Money Is Your Excuse
The paycheck isn't security. It's the excuse you're using to stay stuck.
“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
"Money can’t buy happiness.”
”Life is not about money. “
”You can have billions and still not be happy.”
“You can’t take it with you.”
”Those people with money? Filthy rich”
“Money is the root of all evil.”
We say these things.
But we also say:
“Money makes the world go around.”
“Time is money.”
“Cash is king.”
“Money talks.”
“Show me the money.”
And we spend our entire lives organizing everything around the second list, not the first.
Not around mastery. Not around craft. Not around what we’re actually meant to build.
Around the paycheck, if you are an employee.
I sat across from a brilliant engineer last week. Eight years on Wall Street building programs. Then moved to Silicon Valley. Worked at some of the most prestigious tech companies. Then a startup.
Smart guy. Capable. Young kids. Working wife. Financially stable.
And, yet, completely stuck.
“Should I do my own thing?” he asked. “I’ve done corporate. I’ve done startups. I know I want to build something. But the paycheck showing up every month... it’s just easier.”
I asked him one question: “Are you happy?”
He couldn’t answer.
And that’s when I knew exactly what was happening.
The When-Then Disease
Here’s the pattern I see all the time.
Five years ago, you said: “WHEN I have $X saved, THEN I’ll make my move.”
Now you have $X.
And you’re saying: “WHEN I actually have saved $Y, THEN I will look to make a move..”
The number keeps moving. Or, the condition does.
But it is never about the number or the condition.
It’s that you’re using money as permission you’ll never grant yourself.
Let me show you how this actually works.
The Framework: Three Questions That Expose Everything
Take five minutes right now. Get a piece of paper.
Question 1: Complete this sentence
“When I have ______________, then I’ll finally ______________.”
Write it down. Be specific.
Most people write something like:
“When I have $500K saved, then I’ll start my business”
“When I have the mortgage paid off, then I’ll do work I actually care about”
“When the kids are through college, then I’ll pursue my next move”
Question 2: Now answer this
How long have you been saying that?
Be honest. When did you first tell yourself this story?
Two years ago? Five years? Ten?
Question 3: Here’s the uncomfortable one
What did you say you needed BEFORE this current number?
Go back. What was the previous “when-then” statement you told yourself?
Because here’s what I’ve learned after coaching hundreds of executives:
The goalpost always moves.
You said “when I make VP, then I’ll have freedom.” You made VP. Now you say “when I make SVP...”
You get the picture.
You’re not waiting for money. You’re waiting for permission from a voice that will never give it.
What’s Actually Happening
Money is not the problem.
The problem is what the steady paycheck has become: a pacifier.
It sugar-coats the real issue - you’re living someone else’s definition of success while your own life waits.
Look at what you’re protecting:
Your reputation. Your position. Your comfort.
And ask yourself honestly: Is any of that actually growing?
Or is it just... calcifying?
Because here’s what I see: every year you wait, you’re not playing it safe.
You’re training yourself to be smaller.
You’re teaching yourself that comfort matters more than commitment to your higher and best self.
You’re proving to yourself that you can’t be trusted to do hard things.
And one day - maybe at 50, maybe at 60 - you’ll realize:
You spent your best years protecting something that stopped being worth protecting a long time ago.
And many of you tell me: “this is reality. It is the stage of life I am at. Taking risks is easier as you gat older.”
WRONG. Psychological studies prove that your ability to take risks reduces as you burden yourself with other responsibilities. Including your job! So it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
The Real Cost Isn’t Money
It’s not the money you’re not making.
It’s the work you’re not doing. The impact you’re not having. The person you’re not becoming.
Meanwhile, your kids are growing up. Your energy is finite. Your time (your life) is ticking away.
And you’re still saying “when I have enough...”
Enough for what?
To finally give yourself permission to live?
What Changes Everything
Stop asking: “Will this make money?”
Start asking: “Is this worthy of my full attention for the next five years?”
If the answer is no - no amount of money will fix the emptiness.
If the answer is yes - money becomes a byproduct, not a pursuit.
This isn’t romantic advice.
It’s observable reality.
Money doesn’t chase people who chase it.
It chases people who are absorbed in something that matters.
Look around. You’ll see it everywhere.
The writer obsessed with audience size never writes anything worth reading.
The leader who optimizes for safety never earns real loyalty.
The professional who plays defense their entire career is shocked when they’re invisible.
Money is attracted to signal.
Craft creates signal.
Fear creates noise.
Your Move
Keep waiting for the perfect moment that will never come.
Keep moving the goalpost every time you reach it.
Keep using money as the excuse for why you’re not living your actual life.
Or...
Book a free 30-minute Strategy Call and I’ll give you the same assessment framework I use with executives paying $60K+ - you’ll identify exactly what’s draining your energy, whether you’re actually ready to make a move, and what your next 90 days would look like.
No charge. No pitch. Just clarity.
Because the most expensive education is the one you get by ignoring the early lessons.
What lesson is your life trying to teach you right now?
P.S.
That engineer I mentioned? He’s still deciding. And that’s the point - the decision never gets easier by waiting. It just gets more expensive.
Raju Panjwani
Executive Coach | Former Morgan Stanley MD | 6X Entrepreneur
I help successful executives transition from external validation to inner calling, without sacrificing financial security.
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