It was Aristotle who said "All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind", but what is it about paid jobs that make this the case? To find the answer let’s consider the differences between paid and unpaid jobs.

One summer I got a 5 day job working at what could only be described as an ex-bomb shelter; an old decrepit building barely standing in the middle of a industrial estate. Inside were two large printers, lots of empty tables and some very dull-looking people. For 5 days I repeatedly collected together 3 sheets of paper, inserted them into an envelope and sealed it. After 5 days, the dryness of my hands prevented me from bending my fingers. I hated it.

Everyone has had a job that they hated. Most people have had multiple jobs - all of which they have hated. It’s probable that some of you have never had a job that you actually liked. And indeed It's not a coincidence that most people hate their job - it is the very reason the job is paid; why would you do something you hate for any other reason?

Paid jobs are typically disliked and hence the financial catalyst for doing them. Unpaid jobs (such as volunteer work or the thing you do as your hobby) are quite a different thing however. Ask yourself why you bother doing any of the unpaid things in your life. Other than life’s necessities the answer is that you are happy doing them.

Returning from my recent trip to NYC, I was stood at the terminal entrance of Newark airport when a car pulled up beside me. Slowly and delicately a Tibetan Monk dressed traditionally in his dark red robe climbed out from the car. He was an elderly man who looked unsteady from behind. As his driver went to fetch a wheelchair, he turned and looked at me directly in the eye. He paused for a few seconds before slowly producing the biggest and most authentic smile I can remember seeing in a long time. He was truly happy.

This is what Aristotle was alluding to when he specified paid jobs; the mind is absorbed and degraded because of the lack of happiness. Think about it – how productive are you when you’re doing something that makes you happy? Now contrast with how productive you are when you’re doing something that makes you unhappy.

You can’t have a passion for something unless it makes you happy, and true happiness cannot be grown through an increased salary or your own corner office with a miniature fridge. If what you’re working on doesn’t make you happy, you simply won’t produce the same quality of work as the person who finds it exhilarating - because she’s going to go home and work some more, and guess what she’ll be doing on the weekends too.

This is why a 2-man start-up can build a freaking awesome product in their basement while a corporation struggles to build an innovative product with a team of 10 people and a million times more resources. The 2 guys that create the start-up are excited about their idea and are driven by the happiness of working on it, whereas the 10 corporate developers are just being paid to execute someone else’s vision – a vision they likely do not share.

Happiness is the root of many other powerful attributes of a successful person; passionate, dedicated and motivated people are typically happy. Therefore, ensuring that a prospective employee will be happy is arguably as important as determining if they have the correct skills or experience.

Incidentally, Aristotle also said:

Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.

And the Dalai Lama agrees:

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

I’ll leave you with my final observation: happy people do a much better job.