LIFE LESSON | HAPPINESS | CONTENT
The Rich May Not Have One Thing That You Can
The Game Changer
Vanguard founder John C. Bogle in the opening to his book “Enough” shares an anecdote:
At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch-22 over its whole history.
Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something that he will never have … enough”
What a profound statement Heller made. It's a lesson for all of us.
Even after we are done with meeting our basic needs, we do nothing but run after “more”.
Ironically, we always aim for higher, better, and bigger without asking if we really need it.
Even if we get an iPhone 14, we all know a 15 and even a 16 are already in production or at least ideation. Even if we get a 4-bedroom house, we know some of our friends are building a bigger home with up to 6 bedrooms. Even if we are going on a vacation in our state, we know some of our friends are planning an international trip to Europe.
There are endless things to buy and infinite things to experience but one thing is for sure. Buying things will only give momentary happiness.
The key to long-lived happiness is to be content with what we have and to realize that we have “Enough”.
So if your basic needs are met, you can choose to have a realisation of having enough that the rich may never get.
