The Ego Economy: Why the Freedom Economy Is Passing You By

open road new wave rh 
photo by new wave rh

I should start out by telling you that . . .

I’m Trying to Practice My Ranting Skillz

I suck at ranting. I enjoy reading rants, but I’ve never been very good at writing them. But apparently the rant genre is a sub-genre of the blog genre, and I need to master this shit if I ever want to displace Dooce on technorati.

Cool… I’ll Start With My Rant Right Now

Almost any resource can be a currency governed by economic forces—and the laws of supply and demand. (I probably read that in a fancy book somewhere. Please punch me in the face if I ever write another high falutin’ sentence like that again).

Anyway, money is a currency or whatever. Yeah, we know that.

But so is ego: it is traded, bartered for, bought, sold, etc. I see people participating in the ego economy all the time: new business owners waste thousands of dollars on putting big pictures of themselves on billboards. Social media people and others in the web 2.0 space sacrifice entire days of vacation and family time so they can be mini-internet famous for 1,000 people and make an extra $100/month. And people get into debt buying shit they don’t need trying to impress others or get laid.

So before the internet, money was (often) the primary means by which people participated in the ego economy; the money economy fed into the ego economy. Maybe it’s still this way.

But social media, the internet, and web 2.0 have given people a whole new venue for being vain and wasting their resources in exchange for ego gratification. Now you can broadcast a vlog to 500 people, become a power user on StumbleUpon, or Reddit, or Digg, and start a blog and try to get 1000s of subscribers. You can start and lead your own forum or newsgroup. You can be the leader of your own fiefdom of 400.

I’m Not Saying that All Bloggers are Ego Obsessed or Wasting time. Far from it.

Just hear me out.

I’ve seen a lot of people start blogging because they ultimately want to use blogging income to liberate themselves from their day jobs. That’s cool.

The problem is that – 1 year after starting their blogs – far too many of these people are still spending countless hours on their blogs even though they’re consistently losing money, freedom, and space time for months and months and months. They’ve become addicted to being in the spotlight.  It’s sad.   And many of those people are further away from liberation and more desperate than they were when they started.

The problem is that, although they originally started trying to liberate themselves from their day jobs, they can’t let go of being mini-internet famous.

They are trading ego for freedom.

Here’s the Tragedy

So the tragedy is that so many people who’ve come to the internet and this web 2.0 space to liberate themselves from shitty jobs end up not liberating themselves at all.

Instead, they end up self-medicating the shitty feeling they have at work with the ego-attention they get through their social media positions, subscriber bases, their statuses as influencers, or whatever, and as a result they end up sacrificing true liberation.

It Doesn’t Stop There

The ego economy isn’t just limited to “webheads,” it applies to so many other spaces. I’ve seen business people, for example, waste capital by blindly giving presentations, attending conferences, doing empty networking, paying large sums of money to have their faces painted on billboards, etc. (when they could have focused on delivering more value, differentiating themselves, improving customer support, doing market research, writing better sales letters, structuring better offers, building their email lists, testing their advertising, etc.)

Priorities

If you’ve started a business because you crave freedom, then really make freedom your #1 priority. Forget about billboards with big pictures of yourself. Forget about whether your peers think you’re famous. Make freedom primary, and suppress your ego.

Likewise, if you’re blogging, or investing, or business-ing or marketing or whatever to support your business or make an income, then forget about how many subscribers you have. Forget about your comments. Forget about your technorati rank, your alexa rank, and the front page of Digg. Use only one metric for determining your success: freedom. That’s it.

I choose freedom. I hope you will too.

Subscribe to the Finance Your Freedom Newsletter and List for more amateurish rants:


This entry is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.

 
« The #1 Value that Underlies Everything I Do on Finance Your Freedom
If I Could Re-Murder My Day Job . . . »
 
 

Viewing 27 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    You're right on with this, Clay. Here's my own mini-rant: I think that's why this current recession is so scary to people (at least where I live) because everyone's been living on ego currency for the past decade or so, and people are so afraid that they're going to lose the objects that represent their status. Letting go of false ego and going for freedom (authentic self) is an instantly empowering experience. You'll suddenly find money that you thought you needed, your life will become instantly more focused, and you'll like yourself better.
    • ^
    • v
    Man, are you talking right to me today? Started blogging, wow this is fun, then months in, "okay, where is this getting me?"

    So I'll keep doing it, for fun only. But my eyes are freshly refocused on the goals, the dreams.

    I, too, choose freedom.

