I need a job.
That statement is so simple. It's just four words. What happens if the word job is changed out for a similar word or phrase.
I need a source of income.
A job is now an option. There are other means of obtaining income than working for someone else. You can sell stuff you own, hopefully for a profit. You can create something or provide a service to someone in exchange for money.
I need a source of food, shelter, and clothing.
This is the heart of the need, survival. Money is a means of obtaining goods and services. It stores time.
Humans don't survive on instinct. At some point in our collective past, it dawned on someone that a pile of food could be traded for a place by the fire in a cave. I imagine it was probably at the same time the bigger guy realized he could just take the food; but, didn't want to be alone in his dark cave. You can't always tell what the other person really wants.
Hunting, farming, making what you need all take a lot of time. Not to mention the time it takes to learn all of those skills. We slowly refined bartering into money, and stopped.
There are three things in the above musing that stand out to me: Time, Skills, and Relationships.
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| Downtown Dallas Most of my notions of jobs include an office or workshop, which is silly since there are more people doing physical labor outside of air conditioned caves. |
Exactly what do I mean when I say: I need a job?
First: I want to get paid
Second: I am in need of a group to be a part of that values the skills I have learned over time.
Third: I did not like my other options, or more likely, did not think about them.
For some reason, jobs have become the default way of obtaining income. But, there are still people who will work for themselves either by choice or circumstance. Some have more resources; but, all are investing time.
I can spend my time in exchange for set wages, that are kept hidden from everyone so you don't know what the market rate is for that time.
I can spend my time building a relationship with people who want my skills or products or both enough to pay me for them.
