Regardless of whatever wealth we attain, it is never enough. There is always a craving for more.
It is never enough
It is never enough
Wealth has never left me satisfied. When I had $300,000 I was thinking about how to turn it into $1 million. When I had $750,000, I was thinking about turning it into $1.5 million. When I had $1.5 million, I was thinking about turning it into $3 million.
I have a decent passive income and I can live comfortably without additional passive income, but I keep thinking about how to make more. I am continually thinking about how do I make an extra $x per year. It never stops.
I took a moment to ask myself: what if I continue doing what I am doing? I can see myself at 40, not satisfied with where I am and thinking about how I can make the next million. I won't be happy as I have the same 'striving for more' mindset. When will I stop? Never. I can see myself with $15 million thinking about how to turn it into $20 million. I can picture myself on my deathbed crying wishing I had lived and not have lived solely for the endless pursuit of money. The bitter reality is that I am living a tolerable and comfortable existence doing something that is unfulfilling (i.e. making money), which is the worst possible outcome. /This is the cost of inaction/
Many millionaires feel the same way. A profile article on millionaires with a net worth of $1.5 million to $10 million talked about the pressure to keep up with the Joneses, which drives them to work as hard as ever. Nearly all the millionaires in Silicon Valley still work in all-consuming jobs. Everyone looks at the people above them. It becomes a marathon with no finish line, where the top 1 percent chases the top one-tenth of 1 percent, and the top one-tenth of 1 percent chases the top one-hundredth of 1 percent. You try not to get caught up in it, but it’s hard not to [1].
Most people work until death because they say 'I'll just work until I have $x and then do what I want', but if you don't define the 'what I want' the x figure will increase indefinitely to avoid the fear-inducing uncertainty of this void. We become convinced that just a bit more money will make things right, but these goals are arbitrary moving targets that never end. There is no x amount of dollars in the bank that feels satisfying and we never feel like we have made it as someone else will always have more [2]. According to Financial Samurai, no matter how much you make or have your steady state of happiness won't really change. Sam said that his steady state of happiness has remained the same regardless of the level of wealth he has, there's always another dollar to make, and financial targets will always continue moving. The desire for money is a never ending process until you decide how much is enough. Don’t just make money for money’s sake. Have a clear purpose.
Ulysses Grant couldn't decide what was important to him. He wanted to have more than everyone else and this made him lose sight of his priorities after achieving his goals. The ego sways us and leads us to envy. We waste precious life doing what we don't like and get things we don't want. The more success you have, the more successful people you meet and you pick up the pace.
Only you know what your own path is. You must have a sense of own path without being distracted. Be what you are. Ask 'what's truly important to you' and 'why do you do what you do'. If you don’t, the default becomes more money.
It is common to be a success in business and a failure in life.
I know I must take action now. I can keep doing what I am doing, building wealth, and miss out on life or I can live the life I want. I can keep watching the traveller live the way I want to live or I can do it myself.
What do I want for my youth? Building some apartments or experiencing the world? What do I want to say I have done before I die? How do I want to have lived? What would I be proud of? I want to grasp life and live great experiences and meet fantastic girls and be as fit as Djokovic (Only Young Once). I want to spend half my time gaming and half my time exploring. I have to step up now or the dream just fades away. I have to remember this every day I wake up. This is the last chance I have to hit the level I want as it becomes more physically difficult when I am older. I know I need to find something to keep me active when I am retired (Retirement). The traveller has shown me that I won't ever run out of places to travel. /These are the rewards for action/
After my third townhouse project, I could have said that's it and lived on a basic level of income. However, I said that I will do another project to have a comfortable level of income. Now I get tempted with thoughts of just one more, one more, and it never ends. I am addicted because my mind keeps thinking about it and running scenarios, motivated by greed. For example, the numbers for a project I am considering at present don't even stack up. I don't have enough for a deposit let alone the capital outlay of over $300,000 unless I sell other projects and incur costs, the risk is increased as the LVR is increased and the market cycle has moved on from the bottom, and return on investment is significantly lower than other potential projects.
Meaningless chasing a billion
I have a decent passive income and I can live comfortably without additional passive income, but I keep thinking about how to make more. I am continually thinking about how do I make an extra $x per year. It never stops.
