Money, Principles and Happiness

Money, principles and happiness

When the famous artist and sculptor Michael Angelo was asked how he carved his wonderful work “David” from an average block of marble, he said that the statue was already in the stone. All he did was imagine it was there and then using his mind and his hands, chisel away the unnecessary marble to reveal it.

I truly find that thought fascinating.

In a previous article, I divided our society in four segments, the three’s, the seven’s, the sixty’s and the bottom thirty per centers. I wonder if you thought about it and placed yourself in any of the four categories. Obviously, we should all strive to be either a three per center or a seven per center. What is very sad is that everyone has the potential to be in either one of the categories. Seriously, just like the “David” inside the marble, there is a potential successful person living inside you and every one of us. The key to making it a reality lies in imagining the possibilities and then having the guts and the discipline to make it happen.

Even though financial independence is not everything, it is very important in our lives. Reminds me of what author Jim Berry once wrote: Father: “Wealth and fame do not buy happiness”. Teenage son: Have you ever tried it?”

As my friend Michael Leboeuf says, there are only four things you need to know about money:
How to make it?
How to save it?
How to invest it?
How to enjoy it?

Only the top 10% of the people, the 3 and 7 per centers, know how to do this, although almost anyone in society can.

We do have that lingering question. Does money buy happiness?

I was just discussing this subject with my daughter a few days ago she just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and working for the government as a public defender, she had a leave of absence of six months. When the six months were up, she said “Dad, I can go back to work tomorrow and start making money but I think bonding with my child, taking care of him for the next two years, is a lot more important than any material consideration.” Let’s face it, in a tough economy; this is a hard thing to do, economically. But the principle behind it is more important than money by all means.

She has heard me lecture hundreds of times and lucky for me, she has followed and implemented many of the things I tell my audiences.

She was telling me how many people at work tell her that money is not that important or that money is very important but they constantly worry about the lack of it.

This very important issue needs answering right now because becoming wealthy is not easy. Unless you are born to rich parents (I was, but every penny was taken from them by a bunch of thugs in 1961), break the law; hit a hot streak at a casino or the commodities market, attaining financial freedom takes years of time.

Wanting to be very honest with my daughter I confessed how I have also fallen in the trap of trying to become wealthy in a short time. (This behavior of looking for the easy money, by the way, is seen in thirty per centers).

I told her how in the eighties I knew that soon there was going to be a freeze in the US because it hadn’t happened in four or five years and soybeans would triple or more in price and I bought $10,000 dollars worth of options in the commodities market. The freeze didn’t happen and I continued investing $10,000 year after year until I had lost $50,000. When I no longer had any money, I went to my Dad to get the next $10,000 because I knew the freeze had to be very close, and he said he wasn’t a gambler and would not want to risk his money.

Well, the freeze came that year and the $10,000 turned into $280,000 in a couple of months. Unfortunately, I was out of the market. I wonder why it always happens. You want to strike it rich and something happens that blocks you. At that time I thought my luck was so bad that if I got into the circus business, the midgets would grow.

Anyway, my Dad died a millionaire because he never took foolish risks. He of course should have taken a little bit more calculated risks to get a higher return on his money, but that is beside the point. He never lost his capital and he did well. He understood a principle that I didn’t at the time and that one was of the reasons I wrote “Don’t Eat the Marshmallow yet”.

Recent investigations into this subject, however, conclude that money does indeed buy happiness. HNW Digital of Newton, Massachusetts reported that a full 86% of the wealthiest 8.6 million Americans ranked financial success and security as important to their overall happiness and 50% ranked it “very important”. The people that tell you that money can’t buy happiness, don’t have it, don’t know how to get it, or don’t know where to shop.
Once after a speech, a fellow approached me and spoke about my cousin Jorge Posada and how he had signed a fifty million dollar contract with the Yankees. He proceeded to tell me that he was sure that Jorge would give his fortune in exchange for having a healthy son. I replied that yes, that Jorge would definitely exchange his wealth for his son’s health if possible because he is an exemplary father but thanks to the money he has, his kid has had the best medical care money can buy. What would have happened to his child if he had no money?
My friend Michael who I quoted earlier, reminds us of the husband who asked his wife, “Do you love me just because my father left me a fortune? She replied, “Not at all honey, I would love you no matter who left you the money.”

Oscar Wilde once remarked “When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old, I know that it is”.

I believe that happiness is not determined by the money or possessions you have, it’s determined by what you think about what you have. If you really think you would enjoy being a millionaire, I would be willing to bet that you will enjoy it. You must then start thinking about it now, start doing what you need to do in order to become one. I wish my Dad had taught me what I am now teaching my daughter.

If on the other hand, becoming a millionaire is not your goal, hey, you can be as happy and you might even have fewer problems.

I have a friend and I constantly tell her that “in life the ones that have a lot of money are not rich, the ones that don’t need it are”