Why Wanting to Make a Lot of Money is a Counterproductive Goal
I find it troubling that a large percentage of the people I meet list making a lot of money as one of their top, if not number one goal. I would not be surprised if a large percentage of the people reading this right now have it among their top goals. I also imagine quite a few of you read the heading of this article and immediately disagreed with my supposition. Please hear me out before deciding whether I am crazy to hold this belief.
Let me start by saying I am all for everyone making a lot of money if they can. In a perfect world everyone would have enough money to do all the things they want to do. It’s not the desire to have a lot of money that I have a problem with, in fact I think that is quite normal. My problem is the elevating the pursuit of money to such a high priority in your life. To me that is counterproductive.
When people want to make a lot of money it’s usually because they equate money with happiness. I have never seen an unhappy person become a happy person simply because they came into a lot of money. There’s no doubt that money can buy you a lot pleasure, but pleasure is short lived and does not normally equate to happiness over the long term.
Another problem is that the pursuit of money for money’s sake usually consumes a person. The more they get the more they want and they are rarely satisfied. This often has the effect of ruining their family life and other important relationships in their lives because they are subordinated to the earning of more money. As George Lorimer said, “It is good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven’t lost the things money can’t buy.”
Have you ever wondered why 80% of NFL players are broke within five years of retiring from the game? I think a lot of it has to do with their counterproductive goal of making a lot of money. When the goal is simply money and the things money can buy, it’s an empty goal. I suspect the percentage of players going broke would drop dramatically if they attached their monetary goals to a purpose.
What difference would that make you ask? Well when money is a means to an end rather than the end, it gives what you are doing meaning. If you are playing pro football so you can earn enough money to allow you to coach youth sports when you retire, it will likely drive you not only to earn more, but also to better safeguard what you are earning.
Regardless of what you do to make your living, without a purpose beyond the money itself, you are on a road that generally leads to unhappiness and sometimes financial ruin too. People often ask me why I am always smiling and I reply, “Because I have something most celebrities, pro-athletes and even billionaires will never have: Enough!”
You can follow Sam on Twitter: @SuperTaoInc
