Money isn’t everything. It can’t buy happiness. It can’t provide you with a fulfilling life. It can’t do a lot of things. But regardless of all that, it sure is still tempting.
Oh, it’s so tempting. To everyone, including myself. I am not immune to the attractiveness of this thing we called money.
Always trying to make more of it. Trying to develop the business so that we can have a healthy flow of cash coming in on a monthly and annual basis.
It feels good being able to do that. On the flip side, it feels kind of miserable to not do that.
Many people in society today are attracted by money. That’s their sole purpose of working.
If it were not for the cash they make, they may not have any intention on continuing on with their jobs.
It’s an endless chase. People wait to the year-end to get their bonus. They wait for that promotion so they can finally get that well-deserved raise.
People are enamored with money. It’s something admittedly that we all need in society to survive and live a healthy lifestyle.
Without money, we wouldn’t be able to put food on the table for our families. We wouldn’t be able to go on that well-planned vacation every year. We won’t be able to put our kids through college.
It’s easy to say that money isn’t everything. But, it sure does affect our society to a great extent.
So, what’s the plan here? How do you solve this conundrum? To not see money as the end-all be-all, but at the same time be dependent on it for survival and comfort?
That’s the million dollar question. And I don’t have much of an answer to that. Personally, I am not immune to chasing the carrot. Being drawn to the projects at work that can bring in the green.
It’s only human nature. Sometimes, I find myself playing some tricks to maximize profits for the sake of the small business.
Sometimes, the larger purpose gets lost in the shuffle and I find myself wanting more money simply for the sake of wanting more.
Sometimes, I tell myself that I need to make more money and the rest of the purpose and well-being will follow suit.
Sometimes, there’s no need to think too much in terms of purpose or a larger mission. Sometimes, it’s okay to just make money for the sake of making money.
That’s part of the reason why I was drawn to working in the family business. I saw more flexibility. More opportunities to make money that I didn’t see in the typical 9 to 5 at large bureaucracies.
Granted, I am far from making the business into a multi-million dollar company. We are still small, and sometimes I wonder if there is a need to make it into that grand of a scale.
Sometimes, it’s okay to start small and stay small. There are many parts of the business that I enjoy. For one thing, I can wake up whenever I want and start working wherever I want.
Don’t think that type of freedom can be had if the company were to grow into a large conglomerate.
Either way, I still dream of some day turning the business into a million-dollar company in gross profits, though we are still far from that benchmark.
But, there’s nothing wrong with dreaming big. It’s just that we need to be careful not to be too carried away with chasing more money.
We will never be satisfied. And we will forever be chasing more and more, that we don’t realize that we have sufficient funds already in the here and now.
I’m grateful that my family and I have sufficient funds to survive - regardless of how big or small our company gets. I guess you can say that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
But, at the same time, I shouldn’t relax and get too cocky. I remembered back in Cornell when I thought that I had made it in life - but then ended up getting theoretically punched in the face with all the struggles and vulnerabilities throughout those four years.
So, the lesson learned is to keep pushing. Keep finding ways to diversify and to make more money - without getting too obsessed or attached to the game.
After all, it’s just a game. Many of us will dream about some day becoming millionaires or billionaires, but the reality is only a select few of us will make those dreams come true.
The vast majority of us will wallow in the mediocrity of society - without having achieved significant moves like launching a rocket into space.
But, that’s how it is. We make money and we make money and we make some more. Sometimes, it pays to step out of that game and see that we are sufficient in all our present glory.
That making more money is a practical goal to have. Just not necessarily one that we should obsess over like it’s the only thing worth striving for in this beautiful poetic movement that is life.