What percentage of people truly love their work? It's naïve to say that it's a majority or anything greater than a small percentage of the population. While people can learn to love their jobs, most people's day jobs are not what they dreamed they would be doing growing up or what makes them the happiest. A dream job might be described as something that you would even consider paying someone to allow you to do, but in reality, someone actually pays you to perform that job. For nearly everyone except a select few, most people's jobs are a means to an end: a way to pay the bills, put food on the table, support one's family, and acquire the means to do the things they truly enjoy. It is fascinating to attempt to interpret the intersection of how someone acquires money and how they spend it.
Imagine meeting three people in one day: an investment banker, a social worker, and an Uber driver. The investment banker makes a few hundred thousand dollars a year and proclaims investment banking is their dream job. Does the fact that they make a beyond comfortable living influence the extent to which they think they were made for this job? The social worker makes $40,000 a year and, despite barely making ends meet, exclaims that they could not see themselves doing any other job in the world. Lastly, you have a lengthy discourse with a could-be-retired Uber driver who insists they only drive because they are bored. It's intriguing to ponder the truthfulness of these claims and the motivations behind their chosen professions.
I studied finance in business school not because I dreamed of term sheets and financial statements, but because I wanted to give myself the best chance possible of being able to provide for my future self and potential future family. While I enjoyed numbers and business and thought it would be a good fit, I also took an interest in a few other things, including math, engineering, and art. The last of which would have likely proven a rather difficult field of study to make future ends meet.
Sometimes people only know how to do one thing with money: make more of it. While the ability to consistently make 10–20% over multiple decades is an admirable quality, if this person dies having not personally invested in allocating this capital to causes that they care about, then I would consider this individual a poor steward of capital despite having multiplied their money year after year. A good steward of capital determines with great care how to allocate their capital to causes that they feel are important. This could mean bettering the lives of your family, supporting local causes, donating to charities, or investing in a unique passion that you share with the world.
This is not a discussion of how to best cast judgment, but rather an invitation to revisit where and how you spend your money, as once we've attained it by any means, it can all be saved, invested, and spent the way we choose, if that is the same as or completely different than another's.