I took a moment to ask myself: what if I continue doing what I am doing? I can see myself at 40, not satisfied with where I am and thinking about how I can make the next million. I won't be happy as I have the same 'striving for more' mindset. When will I stop? Never. I can see myself with $15 million thinking about how to turn it into $20 million. I can picture myself on my deathbed crying wishing I had lived and not have lived solely for the endless pursuit of money. The bitter reality is that I am living a tolerable and comfortable existence doing something that is unfulfilling (i.e. making money), which is the worst possible outcome. /This is the cost of inaction/
Many millionaires feel the same way. A profile article on millionaires with a net worth of $1.5 million to $10 million talked about the pressure to keep up with the Joneses, which drives them to work as hard as ever. Nearly all the millionaires in Silicon Valley still work in all-consuming jobs. Everyone looks at the people above them. It becomes a marathon with no finish line, where the top 1 percent chases the top one-tenth of 1 percent, and the top one-tenth of 1 percent chases the top one-hundredth of 1 percent. You try not to get caught up in it, but it’s hard not to [1].
Most people work until death because they say 'I'll just work until I have $x and then do what I want', but if you don't define the 'what I want' the x figure will increase indefinitely to avoid the fear-inducing uncertainty of this void. We become convinced that just a bit more money will make things right, but these goals are arbitrary moving targets that never end. There is no x amount of dollars in the bank that feels satisfying and we never feel like we have made it as someone else will always have more [2]. According to Financial Samurai, no matter how much you make or have your steady state of happiness won't really change. Sam said that his steady state of happiness has remained the same regardless of the level of wealth he has, there's always another dollar to make, and financial targets will always continue moving. The desire for money is a never ending process until you decide how much is enough. Don’t just make money for money’s sake. Have a clear purpose.
Ulysses Grant couldn't decide what was important to him. He wanted to have more than everyone else and this made him lose sight of his priorities after achieving his goals. The ego sways us and leads us to envy. We waste precious life doing what we don't like and get things we don't want. The more success you have, the more successful people you meet and you pick up the pace.
Only you know what your own path is. You must have a sense of own path without being distracted. Be what you are. Ask 'what's truly important to you' and 'why do you do what you do'. If you don’t, the default becomes more money.
It is common to be a success in business and a failure in life.
I know I must take action now. I can keep doing what I am doing, building wealth, and miss out on life or I can live the life I want. I can keep watching the traveller live the way I want to live or I can do it myself.
What do I want for my youth? Building some apartments or experiencing the world? What do I want to say I have done before I die? How do I want to have lived? What would I be proud of? I want to grasp life and live great experiences and meet fantastic girls and be as fit as Djokovic (Only Young Once). I want to spend half my time gaming and half my time exploring. I have to step up now or the dream just fades away. I have to remember this every day I wake up. This is the last chance I have to hit the level I want as it becomes more physically difficult when I am older. I know I need to find something to keep me active when I am retired (Retirement). The traveller has shown me that I won't ever run out of places to travel. /These are the rewards for action/
After my third townhouse project, I could have said that's it and lived on a basic level of income. However, I said that I will do another project to have a comfortable level of income. Now I get tempted with thoughts of just one more, one more, and it never ends. I am addicted because my mind keeps thinking about it and running scenarios, motivated by greed. For example, the numbers for a project I am considering at present don't even stack up. I don't have enough for a deposit let alone the capital outlay of over $300,000 unless I sell other projects and incur costs, the risk is increased as the LVR is increased and the market cycle has moved on from the bottom, and return on investment is significantly lower than other potential projects.
Meaningless chasing a billion
I won't get really rich ($1 billion or more) before 40 if I continue in property. There is no-one who has achieved this despite all the developments or projects they have undertaken. There are no examples that I know of to follow. Sure, I might make it to $100 million, but I won't be really rich. More importantly, I won't have made a difference on a global scale.
