse than the Earthling Cafe. Dangerous jobs, humiliating jobs, jobs that were beautiful in theory but paid virtually nothing (non-profits).

I had to clear all sorts of blocks and limiting beliefs before I could accept that I was allowed to have professional success doing something that I loved.

Part of it was that I had a thing against business. I felt like it was impure, ugly. That taking money from people was… wrong or something.

But now I see business as an exchange and I’m exhilarated by it. The work I do helps people, and in exchange they provide me with resources to help me sustain myself.

I want to do the same for the people who help me, I want to share my resources with them so they can live happy, abundant lives.

You have a service or create something that people need. You are here for a reason.

You are valuable. The work you do is valuable, and so is your time.

When we start to recognize our own value, we take a huge step towards recognizing the value of all life. We can create our own sacred economies.