Sub-Topic: BE CAREFUL! MONEY DOESN'T MAKE HAPPINESS GO ‘ROUND.
Money changes people, sort of. I think we all know someone who would be dangerous around a sudden windfall of cash. The worst thing that can happen to this person is money, the reason being that they will rush out and buy copious unnecessary items to fill up the void that is their soul. Hit the jackpot today, hit the mall tomorrow. I met a woman once who was so caught up in brands and the image of wealth that the moment she came into some money (from an insurance payout following a minor car accident that wasn't her fault), she announced she was dashing out to buy some "Escader," "Christian Dinor-ah," "Lewis Vitton" and "Prader." Clearly, she wasn't able to even pronounce the brands but now she could buy them all and load up her closets, masking a low self-esteem in her "personal house." The money wouldn't help fill up her spiritual bank, her mind and soul. I was saddened by how this woman talked. While I tried to explain to her that the material goods wouldn't make her happy and satisfied in the end, she wasn't ready to listen.
What brings this important detail is what I want to address. You are ready to get real and get rich! For some, hearing what I have to say about certain things may make you uncomfortable. Some people are driven for money. But let's face it: money isn't hard to make; assassins, prostitutes, and drug dealers make money. You don't need to be lucky to make money. People confuse luck with not only success but also with money. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself what kind of a pillow you want to sleep on and how well you want to sleep at night. I've seen so many people walk away from loads of money for this simple reason: they just weren't happy. All the money in the world can't buy confidence and self-esteem. It may be human nature to think the grass is greener on the other side and that money can make a difference. I'm going to show you otherwise.
It's been argued that $50,000 is the income level above which there's a law of diminishing returns on the happiness meter. More money doesn't beget more happiness. While it's been shown that money buys more happiness when it moves you out of poverty and into the middle class, money loses its purchasing power quickly once you reach $50,000. In other words, there's an enormous difference in your happiness if you earn $10,000 or $50,000, but an insignificant difference between earning $100,000 and $1 million. In the transition between poverty and middle class, the money is buying you out of poor health, adversity, worrying about where your next meal will come from, stressing about your children's future and safety. When those essential things are satisfied, what's left?
Dr. Daniel Gilbert, a psychologist at Harvard, uses a great analogy for this, relating it to eating pancakes. One stack of pancakes tastes delicious. The second starts to lose its lusciousness. If you force-feed a third stack of rich, heavy pancakes down, it gets uncomfortable. More pancakes don't equate with more satisfaction. Sound familiar? Well, I'm here to tell you point blank that the money won't make you; you are to make the money. The happy, grand chicken comes before the egg in this game. The richest people in the world who are also happy lay golden eggs because they've worked on their personal character and self-esteem long before they were ready to count chickens.
REALITY CHECK: Being rich is being happy. Being rich is about knowing who you are and using your talents to the best of your abilities. Being rich is having a high self-esteem, which doesn't include ego and arrogance. Contrary to popular belief, high achievers are extremely humble. They don't have self-esteem issues because they work on themselves every day through their accomplishments, both big and small. They are secure in their dreams and understand the value in achievement. With every little success they have, they gain confidence. Nothing is taken for granted or assumed to be handed over on a silver platter. An arrogant person, on the other hand, is coming from a place of lack. He's traveling on the road to the mirage. Whenever I encounter an arrogant person, I think, "Who died and made you God? I missed that meeting.
##SAM#WHATSAPPGROUPTEACHING#
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