It is pointless chasing $1 billion. Jeff Bezos is worth around $100 billion as of November 2017. With $1 billion, you still have 100 times less wealth than Bezos and you will be affected by the competitive pressure to build more wealth. It is pointless trading or working as it is highly unlikely to make $1 million per year, let alone $10 million [it is possible to make $1 million or more trading per year - 2023]. Precious metals, resources, and alternatives won't make $10 million either as I am not prepared to commit a significant amount into something that is volatile and has no quantifiable downside risk. Shares and property have already had their run and they are both not what I want to be known for. I am over property, especially lower priced property where there are too many issues and low absolute returns. The best chance to achieve $10 million or more is with business and additionally it also can produce the most impact. However, $1 billion is still pointless in the grand scheme of things.
It is pointless chasing $1 billion. Jeff Bezos is worth around $100 billion as of November 2017. With $1 billion, you still have 100 times less wealth than Bezos and you will be affected by the competitive pressure to build more wealth. It is pointless trading or working as it is highly unlikely to make $1 million per year, let alone $10 million [it is possible to make $1 million or more trading per year - 2023]. Precious metals, resources, and alternatives won't make $10 million either as I am not prepared to commit a significant amount into something that is volatile and has no quantifiable downside risk. Shares and property have already had their run and they are both not what I want to be known for. I am over property, especially lower priced property where there are too many issues and low absolute returns. The best chance to achieve $10 million or more is with business and additionally it also can produce the most impact. However, $1 billion is still pointless in the grand scheme of things.
If I wanted to be really rich, I would move into technology, where over 80% of self-made billionaires under 40 made their fortune [3] [4] [5]. However, one must ask, what is the point of being a billionaire as an end in itself? The main reason I can think of is to be able to afford pretty much everything you want for the duration of your lifetime. Many people already can afford what they want without the need to become a billionaire, myself included. I can already live the lifestyle I want so there is no point going for more. Besides, a 'billion' is an arbitrary number and having this as a goal is simply an egotistical pursuit. There are thousands of billionaires on this planet so becoming a billionaire is no longer anything special and does not mean you have accomplished anything of significance. In fact, there are over 300 people with over $5 billion [6] and over 1,500 people with $1 billion. Becoming a billionaire as a side effect of one's mission or using the money for philanthropy can be meaningful and Mark Zuckerberg provides a good example of this through his recent pledge to dedicate almost his entire wealth to noble goals.
Further, there will always be revolt against the wealthy. Growing inequality breeds discontent. In recent times, this has taken the form of campaigns such as the Occupy movement. As Paul Tudor Jones said "Now here’s a macro forecast that’s easy to make and that’s that the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest will get closed. History always does it. It typically happens in one of three ways — either through revolution, higher taxes or wars." As history has proven time and time again, inequality has and will always be curbed, and catastrophe is the only means to achieve it [7].
Further, there will always be revolt against the wealthy. Growing inequality breeds discontent. In recent times, this has taken the form of campaigns such as the Occupy movement. As Paul Tudor Jones said "Now here’s a macro forecast that’s easy to make and that’s that the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest will get closed. History always does it. It typically happens in one of three ways — either through revolution, higher taxes or wars." As history has proven time and time again, inequality has and will always be curbed, and catastrophe is the only means to achieve it [7].
No happiness
The biggest problem is that building net worth has never brought me happiness. Yet, due to the motivations that caused me to build wealth in the first place, it is easy for me to fall into the trap of continually building more wealth.
The obsession with building wealth is in part attributed to my interest in finance and growth as well as my frugality. I have always been interested in growing net worth. It was what helped me win an online strategy game focused on building net worth when I was younger. I am also influenced by my friends and peers who are building their wealth. Whenever I go on LinkedIn, I feel a competitive spirit, envy, and jealousy that fuels a striving for higher job status and the corresponding financial rewards that come with it. Another motivation for building wealth is the thought that I should have a career or financial goal at 30. Most people at my age are getting started on the road to building a career and getting their finances in order. I have always had financial and career goals, so it feels foreign to me to not have such goals and not follow the crowd, even though I have pretty much accomplished everything I had intended on accomplishing.
Money isn't giving me the true satisfaction in life. It's prudent to have had a goal to establish myself, but I can't get lost in it. Chasing money is making me feel burnt out and leads to bouts of sadness, which will likely lead to depression if I continue down this path. Building a property portfolio doesn't make me happy. Building a startup doesn't make me happy. These thoughts came to me after saying I want to connect to Jesus.
