I wouldn’t call myself, nor do I think I have ever heard anyone else, call me deep, philosophical, wise, or genius (unless it was said with deep sarcasm), but every once in a great while, one of the great mystery’s of life will hit me. Then I’m stuck. I just said I’m not real deep thinker. It’s kind of like the blind leading the blind. I mean, what kind of great and knowledgeable answer am I going to come up with?
Anyways, I’m kind of pondering the meaning of life. Not mankind’s “life”. That’s waaay too much for me to handle. I’d be like a Fembot watching Austin Powers dance around in his British Flag Speedo’s (or were they posing trunks?). I’m talking about my life. Or maybe any individual’s life. We all work, right? Why? To get money? Why do we need money (that alone is another way too philosophical and political topic for someone else in this world to answer)? First (hopefully), to pay for our essentials we need to survive: roof over our head’s, food, water, electricity, etc. etc. Next, and pretty much last as well, we need money to buy “stuff”. Well, here in America, at least, that’s what we do. We buy cars and electronics and vacations and other “stuff” to make our lives enjoyable.
Here’s where the deep thinking comes in…
So, why is it that some people want to be fabulously rich and others are perfectly happy making $35k per year? Personally, I fall somewhere in-between (narrows it down, huh). Basically, my dream, and this should really be everyones dream but there’s different levels of it, is to be financially free. That means, if I get fired from my job, fine. I still have other sources of income. If my car takes a shit, cool. I got money saved up. If I want to go on a 4-week vacation, not a problem. You get you my point.
So why am I thinking about this? Mostly, it’s my parent’s fault. Currently I almost make more than them combined, and I’m a single dude. They are perfectly happy where they are. They have a “big enough for them” house on the lake, with a white trash pontoon boat (that’s what my sisters and I call it), and decent vehicles. They aren’t scraping by, but they aren’t living a glamorous lifestyle by any means. Then there’s me. At times I want to have enough money to have a nice house, acreage, a business, a vacation home (depending on my eventual house location), lots of toys, and go on month long vacations every year. I think that’s a great goal to always be working towards. I mean, I don’t condone only achieving 3/4 of a goal by any means, but hell, if I get even the first 3 and a boat I’ll be fucking ecstatic. What I’m really trying to say though, is why? What’s the point of having all that stuff? Sure it’s great to be free from “the man” and not have to depend on someone else providing for your livelihood, but why can’t I just be happy with the bare essentials? What drives me to want more and more and more and more?
In the end, I think that’s what separates the leaders and the followers. The leaders want more. Leaders climb the corporate ladder or they start their own business. They can’t stand taking direction or listening to other people. They need to be the ones calling the shots. If/when that happens, the money just happens to follow. Also, a good leader will take care of the people that follow them, and in turn, the followers will be happy with the livelihood their leader can provide. I’m not saying I’m neccessarily a good leader (eventhough I think I am :p ), but I’m pretty sure that’s why I can never settle for just having “enough”. Sure, I can grow a business or progress up the corporate ladder to the point where I have “enough”. But then what do I do? Just stop? What would be the point in living then? Technically you’ve achieved everything you’ve ever wanted, right? Once you get to that point, you just do the same thing day in and day out. Sorry, but I don’t think I can do that.
While I don’t need to be fabulously rich, I do think my drive for financial freedom is what will ultimately make my business survive and thrive. If you can couple your passions for one thing with another, there’s no way you can fail (in the long run). My drive to be financially free and passion for developing young athletes will not allow me to fail. There may be set backs along the way, but I will succeed. And when I do succeed, the money will follow. And when the money follows, you’re all welcome to follow me to the party. (See what I did there?)
Now that I actually have a comment box, what do you think of all this drivel? Are you a leader or are you a follower? What are your goals and passions in life? Are you going to let someone tell you what to do your whole life, or are you going to be telling other people? Let me know.
I suppose it depends on what your ambitions in life are. I thought money is what would lead to my happiness (or more accurately as you point out, financial freedom), but I am now on the side of enough, when it comes to money. There are other aspects of my life that I am pushing to the limits and going above and beyond as I am sure others are as well. I think it boils down to passions and priorities. I’ll leave you all with a thought.
“I never had much faith in leaders. I am willing to be charged with almost anything, rather than to be charged with being a leader. I am suspicious of leaders, and especially of the intellectual variety. Give me the rank and file every day in the week. If you go to the city of Washington, and you examine the pages of the Congressional Directory, you will find that almost all of those corporation lawyers and cowardly politicians, members of Congress, and mis-representatives of the masses — you will find that almost all of them claim, in glowing terms, that they have risen from the ranks to places of eminence and distinction. I am very glad I cannot make that claim for myself. I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks, and not from the ranks.
“First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the women.” – Scarface
WOW!!! That was unexpected…your message is really touching, and inspiring, and one could easily tell how driven you are to succeed in helping others (not just yourself, that’s what’s so refreshing!) achieve their dreams, in an erea that you feel you can most influence and help them with! I also think that every person should strive to constantly grow, learn, achieve…especially in order to help others grow, learn, achieve…you see what I mean..now I’m getting too deep, ha..anyway, sports is a field that helps look and feel better, improve the quality of life, that is what’s so great about it!! I am happy for you, and I will enjoy following you on your journey to success, helping you and others (me included, hopefully) become greater learders 🙂
@Troy:
Sorry man, not buyin it. You may want to fit into the pack, but I know you, and you will always try to excel. Then guess what, you’ll be promoted/put in a position to lead. I also think that most politicians start out as good leaders and then get corrupt. Therefore, I hate them all. ha ha.
@El Andrew
I’m tryin’, man. I’m tryin.
@Avi
Glad you liked it! I try to inspire in any way I can.
Really your going to blame this on mam and dad?
Blame them? You mean, like, blame them for inspiring me to write this? Sure.
The point of the post is to say, some people are happy having “enough” like them. Then there’s others that want “more than enough” like me.
I totally feel you with this post. I was told by an ex-girl I am never gonna be happy, I said not until I get to where I want to be, and get what I want. I will never be complacent.
Life isn’t just followers or leaders. Some people abstain from either. They just go off and do their own things. That’s where I am. I make a good leader, and I follow well when I need to–it all depends on the situation. But mostly, I abstain from both and just do what I do. Law school, triathlons, losing 70 pounds–they were all for me and no one else. That’s what your goals ought to be.
It’s all about what you want. If you like having all of those things, that’s what you prefer. Me? I can move my entire life in three car trips. And I usually do every 2 years. We all have our own proclivities. None of them are wrong or right–they’re part of who we are. And there’s never any shame for being who you are.
I wish I could do that. I’m not a good follower unless I can trust my leader and believe he/she is fully competent.
Even then, at some point, I feel like I always reach a point where my skill or knowledge exceeds what the leader is capable of providing. Therefore, it’s time for me to lead.
Or maybe I’m just egotistical. :p