    Thanks for the reminder - Brett
    • ^
    • v
    Just a quick thank you note to you. As a newbie blogger, your advice probably arrives right in time.
    • ^
    • v
    A flip-side to this, which I relate to strongly, is that you shouldn't let fear of not being/becoming internet-famous enough (or the equivalent) stop you from doing what you need to get that freedom.

    I've been hesitating from taking action for a while now because I kept thinking I wouldn't be good enough (read liked enough). If I focus on freedom then suddenly I can be small, and unknown to the masses and it's ok. So I can start now. And I am... :)
    • ^
    • v
    This is precisely why you need to have measurable, relevant goals for how you're spending your time. You spend an hour a day on social media to get "attention" and get $50/month in return? A waste.

    But if you spend that same amount of time on social media building mailing lists, increasing your reach, etc. ... and you have a way to monetize that ... bingo.

    I spend plenty of time building my blog ... but it's allowed me to triple my freelancing rates & generate passive income through my products.

    You've got to have more than ego in the mix - you've got to be working for a return on your time investment.
    • ^
    • v
    hey clay!

    Awesome rant. Not just that I've lernt a new word in English (rant), I was also reminded what I am working on. I too choose freedom. You're an inspiration, man! THX!

    Peace, Will
    • ^
    • v
    clay you are so freakin right about this. blogging simply doesn't lead to more freedom, nor does twitter or facebook or zaadz/gaaim or any of it. and i just figured out last week that what it actually does is lead to more chains. chained to bloggers who demand posts if you don't put one up quick enough. twitter "friends" who are nothing but a tick mark labeled followers.

    there are exceptions, sure. i've made friends, gotten support thru rough times, learned cool stuff. and thru having my blog these past five years, i've found my writing voice, was able to finish my novel, have a built in group of folks who were eager to read it and give feedback.

    but your rant is spot on. it doesn't contribute to freedom in any direct way. it's just another distraction and life-force sucker. and really, red wine, dvds, and existential chat does just fine for that :)
    • ^
    • v
    Clay,

    You're absolutely correct. I remember I spent hours combing the blogs for advice on monetizing. At one point, my Google Reader would have over 300+ new posts per day, and it was a badge of honor if I could comment on 10% of those. My wife didn't think so and since she's a firecracker Aries woman, let me know about it. I was only blogging for other people, and wanting others to like it and maybe click on my ads.

    However, I came to realize that my blog wasn't written for others. It was written for me. It was an outlet for me.

    Once that happened, I took down my adsense, and quit trying to SEO my blog and just wrote when the inspiration hit.

    I have that freedom that you talked about. Now, writing is fun again.
    • ^
    • v
    Having spent maybe 15 or 16 years in the corporate world, it continues to amaze me that the ego economy trumps the monetary one every time. I don't know how most companies make any money at all under the weight of ego-based decision making.

    Killer post, great food for thought. I'm consistently surprised that the blogs & sites that get the most attention are not remotely the most profitable.
    • ^
    • v
    Thank you Clay, for reminding us to keep freedom as our foremost goal.

    I started blogging and found myself drifting between focusing and obsessing about every business aspect of my business, and found that I just couldn't do it all. I would need to either hire staff or pace myself and work on writing when I could. For now, I have let go of driving traffic to focus on the content, and I still get a small but decent amount of traffic from search engines.

    For my type of blog, an audience might expect daily, multiple postings, but since I am unable to do that right now, I have started to treat it more like a weekly or monthly magazine. Then I won't feel so guilty when I am unable to post.
    • ^
    • v
    Clay:

    The problem is that people are not leading their own paths. They see someone else making money doing someting, think it sounds great and start doing it.

    I think you are getting closer to defining "freedom," Clay. At a minimum, people should understand that money should not be the pursuit.

    The phrase may be completely warn out but it really is true that life is about "the journey" and not the destination.

    Personally, I do not write in a blog to be "a blogger." I write to help myself make sense of the world and to test my ideas on people smarter than me. I don't care about the money but if my blogging turns into an income stream then so be it...

    "What is important in life is life, and not the result of life." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    "I write to keep from going mad from the contradictions I find among mankind - and to work some of those contradictions out for myself." ~ Michel de Montaigne

    "I tell you that virtue does not come from money but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man." ~ Socrates
    • ^
    • v
    Many get into blogging because they believe that they just need the right SEO or niche or luck to be amongst the rare 6 figure bloggers. It's no different than many people getting into networking marketing without understanding EXACTLY how money is made, and how much money by what time frame, because the rare 1% live such a dazzling successful life that fuels the ego's dreams.

