I remember my first real job - delivering newspapers around my neighborhood.   I hated that job after awhile.  I had to deliver papers 7 days a week. No breaks. In the afternoon after school on weekdays, in the early morning on weekends. No sleeping in.   Perhaps the repetition and big pay of this job is what got me on the track of putting work in such high regard. (Hahaha) Shortly after delivering papers I went door to door with a friend doing yardwork.  Nothing glamorous, but when you're a teenager, how choosy can you be? A few dollars goes a long way. At least I didn't have to work everyday. The entrepreneurial spirit was firing up.

During high school I worked at the local software store, managing to avoid working in a fast food restaurant as some of my friends did.  In college, I started my own business. Soon I had my own office and was splitting time between University and work. Burning the midnight oil daily. Somewhere along the line I started to work on crazy idea for a new product which needed a lot of money. I spent a lot of time and money writing a business plan and conceptualizing the product. Alas, I never raised the money for the project. My heart in the idea gave out before it could turn into a flame.

By then I was firmly on the path of working in the corporate world. Life was ok, it was good. But, slowly the corporate working grind got to me despite the increased rewards. Then I started to hear about how other modern countries had far higher rates of vacation after just 1 year of work. Then I started to see how people in other countries lived.  And it just snowballed from there. As I realized how the "Protestant work ethic" (among other reasons - but a predominant one I think) was affecting my life and others I knew there was a better way.  Read the links below to get some more information.

Many job postings in the US (corporate or not) have expectations that job seekers be career-oriented. As if one's career was the most important factor in life. What about life-oriented? When people are so career oriented (or any extreme) it is easy to overlook the detoiration (Sp?) in other parts of life - until those parts hit rock bottom.   I think one shouldn't be "anything-oriented." Rather a wholistic approach. When we are too focused on anything - careers, relationships, religion, anything, we lose perspective.
When we lose perspective for too long, we are on the verge of losing everything.

Links of Interest

Worldwide Vacation Allowances Mandated after 1 year of Service (Hewitt) (NW)

Work to Live (USA) (W)
Comparison chart on vacation (Work to Live) (NW)

Article on vacation and working hours(CNN?)

Movie - Falling Down (w/ Michael Douglas)