Have you even been in the position where you wanted something to be true so badly you repeatedly denied the truth until it bit you in the butt, again and again?

Here is the truth, when it comes to me, work and motivation: money just doesn’t make me jump too high. It’s not enough of an incentive. I wish it were more of a motivation, badly, because so many career decisions are easy to make when you consider the money involved. And, of course, more money DOES make life easier in so many respects. But, time and again, when I have made career decisions based too much on the reasons of money, I regret it.

I could go into why money isn’t my motivator in more detail, but I won’t. The simple truth is that while making a good salary is a value of mine, other values just trample it flat.

Well, crap!

But, I am hoping this time the lesson will stick.

In the case of iTipArtists, an early motivating factor for me to start the business was that perhaps it would help pay for those upcoming college expenses that my children will have to deal with. It is a value of mine and my husband’s to help them however we can with what they need to get them going in whatever career they choose. The cost of college seems just unreal now. What cost me and my parents $26K a year in 1998 costs over $40K a year now! That was a private school, but the public schools are increasing significantly as well and will continue to do so over the next 12+ years.

However, when I decided to leave the business, I had to really consider how I still felt about letting go of the possibility of iTipArtists paying for college for my children. Faced with iTipArtists possible financial success and the time I would miss being with my kids, the kids won out and surprisingly, it was no contest. The lesson learned was in how little the money really mattered to me in the end.

I came to the conclusion that I would just have to find another way when my children are a little older, and I have a little more time, to help save. I have my engineering degree and a lot of creativity so likely, I will figure something out. In the meantime, having the thought of saving for my children’s college in the forefront of my mind caused me to work on opening our 529 plans with what we have now, and to quit sitting on the subject.

Therefore, my experience with iTipArtists is that my motivation for starting it had a whole lot more to do with changing the world (more on this on Lesson #14), and not so much with making lots of money. It also informs me to who I am a little better, and hopefully to recognize when I am making a decision based on too much on the money.