I Have a Lot of Money

Why Wealth Matters

When I hear wealth, the first word that comes to mind for me is money.

What is money? Money is a value based transactional tool that we use to exchange for various goods. That sounds right I think. I’m not sure I got a B in economics. Money has value, because we give it value. We have all agreed that paper cut into the size 6.14in x 2.61in with different numbers on it each holds a different value. Collecting those little pieces of paper is all that matters in life.

Or something like that.

Money is such an easy thing to glorify and solely focus your life upon. Money brings you fake status, maybe more friends, fun toys, traveling, hobbies, eating out, fun gifts, bigger houses, fast cars, nice shoes, good clothes, fake attraction, and every other cool thing you can think of. But all of those things are just things. They are fleeting. They last temporarily. They are distractions from your true purpose in life.

Money is something, but it isn’t the answer.

Everyone has heard someone say, “Money doesn’t bring happiness” I truly understood this within three weeks of starting at quitting my first real world job after college. I remember sitting at my desk feeling the most anxious I had ever felt in my life, scared that I didn’t know what I was doing, and looking for answers. I had plenty of time to self reflect and realized there were a lot of things I didn’t like about myself. I, for 120 hours, got to sit in that unrest and think about what was important in life. I had $12,583 in my savings account and $0 in debt coming out of college. I had about $25,000 in a Roth IRA. I was given a Ford F-150 King Ranch from my father 2 years prior. I had absolutely everything I needed and more. I was ahead of most kids in my spot financially, so what was I supposed to do next? Just keep shoving down my thoughts and feelings to just work harder and make more money. Work harder at a job I don’t really understand why I’m at. Work harder so I can move to a bigger office with a guest chair and look at slightly different things on my computer. Just so I can buy a house, a different car, and then more things that I don’t really care about. That sounds like hell.

I can’t imagine someone living their whole life that way.

So that wasn’t a very fun day when I realized that. That meant I had actual work to do. I had to start looking at what actually mattered in my life. I had to look myself in the mirror and ask if I liked what was looking back. You can’t start truly enjoying life until you can be okay with yourself. No amount of money, status, or titles will change that. It might help cover it up, but it won’t change the true feeling you have inside you. The money and different titles is all yet another distraction from your purpose in life.

Once you find purpose, that is when chasing/acquiring money becomes an afterthought.

I think about money everyday. When you are working within a business you have to be aware of the dollar value behind everything you do. The time you spend working on a task, the amount of time you waste, minor tasks, big tasks, shelf space, wasted shelf space, inventory management, quality control, account management, customer retention, sales, lack of sales, marketing, the amount of people who don’t know your business, and the list goes on and on. Everything in business has a dollar amount behind it. Everything in life has a dollar amount behind it: the outlet cover, the floor mat, the knob on a door, the thermostat, (yes I am just looking at the things in my townhome.) Everything is money, because that is the system we live in. We trade money for different goods. Economics 101. Thank god for this system.

Could you imagine having to create/obtain everything you needed.

Imagine having to find a natural source of water and ensure it is safe enough to drink everyday. Imagine having to go hunt small game in the winter time just to eat for the day. Imagine having to gather the materials in North Dakota to build your 2,500 sq ft home with 4 bedrooms, marble countertops, mid century modern furniture and then hoping the roof doesn’t collapse during a snowstorm. Money allows you to not have to do that. Money allows you to sit on your couch and watch netflix for the 5th hour in a row. Money allows you to walk outside, get in a car, drive the car, have a feeling of safety knowing that someone was paid a decent amount to build a reliable car, drive on smooth paved road, walk into a building, get a doughnut, and then drive back home and sit on your couch.

We would be screwed without money.

Money is a very important tool that we have created and agreed upon. It allows us to not live like hunter gatherers and farmers. Money gives you freedom. Money does not give you purpose. I think most people who are money hungry think that once they get freedom of having to worry about money then they will have their purpose, or that they can then just “chill.” That is literally what retirement is. Turn 65 and hopefully have enough money. Then just chill. It makes zero sense. I don’t believe humans are wired that way. I can’t imagine just hitting a day and then just “chilling” for the rest of my life. Humans are supposed to work. We are supposed to provide or do anything for the improvement of the environment around us. How many people have you heard of that wait their entire life to retire at 65, just to get bored and then go work at a hardware store or doing whatever else just to fill up their time.

I don’t get it.

Here’s a really scary thought. I know people who didn’t love their job, they retire, sit around at home, realize their kids are all grown up, realize they never really made any non work related friends, their wife has hobbies, sports aren’t on at 11am, so they decide to go back and work a job that they don’t really love. Or they just go golf everyday. I hate both options.

Working is good. You just have to find work you actually enjoy.

Me and, my supervisor/warehouse cat, Larry cleaning up a spill.

When I say enjoy, I don’t mean you are 100% having a blast all the time. I really enjoy seeing the different sides of business. I am interested in skills and topics such as interpersonal selling, marketing, psychology, leadership, business operations, human behavior, communication, so I plan on doing that in my family's business. I get to learn so many different things. I get to see the mistakes the business has made in the past and I can avoid making those same mistakes. I love it. And 75% of the time I am doing stuff that is mundane and boring. This past week I sorted through floor mats to be either thrown out, cut, or dyed. I did that for probably a total of 14 hours. Sorting those mats will allow me to do the things that I want to improve like our back end warehouse operations and feel more confident when selling to potential customers. You have to keep in mind the bigger picture. The big picture is all businesses are just a group of people trying to accomplish a common goal. It’s clumsy, people get sick, people have kids, people have lives, people don’t know things, people make mistakes, people aren’t perfect. Businesses are people. Serving people.

That is what I enjoy.

I think I’m going to make a lot of money eventually. I might make a bunch of money, lose it all, make it back, and then lose it all again. I don’t know. I think I’m going to make a large amount of money, because I don’t really care about it. I think money is fun and it is a great tool for accessing different things in life that only money can allow. Like a big house. I want a big house, so I can invite all my friends over. Serving people and being a good human is what matters. Not money. Money is a game. I like games. However, at the end of the day I don’t really care if

I have a lot of money.