These of course are the same people who put their careers above their families. They put their pleasure above their responsibilities. They put their luxury above their livelihood.
"They" are the ones who are working so hard to keep up with "The Joneses."
They buy stuff that they don't need... with money that they don't actually have (i.e. credit)... to fill up a house that they can't afford... to impress the neighbors that they don't even like.
Now, it is true that money will not make you happy. But let's be realistic, neither will poverty.
And as an entrepreneur myself, I'm all for creating as much wealth as you possibly can. But wait, didn't I just say that money won't make you happy? Yep.
Money is a tool. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Money can feed the hungry. Money can clothe the naked. Money can educate the uneducated. Money can pay for the medicine to cure the sick.
Where we get into trouble is where we focus only on the accumulation of money for our own selfish desires. Where we get into trouble is when we allow money to create a sense of "arrival" in our minds. Where we get into trouble is when we give money the permission to provide us with S.T.A.T.U.S.
If you have money and you have S.T.A.T.U.S. then you feel you "deserve" the BMW. If you have money and you have S.T.A.T.U.S. then you feel you "deserve" the promotion and the corner office. If you have money and you have S.T.A.T.U.S. then you feel you "deserve" the 5 bedroom, 3-1/2 bath, 6000 square foot home on 2 acres in a gated community.
The problem is if you go to the grocery store, you can't buy anything with your "status." The cashier doesn't care that you are Vice President of the bank and rolled up in a Cadillac Escalade. She wants the $23.57 you owe the store for the diapers, bread, milk, peanut butter, and jelly you just bought. Oh you can jump up and down and scream "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" all you want. She doesn't care who you are (or who you "think" you are). She just wants the $23.57 and wants to know if you want "paper or plastic."
Some people live their whole lives under the influence of S.T.A.T.U.S.
If they only knew that it meant they were (S)till (T)oo (A)rrogant (T)o (U)nderstand real (S)uccess, they might redefine their definition of success.
So let me ask you... What is your S.T.A.T.U.S. symbol? How are you using money?
Image: Jeroen van Oostrom / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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I try to stay away from a focus on "Status". However, I do believe in the power of Mystique.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit different. I'll blog about it some time and share. It's a little theory I've developed.
You might not like it...it involves nice cars, homes, and some of the crap that is usually unnecessary. Hard to write about. We'll see.
Thanks for the wise warning. It's important to stay humble.
Thank you for your article, yes, I do know people like this and it is funny how I was just thinking about Status and our children and college. It is important to stay grounded when there are alot of egos who feel big houses are soo important. Your article made me stop for one minute to think about how many times within the day I actually think about Money.
ReplyDelete@Aaron, as always, I enjoy reading your blog so look forward to seeing your thoughts on "Mystique."
ReplyDelete@Maria thinking about money is not a bad thing. Letting it consume you can be. There's a really popular book out there, its been a #1 best seller for close to 2000 years, that says it is the LOVE OF MONEY that is the root of our problems. Not money itself.
In our country, money is nothing more than dirty green paper with pictures of dead people on it. It's how you use it that counts.