The Secret to Monk-Like Happiness

For a while, I’ve had this fantasy of shaving my head and moving to Tibet. I’ve looked at the flights and everything. It seemed like the perfect solution to a question that’s sat on my shoulders for way too long.

“What is my purpose?”

You ever feel like you’re grinding hard, but not sure what the end goal is?

Sure, you know that putting in extra hours at work will let you finally buy that city-view apartment. Or pay off your regrettably high student loans.

But then what?

Hedonic adaptation tells us that humans are wired to crave bigger and better.

It’s in our nature to think “what’s next?”

Unfortunately, there’s an INFINITE amount of problems to be had in the world.

When you solve one problem, another will inevitably creep up.

It’s like an eternal game of whack-a-mole.

So when do we get to sit down and experience life’s contentment?

One Sunday morning before heading to my local barbershop, I decided to sit down in the grass and meditate some things over.

Besides, I had 40 minutes or so to kill before they opened up.

“Purpose” was especially on my mind, so it was only natural that it popped up while I was in a meditative state.

But for the first time, oddly, my thoughts weren’t a string of anxieties—

They were a stream of consciousness.

“Why are monks so happy?”

Well to answer that question, you don’t actually have to shave your head and move to Tibet.

But you do need to define “happiness.”

After studying monks for a while, the answer I found is this:

Happiness is the absence of desire.

Monks renounce everything.

Sex, power, belongings —

Any material comfort or pleasure you can think of, they have no attachment to it.

It does not serve them.

Because they know that desire is suffering.

So to be happy, all you have to do is become a monk, right?

Not necessarily.

What you really want to achieve is financial freedom.

It doesn’t sound super monk-like, but hear me out —

Part of the reason why monks are so happy is because they have TOTAL FREEDOM.

You don’t see a monk sitting in traffic on the way to their 9–5 right?

That would defeat the whole point of renunciation.

Freedom includes financial freedom.

And monks ARE financially free.

Meaning, they are able to sustain their lifestyle without having to work on things they don’t want to.

How do you become financially free?

You generate enough passive income to cover your expenses.

Monks accomplish this by having an extremely minimalistic lifestyle, therefore a low burn rate.

It’s a valid option.

But there is another way —

Create a scalable business that generates passive income.

Why does it have to be scalable?

Scalable just means that you can generate income independent of time.

In other words, a scalable business will not have a salary cap because your OUTPUT (income) is not tied to your INPUT (time).

There are 3 ways to scale:

• Labor (people working for you)
• Wealth (investing)
• Technology (using the reach of the internet)

If you were born a plebeian like me, technology is likely your best option.

Why can’t I just work for someone?

If I tell you that you must be in a cramped office space by 9:00am, wearing a blue dress shirt and a yellow tie, are you really that free?

Or maybe I let you work remotely, but decide to automate your job in 6 months. Will you really feel that free while clicking through Indeed?

You MUST work for yourself to be truly free.

Once your passive income covers your expenses, you are free to do literally whatever you please.

Explore your purpose.

Move to Europe, spend time with loved ones, learn how to wakeboard in Hawaii, ponder on the meaning of happiness —

Anything.

I’m not saying financial freedom is the end-all cure for happiness.

Or that it’s the only aspect to happiness.

It’s more complicated than that.

But you know what WILL prevent you from being happy?

A lifetime of money problems.

My advice —

Take the fundamental concept of desire from monks.

If you need $10,000/month to cover your expenses, it might take you a decade or more to create that through business.

It’s a fine goal, but that’s a decade of suffering you’ll have to endure before you make it.

Instead, keep your expenses low and you’ll be able to open the door to freedom much sooner.

And you won’t even need to become a monk to do it.

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