The Issue of Money
Spend it wisely
Four days ago Glenn Fleishman wrote a follow-up post to One Million Dollars! where he asks what would you do if you suddenly got millions of dollars. I bet many people have started thinking about what car they would buy, what brand store they want to visit, or what other exotic thing to purchase. I think that’s a very limited and narrow desire path, and you would quickly return to where you have been before.
I remember when I was very young my dad did an experiment regarding money. He told me to write down any three things I really wanted on three different sheets of paper, put them in a jar, and then he would randomly pick one and make it happen. I was very excited at the moment and my head was spinning around to choose only three things. I wanted to choose the ones that are very hard to obtain myself or that would take long time. After some extensive thinking I came up with the following items: a new phone (it was Panasonic which gave you the ability to make a new back skin yourself), a bike, and, as far as I remember, a Lego set that had some electric car in it with the ability to take photos, or something like that. My dad did choose one of my dreams, rolled it out and laughed.
He told me that he had given me an opportunity to choose whatever in the world I want, anything that came to my mind, and what I did was, I chose three things that can be easily obtained with money, that most of the kids probably have. Next followed his examples of what I could have chosen: travel to a new country, go to a summer camp where I could learn English, throw a birthday party with my friends, or some other more exciting activity.
After that day I have started looking at money and my desires in a completely different way. A new understanding was born inside me. From that moment up until now I group all desires into two groups - goods and experiences. And that second group is the most prevailing in my life. For me, money gives freedom. It gives me the ability to focus on what matters to me most because I don’t have to worry about surviving. It’s where I begin to feel unbound from the traditional systems that limit our vision on life.
If I had suddenly got millions of dollars, I would use them to be independent and finally start following my passion more closely. I would start doing what I want most - create new things with ease. I also have the desire to see the whole world, to learn about other cultures and meet more incredible people. I want to continue learning different skills and experience exciting moments. I want to broaden my comfort zone to its fullest.
One can say that it’s all possible without having tons of money (which is true), but there are a lot of negative drawbacks and unnecessary life clutter that make the path rough. You can hack your life without fortune, but here comes anxiety, nervousness, unstable environment, and such. It’s like running a business where you can either concentrate on product management or waste your time on paperwork and related. Where money can’t buy you happiness, it can definitely get you there faster.
Thanks for all the comments and feedback! I now publish on my blog, so check it out at makaed.com.
