G’day.

Have any of you had trouble moving past the tax rate thing in Denmark?

I decided to deal with the issue another way; like a Dane in fact. I asked myself would I still do my job if I had to pay 68% of the money it made to the government, and the answer was yes. This, in fact, is what most Danes say too!

There is much less hang up in Denmark over what you do for a living, and more emphasis on whether you enjoy what you do. The way they have achieved this is to tax their citizens so highly that everyone earns about the same amount, no matter what line of work you’re in.

So, if you don’t fancy making Mom and Dad happy by becoming an attorney, you’ll earn about the same working as a truck driver, with less responsibilities and potentially more “alone” time. Of course, Denmark might be the only country in the world where your parents might still talk to you, after you tell them you are ditching Law School and going to learn how to haul big-rigs.

It’s certainly not for us to second guess a system that seems to be working. They are, after all, very happy folks. So what seems to be the common theme?

If we start to list things it becomes clearer as to why they might be such a cheery bunch:

1       Education spending is one of the highest in the world – they really do put their money where their mouths are when it comes to, “our children are our future.” This also includes further education, too. Yep, college (university) is practically free as well. I wonder if this system would help American families…?

2       More is spent on the elderly than any other country in the world too. It must be nice knowing the bills you are accruing in a nursing home are already covered…can you say missing Social Security Funds?

3       There is a major emphasis placed on social networking and social groups – both of which promote well above and beyond normal levels of interaction. If you want to develop lasting relations it’s important for people to see firsthand how much they have in common with their counterparts; this applies to neighbors, work colleagues, and community.         

4       Health care is also provided and from what I have read their system is working fine. I know that on a personal level health insurance is one of the most expensive monthly costs for me and my family – and we are a relatively healthy bunch. I second guess going to the Docs ever, just in case he finds something really wrong and we can’t afford to fix it. At least if an illness finishes me off, there is my life insurance policy to sustain my family’s livelihood, while I get to feeding the grubs…

Some of life’s biggest hurdles and stressors are already taken care of in Danish society. As these things make up a large portion of what we as individuals are most likely to be concerned with, maybe paying such a tax rate wouldn’t be so bad – if you could actually trust your government to do what it promises to do with your money…… That, it seems, is the common theme.

Stress relief….sounds terrible doesn’t it?

This week’s Blog isn’t meant to be a gripe about all that is wrong over here, in comparison to, “over there..” It was supposed to illuminate legitimate reasons for the Danes general level of happiness.

If being happy was just a simple case of getting out of bed every morning and telling yourself today was going to be a good day, wouldn’t we all be doing it?

.I don’t believe we would Even if all the things that are wrong over here were right, some folks would still manage to find something to complain about.

It’s human nature to want to improve your lot in life and want the best for our offspring. Unfortunately, those that seem to complain the loudest are also the ones least likely to actually take action and do anything about it.

I would like to revisit something I mentioned earlier in regards to career. I immediately dumbed down the career choice of someone that declined going to law school in favor of being a truck driver, because there’s no money in being a lawyer.

What about the flip side of that? If money isn’t the driving force behind a young person’s choice towards any particular career, doesn’t that mean that those who choose to commit their lives to a particular line of work, do so for the noblest of reasons?

I know I risk coming off as some age old romantic here, and that’s not easy for me to do, but it seems to me that if you just want a career based on nothing but the merits of the profession itself, wouldn’t that attract the best kind of person to do that job?

Obviously they are passionate about their choice. Why go through all that work to do a job that pays the same as your neighbor the welder, or trash collector? 

We all know passionate people are the most inspiring. If what you do fires you up each and every morning, you’re sure as hell a lot easier to be around than some grumpy old ass that drags him or herself to work every morning, looking like the sky is falling in around them.

The power of passion can never be under-estimated as a driving force towards becoming successful and happy.

** Take Steven Spielberg for example; legend has it that as a young man he took a tour of Universal Studios at age 17 and upon realizing he was only getting half the story in regards to movie making, snuck away from the tour group and found his way to a sound stage to watch the production of a “real” movie.

His interest was now well beyond just piqued. In fact the next day he put on his best suit, borrowed his father’s briefcase and walked confidently straight past the security gate and onto the Studios lot, once again. He located an empty trailer and used plastic letters to put his name and self appointed title, “Director” on the door.

He then spent the remainder of his summer chatting with anyone he could find in movie making; directors, editors, special effects people, script writers, sound people, literally anyone he could learn from.

At age 20, having become a regular on the Studio lot, he won a seven year contract to make movies on the back of a modest movie he had put together in his spare time.  He was off and running.

That’s the power of passion!

Would you go to such lengths for your current career? If not, what would you go to those lengths to do?

I want you to memorize this acronym:

GO YACS.

I’m not going to tell you what it stands for until tomorrow, just start memorizing it for now, and when you say it in your mind, or out loud for that matter, say it loud and powerfully.

Lift your chin, inflate your chest, pull your shoulders back and project it – LOUDLY.

Until tomorrow team members,

Cheers, Terry

P.S. “Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact!” – Bertrand Russell.

** Information in reference to Steven Spielberg was originally garnered from Anthony Robbins National Bestseller “Unlimited Power” – I love this book by the way. And yes, I read an awful lot of books. For all those of you that had me pinged as a knuckle dragging Neanderthal, occasionally I pick ‘em up off the floor and try deciphering all the letters….Hahaha