Having wealth also serves to alienate myself from people around me. I feel disconnected from friends who are working. I personally don't know of any self-made friends who have retired by 30 who deliberately choose not to work. There are few people I can relate to and those I know who are in a similar position to me are still striving for even greater wealth.
At the same time while I have focused on building wealth, I have lost touch with community, become more selfish and closed off.
Time is most precious
A Chinese proverb says: 'An inch of time is an inch of gold, but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.'
Buddha said: "Life is swept along, next-to-nothing its span. For one swept to old age no shelters exist. Perceiving this danger in death, one should drop the world’s bait and look for peace."
Seneca in his letters wrote: away then, with all excuses like: "I have not yet enough; when I have gained the desired amount, then I shall devote myself wholly to philosophy." And yet this ideal, which you are putting off and placing second to other interests, should be secured first of all; you should begin with it. Your plan should be this: be a philosopher now, whether you have anything or not,— for if you have anything, how do you know that you have not too much already?— but if you have nothing, seek understanding first, before anything else. Why of your own accord postpone your real life to the distant future... when you can be rich here and now?
In the end, time is the only thing we have. Everything else, including money and health, for the most part, can be recovered, whereas time can never be recovered. No matter how much money you have, you can't buy time. The pursuit of wealth is in effect perpetual delayed gratification, where I forever delay life, until death arrives. Remember that the worst thing is regret (A Reflection and Regrets). Project yourself to when you are 80 and seek to minimise regret. We regret more the things we don’t do than the things we do end up doing. Ultimately, it is foolish to waste your finite time on this planet to continually chase money, a goal that is infinite and can never be truly satisfied.
The biggest problem is that building net worth has never brought me happiness. Yet, due to the motivations that caused me to build wealth in the first place, it is easy for me to fall into the trap of continually building more wealth.
The obsession with building wealth is in part attributed to my interest in finance and growth as well as my frugality. I have always been interested in growing net worth. It was what helped me win an online strategy game focused on building net worth when I was younger. I am also influenced by my friends and peers who are building their wealth. Whenever I go on LinkedIn, I feel a competitive spirit, envy, and jealousy that fuels a striving for higher job status and the corresponding financial rewards that come with it. Another motivation for building wealth is the thought that I should have a career or financial goal at 30. Most people at my age are getting started on the road to building a career and getting their finances in order. I have always had financial and career goals, so it feels foreign to me to not have such goals and not follow the crowd, even though I have pretty much accomplished everything I had intended on accomplishing.
Money isn't giving me the true satisfaction in life. It's prudent to have had a goal to establish myself, but I can't get lost in it. Chasing money is making me feel burnt out and leads to bouts of sadness, which will likely lead to depression if I continue down this path. Building a property portfolio doesn't make me happy. Building a startup doesn't make me happy. These thoughts came to me after saying I want to connect to Jesus.
I realise that I am not truly happy and need to take a step back to enjoy life, but I need to find the courage to take action and change course. We only live once. I have one chance, one opportunity, to live before it's too late. I have lost track of what the purpose of life is. Even though I have made money, I realise that I haven't achieved anything significant in life. I haven't really lived the way I like to live. I need to spend time, an year for starters, focused on myself and appreciate every little thing I have.
Having wealth also serves to alienate myself from people around me. I feel disconnected from friends who are working. I personally don't know of any self-made friends who have retired by 30 who deliberately choose not to work. There are few people I can relate to and those I know who are in a similar position to me are still striving for even greater wealth.
At the same time while I have focused on building wealth, I have lost touch with community, become more selfish and closed off.
Jeff Haden wrote that it seems that no one he meets, no matter how much money or success they've achieved, is actually rich [8]. They don't feel rich and neither are they happy.
A retired lawyer said that the wealthy partners he worked for were some of the most miserable people he met. Most were on wife number two or three and their wives were constantly worried about being traded-in. Many were estranged from their children and step-children. They really didn't even have any friends. Even their partners at work didn't like them [9]. Similarly in finance, a retired banker said that he met plenty of wealthy, but lonely folks who had let their desire for wealth consume them. Every single one of them regretted working so much in their 20s and 30s, and not working more at finding someone they could come home to [10].
