One of my blog readers recently posted an article about a wealthy Austrian businessman who is in the process of giving away his amassed fortune and retreating “to a small wooden hut in the mountains or a simple bedsit [in Austria].”
“Money is counterproductive—it prevents happiness to come,” said Mr. Rabeder, who sold interior furnishings and accessories. “For a long time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more happiness.”
Most people understand this concept, yes? The idea that “money isn’t everything?” Unfortunately, most people aren’t in the position to know for themselves because they aren’t rich. It’s unfair for a wealthy person to advise someone who is struggling financially that “money isn’t everything.” That line doesn’t work when mortgage is due.
Mr. Rabeder, much to his credit though, says at the end of the article that he does not judge those who choose to keep their riches, and that he was following the advice of his own heart and soul. He also confesses in the article that he came from a poor family “where the rules were to work more to achieve more material things, and I applied this for many years.”
Quick, what’s the magic “B” word? Blueprint!
His blueprint said that he had to toil his life away in order to get more. But shouldn’t it be the opposite; you get rich so that you don’t have to work hard? And didn’t he accomplish just that?
Whether people choose to “be comfortable” or be rich, there’s always room for regrets, regardless if you made a lot of money or not. So it’s not about the money; it’s about us. It’s about our money blueprint.
Does building wealth mean you have to be miserable? Of course not!
Becoming rich does involve making changes, which can sometimes seem like work. Changes in your thoughts, habits, and actions bring measurable results. You can measure happiness as surely as you can measure your idea of wealth. Are you enjoying life? Are you becoming more of the person you want to be? Do you feel like you’re wasting time, spending time, or rather taking time, and having time?
These things matter, but neither side of life has to suffer in the process. If your money blueprint involves misery, what else will the outcome be? From a happy millionaire’s point of view, I can only offer that it does not have to be this way.
Quite frankly, how happy can anyone be when they’re constantly anxious about finances? There’s no way to be worry-free about money without being financially free: getting out of debt and staying out of debt with income that out-paces living expenses and materials wants.
Happy rich people build money machines that require less personal investment of time and energy, making money while they do what they want to do, give who they want to give to, and enjoy whatever comforts they choose.
Building wealth does not have to turn into greed, selfishness, or out-of-control materialism. These are choices people make based on their individual blueprints. Money does not have to rule our lives, but it doesn’t have to fall by the wayside either. We can grow emotionally, spiritually and financially while defining our ideas of happiness.
As I’ve said from the beginning, don’t believe a word I say.
Find out for yourself.
Thoughts? Share them here.
