Listen, I value making good money and having an international getaway as much as the next guy. Although, it’s important to recognize that these aren’t what truly make for a happy life, or even a good one. There’s a difference between wealth and abundance, and until you figure that out, you’ll never really get what you want.
“But Wylie, what if getting rich － or staying rich － is what I want? What if swimming in a pool of gold à la Scrooge McDuck is everything I could ever dream of?”
While becoming the next Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos may well be a major point on your bucket list, it’s not going to be your solitary desire. Nobody only wants money. Everyone is after something else, no matter how big or small.
Maybe you want to improve your family dynamic or to find someone who will finally put a ring on your finger. Maybe you want to improve your health to make your doctor stop lecturing you every visit or pick up a hobby, so your entire personality isn’t work. Perhaps you’re a coach and want a Super Bowl win.
Regardless, there’s something else you crave. And if you don’t know what exactly that is yet, you better sit down and work it out, because you’re going to absolutely ruin your life if chasing money is your sole mission.
The path of becoming a multi-millionaire, billionaire, whatever you’re reaching for, is never-ending. Even if you do reach your goal, it’s never really enough.
You’re always going to want more － more bills in your wallet, more digits sitting in your account, more wealth herded away that you’ll likely never even fully touch.
And you know what that calls for in turn? Unhealthy sacrifice. It requires you to sacrifice your personal life, your time, your relationships, your health, and maybe even your beliefs, all just to see the figures on your financial records go up.
Okay. Let’s say you go along with it. You make a million dollars, ten million, twenty.
Alright. Great.
But in making that cold, hard cash, you neglected everything else around you. Now you’ve got children who hate you, a diet and sleep pattern that’ll kill you, four divorces under your belt, and a wife who’s more than ready to add to the tally. Oh, and you also have a boatload of repressed trauma that you refuse to go to therapy for and have become the guy who’s at the office more often than his fancy 8-bedroom home.
How’re those millions working out for you now?
Yeah, probably not very well.
It’s no wonder － this isn’t success. It’s also not real fortune or abundance. It’s a rich wallet, not a rich life.
So, my friendly advice to you: change course before this really does become your story. Find what else drives you. Think about what of value you actually want to create. Not just for yourself. Think about what matters beyond your yearly income.
I recognize that this is easier said than done.
Money can all too often become a sort of addiction. Because unlike other addictions, you’re not discouraged from it or pulled to resist it － you’re actively pushed towards it.
Before you let yourself get further sucked into it, though, know this one thing: it will never fulfill you. It will never satisfy that itch.
It won’t earn your children’s respect. It won’t drive your exes back into your arms or make your old boss suddenly regret firing you, and it sure as hell won’t get your dog to love you. It won’t give you anything that actually makes life worth living for.
Why? Because unlike what people may believe, money isn’t a substitute for being a good person, nor is it a substitute for action.
Shocker, I know, but you’ve actually got to put the work in. You have to heal your relationships and your health, not your checkbook. You have to be present and caring and willing to make amends for all your mistakes, not the Benjamins crumpled up in your pocket.
You must become a better version of yourself and chase a higher standard of life.
But the course of your life is up to you. Success or ruin － it’s your choice. I just hope you make the right one.
Read on to find out why the founder of Zappos failed at life and why you should care.