A Princeton study showed that a permanent increase in an individual's income has a transitory effect on well being, even though relative standing would increase. This is because new peers increasingly serve as a reference point and individuals adapt to material goods that yield little joy. Moreover, people's aspirations adapt to their possibilities and the income that people say they need to get along rises with income [11].
Speaking from experience, I have not felt happy working in property and finance and accumulating wealth, no matter what level of wealth I have achieved. The past few years have seen relatively few number of happy days. I feel lucky to have bought property at the bottom of the cycle to set myself up financially rather than spending a few years travelling at that time. I appreciate that I was wise to save money to provide for my basic lifestyle needs, but I don't feel happy.
A retired lawyer said that the wealthy partners he worked for were some of the most miserable people he met. Most were on wife number two or three and their wives were constantly worried about being traded-in. Many were estranged from their children and step-children. They really didn't even have any friends. Even their partners at work didn't like them [9]. Similarly in finance, a retired banker said that he met plenty of wealthy, but lonely folks who had let their desire for wealth consume them. Every single one of them regretted working so much in their 20s and 30s, and not working more at finding someone they could come home to [10].
A Princeton study showed that a permanent increase in an individual's income has a transitory effect on well being, even though relative standing would increase. This is because new peers increasingly serve as a reference point and individuals adapt to material goods that yield little joy. Moreover, people's aspirations adapt to their possibilities and the income that people say they need to get along rises with income [11].
Speaking from experience, I have not felt happy working in property and finance and accumulating wealth, no matter what level of wealth I have achieved. The past few years have seen relatively few number of happy days. I feel lucky to have bought property at the bottom of the cycle to set myself up financially rather than spending a few years travelling at that time. I appreciate that I was wise to save money to provide for my basic lifestyle needs, but I don't feel happy.
In other words, having money provides options for myself to choose the way I wish to live and reduces the worry that arises from a lack of money, but it does not fill the hole I feel within.
Eckhart Tolle wrote that people strive after possessions, money, success, power, recognition, or a special relationship, basically so that they can feel better about themselves, feel more complete. But even when they attain all these things, they soon find that the hole is still there, that it is bottomless.
Says Epicurus: "The acquisition of riches has been for many men, not an end, but a change, of troubles."
Says Epicurus: "The acquisition of riches has been for many men, not an end, but a change, of troubles."
Time is most precious
A Chinese proverb says: 'An inch of time is an inch of gold, but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.'
Buddha said: "Life is swept along, next-to-nothing its span. For one swept to old age no shelters exist. Perceiving this danger in death, one should drop the world’s bait and look for peace."
Seneca in his letters wrote: away then, with all excuses like: "I have not yet enough; when I have gained the desired amount, then I shall devote myself wholly to philosophy." And yet this ideal, which you are putting off and placing second to other interests, should be secured first of all; you should begin with it. Your plan should be this: be a philosopher now, whether you have anything or not,— for if you have anything, how do you know that you have not too much already?— but if you have nothing, seek understanding first, before anything else. Why of your own accord postpone your real life to the distant future... when you can be rich here and now?
In the end, time is the only thing we have. Everything else, including money and health, for the most part, can be recovered, whereas time can never be recovered. No matter how much money you have, you can't buy time. The pursuit of wealth is in effect perpetual delayed gratification, where I forever delay life, until death arrives. Remember that the worst thing is regret (A Reflection and Regrets). Project yourself to when you are 80 and seek to minimise regret. We regret more the things we don’t do than the things we do end up doing. Ultimately, it is foolish to waste your finite time on this planet to continually chase money, a goal that is infinite and can never be truly satisfied.
The Latin phrase momento mori, 'remember you must die', serves as a stark reminder of the vanity of earthly riches. It provides a reflection on mortality, considering the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits.
I need to ask myself: would I do something if there were no money? Yes -> then do it. No -> then reconsider how important it is.
I need to ask myself: would I do something if there were no money? Yes -> then do it. No -> then reconsider how important it is.
One day we will all pass away and the wealth we have accumulated will be meaningless. We cannot take the wealth away with us and we will not know what will happen to it after we are gone (The System). So why should we concentrate all our efforts on building wealth?
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