In the original Legend of Zelda on NES, one of the dungeons holds an old man who refuses to let you pass unless you either give him 50 rupees (which can take a while to get) or one of your heart containers. Fittingly, in the game’s terse narration, his caption reads “LEAVE YOUR LIFE OR MONEY.”
I remember finding this as a kid and thinking pretty hard about it—you could always get more rupees in the game by killing enemies, so paying the money seemed like the better option. But, if you were short on cash and a really good player, could you potentially save some enemy-farming time by giving up the heart container?
I never seriously gave up the heart, but I always thought about it until the day I read in a Nintendo Power players guide that the choice was a fool’s errand. “You can’t give up a hard-earned heart container,” the guide said. “Give him the money.”
Wise words, Nintendo Power.
Day Jobs Offer Us the Same Trade-Off Every Single Day
First, think about how much money you’d need to pay your bills for a day a week, a month, or a year. That’s the old man’s 50 rupees.
Now, consider the amount of time you’d be spending at your Day Job over the same period. That’s the heart container.
Remember, there’s only a limited amount of time in your life just like there’s only a limited number of heart containers in the first Zelda game. As for money, well, you can always make more money, either at your current Day Job or through other means, just like Link when he goes out killing Octroks and Moblins.
We all need money to, you know, live, but things get a lot more complicated when you realize that when your time’s all gone, that’s it.
Time and Money Take Priority at Different Points in Your Life
When I was a kid, I was always flat broke. My parents paid me a small allowance for doing weekly chores, and I made a few extra bucks walking my aunt’s dog, but that was it. I had a TON of things I wanted to buy (a release day copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 being a particularly vivid memory), and since I spent most of my free time watching TV and playing video games anyway, it made sense to trade a little bit of that time for some coin that could help me get more video games.
In high school and college the trade-off was similar: I had a car that needed gas, car insurance bills that needed paying, and I wanted enough money to go out and do things. I was also busier than before with schoolwork, friends, and hobbies, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed or stretched too thin. That made the trade-off between work and money still feel worthwhile.
Now, flash forward again to my life after college, when I was living with my parents, owed $650 a month in student loans, had little to no savings, and worked a series of low-paying jobs I was only moderately interested in. My money troubles felt pretty dire then, so it made even more sense to work more, take on extra jobs and random Craigslist gigs, and do whatever I could to save money and make it on my own—and I kept up that mindset for a long time.
Now, though, my student loans are paid off (*cue celebratory music*) and I work a job where, thanks to my low expenses and tax savings as a JET participant, I’m able to save a decent amount of money. I’ve also got more projects on my plate and on the horizon than ever before, and there never seems to be enough time to work on them all—the exact opposite problem my 23-year-old self had.
What makes the whole thing really challenging, though, is that after years of never having money but plenty of time, it’s been difficult to switch out of that mindset.
What a Whiner You Are! Do You Know How Many People Would Literally KILL to Not Have to Worry About Money?
Woah woah woah—slow down there, chief! I know I’m in a good position, and I feel pretty fortunate about it. The real question is what to do now that I’m here, and how to balance the time/money trade-off so I can move closer to my creative goals.
After all, the last thing I want to do is give up more of my heart containers.
I think a lot now about selectively taking on new projects, especially ones whose primary reward is money (as opposed to other advantages like making contacts, earning favors, learning useful skills, or adding to your resume). My feelings reached a real turning point last spring after I wasted an entire week at my old job grading standardized test essays (a job I’d gradually grown to hate) in exchange for a few hundred bucks I didn’t really need.
In that case, maybe I had to learn the hard way.
I also think a lot about how, in a perfect world, you could simply limit the amount of time you spent at your Day Job so you could easily harness more time whenever you needed it—like giving the old man 25 rupees and half a heart container. The problem, though, is that most people who tried that would lose their Day Jobs pretty fast.
Thus, if we want to stay stable and avoid falling into dire financial straits (think: me at age 23), it makes sense to hold onto our Day Jobs for the time being.
I think the real key is to consider your medium- to long-term plans: the moves and transitions you’ll be making next year, in three years, or in five years. These transitions could be a lot easier with the right amount of cash in the bank, or if you can earn enough to pay your bills through a combination of side hustles and (the Holy Grail!) the creative work you actually want to be doing. This makes it all the more important to plan carefully.
As always, my ultimate goal is to move away from Day Job-type work and closer to the type of creative work I’d 100% like to be doing all the time, which is writing kick-ass novels and sharing them with people who want to read them. Now more than ever, I think about the best way of making that transition happen.
Cool Story Bro. So How Does That Help Me???
If you’re reading this and the Life/Money metaphor resonates with you even a little, you probably want to take back more of your own time for more of the work you actually want to be doing. Since everyone’s situations are going to look a little different, here’s some general tips to keep in mind:
- Remember Your Goals. Can’t stress this one enough.
- Make a Plan to Move Closer to Those Goals. If you can’t make a full plan right away, try thinking ahead a few steps at a time, like I do.
- Save Money. Again, money always helps.
- Take Calculated Risks. Fools take risks, but smart people make calculated risks they know they have a good chance of winning. When the time comes to make a life change or leave behind something that’s not working, don’t be afraid to take the plunge and move forward.
- Repeat Steps 1-4. You might have to do it a lot.
In a nutshell, these are the principles I’ve been living my life by for a long time. They’ve gotten me through a lot of challenges, and I plan to keep moving through the new ones.
After all, I’m getting tired of giving up heart containers to the old man…
The cover photo is used for educational purposes only: as in, as an example from a video game to illustrate an academic point I’m making, and it thus falls well within Fair Use. Thanks to The Well-Red Mage for letting me use the photo, since it would have taken me a long time to play far enough into the original Zelda to get that pic myself.
So I totally have an Instagram now where I post cool and offbeat pics from Japan—check it out!
Plus, you know, there’s other ways to follow me…
But I Also Have a Day Job on Facebook
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