Don’t Eat Your Principal: The Career Lesson Most Professionals Learn Too Late

I had the pleasure of meeting Lynne Twist recently — author of The Soul of Money and Co-Founder of the Pachamama Alliance.

In our conversation, she shared a concept that stopped me in my tracks:

Don’t eat your principal.

A Financial Principle

It’s a financial principle.

If you spend the principal instead of living off the interest, eventually there’s nothing left to sustain you.

But This Isn’t Really About Money

But as she spoke, I realized this has very little to do with money.

And everything to do with career.

What Your “Principal” Really Is

Your principal is what sustains you.

• It’s your capacity.

• Your energy.

• Your reputation.

• Your skills.

• Your relationships.

• Your health.

It’s what feeds you tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

Want a More Sustainable Relationship With Money and Work?

Protecting your energy, capacity, and long-term wellbeing is essential for sustainable success. Lynne's The Soul of Money Course explores how our relationship with money influences the way we work, earn, and make decisions about our careers.

The Golden Goose Problem

Stephen Covey said it differently: don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

In your career, you are the goose.

How Professionals Slowly Eat Their Principal

And yet — I see so many brilliant, mission-driven professionals slowly eating their principal.

• They over-deliver.

• They over-extend.

• They sacrifice margin.

• They let their job crowd out their development.

• They give everything to the urgent.

And starve the important.

What Protecting Your Career Principal Looks Like

Protecting your principal in your career means:

• Fiercely guarding time for professional development.

• Maintaining margin in your schedule.

• Investing in relationships beyond your current role.

• Letting “good enough” be enough more often than you’re comfortable with.
  

The Long Game

Your job will always ask for more.

But your career depends on what you preserve.

The long game requires restraint.

A Question

So I’ll ask you the same question I’ve been asking myself since that conversation:

Where might you be eating your principal?

Build a Career That Sustains You

A sustainable career requires protecting your capacity — your energy, your skills, and your wellbeing. If you're interested in building a healthier relationship with work and money.