“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

As someone who smoked while he was unemployed, I assure you the above quote is not literally true.

I won’t be deliberately obtuse, though. I know the sentiment that it’s trying to express. It’s about comfort versus challenge. A steady salary breeds comfort. You can get lulled into a sense of security. You build a routine. Then one day you wake up and realize that you’ve been left behind in your industry. I get that. I’ve been there.

You only get one life. You have to be fearless. You have to do work that is meaningful to you. You have to get out of your comfort zone. You have to, you know, do all that stuff that motivational speakers and self help books tell you to do.

And I’m not getting down on that stuff. I’m really not. I just know that, having existed without a paycheck, I’m very happy to have a paycheck. If that makes me an addict, then I’m an addict. I’m pretty sure that no one has ever become homeless or lost their family because of a salary addiction.

The above quote speaks to people with an entrepreneur mindset. It’s taken me a while to realize – though, I always knew it deep down – that I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a salesman. I’m not an ideas guy. The things I love make you no money.

I know that there are people who love finance, who love starting companies and seeing them prosper. That must be cool. It’s not me, though. And I find the whole inspirational business attitude annoying. Entrepreneurs are the kind of people who don’t understand not all people are entrepreneurs.

What’s the work nightmare? It’s being a hamster on a wheel. It’s being a rat in a cage. It’s that Black Mirror episode where Daniel Kaluuya rides a treadmill all day for merits. It’s being one of the mindless workers in the classic Apple commercial that I find pretty sanctimonious (and it’s not anywhere near as bad as the lemmings one a few years later).

Sometimes I think I’ve been scared into a day job out of fear of not behaving like a good capitalist. But then other times, I think I’m just doing an honest day’s work to earn money to live.

Frankly, if I’m a hamster with a salary addiction, I’m cool with that.

For now.