Make a Life, Not a Living

Churchill has thus far been pretty consistently changing my mind about the way I live my life. Every quotation I’ve reviewed, with perhaps one or two exceptions, has been a unique perspective on life or a commentary on the human condition. Yet again, Churchill provides a witty aphorism that elicits thought from the reader as he criticizes the way many people live their lives.

In this week’s Churchill quote, he points out a discrepancy between making a living and making a life. Most people plan their college career in an attempt to lock-up a high paying future job that will ensure financial stability; many college students equate this well-off situation with happiness or success in life. Churchill, however, makes the compelling point that “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give”. As always, analyzing each clause separately will serves us best.

First, Churchill makes it clear that making a living is simply based off of what we get in life. Be in dollar bills or what have you, making a live simply boils down to receiving some sort of compensation, monetary or otherwise. To most, this statement could be the end all be all. Making a living is what we get. Check-mark, move on, that’s true. However, Churchill goes on to foil this point with a more powerful one.

Churchill contrasts making a living with making a life. He says that making a life comes down to what we give, not what we get. Here is the focal discrepancy – getting is making a living, but giving is where we can really make a life. Now the immediate thought this evoked for me was charity. And that is part of it, but simply giving your money/time away to philanthropic organizations does not fully encapsulate the spirit of Churchill’s words.

In a quotation similar to the beliefs of famed investor Warren Buffet to give away huge portions of his income, Churchill implicitly states that making a living is in no way making a life. He points out that getting money is great and all, and will make you a living, but it’s not how you make a life. It gets your through the day from paycheck to paycheck, an expression often used with the poor but that can be applied to the wealthy if they live a life focused on wealth. However, Churchill believes that this kind of life isn’t the one we should strive to live.

We make a life, truly, by what we give. Be it money to the poor, time to the people who we care about, love to those closest to us, or a host of other things we can give away, this is where life is truly made. For me, I’ve always been someone to focus on making a living, looking ahead to what I can get rather than what I can give. It would behoove me, as it would behoove each and every one of you, to listen to Churchill, yet again. Make a life by what you give. Give love, time, effort, empathy, sympathy, care, consideration, and compassion. You just might get it back. Make a life, don’t make a living.