This piece is a meditation on the guilt associated with wealth accumulation, specifically the personal longing to achieve it.
Ever since I remember, I have been told and guided by friends, family and passers by not to focus so much on creating wealth and finances as it is not “good for my psyche” accompanied by the “I’m missing out on life” speech. Yes; this is all done in the best of intentions but has caused great imbalance in my own life as you are continuously told through many modalities to follow your passion or to find your WHY (just as long as this is not wealth creation). It was not until recently when it all clicked. I took multiple steps back to zoom out and realize the actual problem is within the framing of the passion and not the passion itself.
Take an Olympic runner for instance and compare this to someone (me) wanting to create substantial wealth. You ask the runner to go out for drinks with you and two friends they have not met before. The runner says, “No thanks, I am focused on my nutrition and have to be up at 5am to train”. Wow, what discipline and dedication. No judgement there and complete appreciation for what that person wants to achieve.
Turn this around, and I am being asked to go for drinks with the same group of people. I say, “No thanks, I am going to save my money and have to be up at 5am tomorrow to go for a morning walk, while listening to a finance podcast in order to learn how to best invest that money I just saved.” WHAT, you are crazy, you need to relax, life is short, YOLO and on and on…
5 years later, the runner is on top of the podium (#1) with the world cheering. They win $1 Mil and everyone is ecstatic and proud. The years of dedication paid off and the prize money is well deserved. No guilt to start a non-profit, no judgment; o wait, here is more: endorsements of clothing, cars and sponsorship. It is all for the runner to keep…
5 years later, I am a multi-millionaire (I wish). I won my own life race and able to do what I want when I want. First thing I do, buy a luxury car (because why not). I drive to friends showing them what I bought, how proud they would be, cheering me on as if I was on the top of the podium, right? Right? Isn’t that what’s happening? Unfortunately, it is far from the truth. Now you are seen as “full of it” as if you are rubbing it in and the only way to show remorse for your winnings and incredible sacrifices you made your whole life, is to dedicate as much as you can to philanthropy in order to be accepted back into the cultural norms.
I find this imbalance of morality vs what success “should” looks like struggle to comprehend. Why can the answer to the question, “why do you want to be wealthy” not just be: “because I want to be in the top 1% of achievers”. Instead we soften the answer with phrases like: “I want to change the world, I want to help others, I want to quit my job and spend time with my family”. Don’t get me wrong, these are all very valid reasons and incredibly powerful goals. I just personally feel that we should not judge those whom simply answer, “because I want to be the best”.
Concluding these thoughts, I will no longer apologize or feel guilty that my passion is to become wealthy. Ask me now as to why, and my answer is simple: “WHY NOT”