    I wrote an article series on the truth about 'making money by blogging' and start with You will probably NOT get rich blogging. I've done the networking blogging gig and I've done the review for money gig and I've done the adsense gig, and while one can do quite successful when putting in a lot of hard work, that's not how I plan to spend my future time. I have many blogs, some are active because of ongoing interest, others are inactive because I'm no longer interested in the topics, and I don't count on the ad revenues to be my long term strategy for these blogs. My six figures earnings are coming from non blogging strategies.

    I agree with the Financial Philosopher, in that when you are blogging purely to make money, then you are blogging for the wrong reasons. In fact, you need to realize that you're actually working for minimum wage returns and you might as well get a second job and get guaranteed pay for your hard day's work.
    • ^
    • v
    ..long time reader, first time commenter... I love your blog. I especially loved this entry. Doing things only for the reason of money will turn you into an addict because you will never feel like you have enough money to be satisifed.
    • ^
    • v
    I'm really enjoying these very thoughtful comments. Thank you for the *excellent* discussion.
    • ^
    • v
    Nice shift there from TGL to FYF. Looks like you found your passion and strength in writing on topics more towards financing our freedom.

    Surely your not addicted into blogging too right? :)
    • ^
    • v
    Hi Clay -

    Are you sure we weren't separated at birth? I've been working on a rant for the past two days entitled "Freedom from Ambition," and finally posted the monstrosity this evening - then I moused over to check out the RSS feed and found that you've been on quite a tear yourself - I felt there was so much synchronicity that I updated my post to refer to yours. Whether you call it ego or ambition, it's important to note when the Emperor is nekkid.

    I really resonate with your philosophy and am looking forward to more podcasts and hearing your unique perspective on freedom.
    • ^
    • v
    Rant on, brotha!
    • ^
    • v
    I totally agree with your concept of the ego economy. When a friend told me yesterday that her teenage daughter and all her friends are terrified of LHC and black holes, I simply thought, well if the world ends I've had a great run. It is really sad that today's youth gets caught up so easily in mass hysteria. Keep ranting - we're listening!
    • ^
    • v
    Of course the whole issue of "Ego economy" comes down to an individual's motivation for blogging (or whatever). While, I blog to make some money, I'm blogging because I think it will bring me freedom (I have other plans for that!:). I also don't think I blog to fill my ego - although I'm sure there is some of that within me, I'm not immune. I really blog to build influence, and for personal growth.

    Thanks for your "rant"ing reflection.
    • ^
    • v
    I blog on how to create work life freedom through the pursuit of authentic right livelihood. Why settle for freedom alone when you can have financial prosperity, deep fulfillment and freedom? Of course there's some ego involved and that affects every damn one of us some more, some less.

    I guess bloggers who write more for the social media with long list posts and cute titles are participating in this ego economy.

    What I'm most curious about is what one does with their newfound freedom. Many could elect to blog simply for the hell of it or to take up a cause that's dear to them.

    I'm delighted to see you leading this charge Clay and wish you well in emancipation efforts.
    • ^
    • v
    This is powerful, accurate, and extremely relevant stuff, Clay. I hope your readers will take it to heart.

    I guess there's a silently implied message here--that maybe you got sucked in a little in the beginning. I know I did.

    I don't mention this in a negative light, I mean it in that the most sincere rants come from the heart, from learning something the hard way, from seeing whether there is a light at the end of the tunnel...and realizing whether there's another way out.

    Social media is an incredibly valuable tool for amplifying one's voice, for helping one to get paid attention to when they're seeking out certain ends...but there's a plateau we all reach where the gains are mere incremental...and they're purely about influence or vanity rather than success (however we define that...).

    We want to make an impact--we want to be important--and that's often a more deeply rooted desire than making money. But what we forget sometimes is that there's a minimum amount of financial success we need for us to have enough freedom to really define our lives in the light we'd like. There's a certain level of comfort that can really empower us to make better decisions.

    We have to try to draw the line between vanity and real outcomes. Social media levels the playing field...but it also removes all constraints on how much time we spend there.

    Thanks, Clay.
    • ^
    • v
    Clay, your posts are always thought-provoking and vaguely disturbing (in a good way). Quick response

    1)Blogging can have the goal of making money but also of spreading an important message. If a blog does not make money it doesn't mean its all "vanity" (not that I believe that is your meaning, I just wanted to make the observation)

    2)The whole topic of making money online, ooof... has become the obsession of a generation of Americans. People need to keep in mind that the goal is personal fulfillment, pleasure, authentic meaning and passion, all of which can be achieved without a lot of money. That is what I teach and coach anyway.

    Please keep on writing your thought-provoking articles and we are all trying to achieve the same thing here whether we agree on the process steps or not...