As you might expect, I spend most of my time sitting on my butt staring at a 13” MacBook Air. I do take frequent breaks, mind you. Usually to make tea, munch on something, annoy my wife, pick fruit, chop down trees, go for a run, play with Daphnie … you know, whatever.
While I am freakishly disciplined when it comes to work (yes, I do practice what I preach), I do occasionally succumb to the urge to screw around online. Yes, it’s rare, but I’m human and sometimes Google my name just to see who’s plagiarizing me, cursing the ground I walk on, that sort of thing.
Get this. The top searches that come up after my name are, in descending order: “fox business,” “net worth,” “entrepreneur,” “bio,” and “email.”
That’s right. Sandwiched between the two media outlets that publish my columns, above who I am and how to contact me, folks want to know how much dough I’ve got stashed away under my mattress. That’s just nuts.
Can someone please explain to me what that’s all about? What am I, Donald Trump? Mark Cuban? Oprah Winfrey?
I even tried doing the same thing for some people I consider to be peers and the money thing doesn’t come up atop their Google searches. Why mine? Is it something I said? Something I did? Something I ate? What?
I’ve maybe searched for someone’s net worth once or twice while researching an article. Otherwise I couldn’t care less what anyone is worth. And if I wasted my precious time with nonsense like that instead of working my tail off all these years, I’d be worth zilch.
I know I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but here’s the thing: If you find something someone writes to be thought provoking, informational, entertaining – whatever – just read more. The only thing interesting about me or anyone else who does what I do is what we have to offer you: observations, insights, and lessons from our experience. That’s our product.
My real concern is that the smart gadget / information age is turning us into voyeurs instead of doers. It’s OK to screw around and have a little fun with it once in a while, just don’t let all this access take over your life. Trust me, it’s not worth it. Nobody’s life is more interesting – and nobody’s net worth more important – than yours.
(Image credit: Forbes)