Money has always been a gauge on how far you have gone in life. Your success meter greatly depends on how much money you have in the bank, how big your car is or how grand is your house. We all tend to use money as our benchmark for how well we are doing.
When Forbes Magazine and Bloomberg BusinessWeek profile a successful businessperson, they’ll tell you about what the person has achieved financially for his company or how much she makes in salary, bonuses, and stock options. They might talk about his business philosophy or how she rose up through the ranks.
It is just unfortunate, that they rarely talk about that person’s real passions and almost never touch on their personal lives.
Money is great. Who wouldn’t want to have a lot? But there is a whole lot more to life than just about the financial aspect.
Not everyone realizes that money is just a part of a package and without the rest of the package – good health, strong relationships, deep spiritual life, sense of purpose, and passion – it’s not worth much.
Yet it’s been portrayed as almost courageous to sacrifice all of those things to achieve financial and business success. As many personal growth leaders point out, no one ever takes their last breath saying, “I wish I’d taken over just one more company or worked in the office another few weekends while my kids were growing up.”
Unconventional thinkers know that real success includes success in all areas of your life – material, emotional, mental, spiritual. It’s not – “just money.”
It is true that with money, you have more choices, you can do more things. But, the most important things in life are the ones that money cannot buy. Sounds like a cliche – but true.
American businessman, Richard Devos, and owner of NBA team Orlando Magic, aptly sums it up when he said – “Money cannot buy peace of mind. It cannot heal ruptured relationships, or build meaning into a life that has none.”
A person’s relationship with money should transcend the naked eye. It should go deep down within you. Never give yourself a monetary value because your true success lies in your character, family and relationship with others.
Genuine happiness and success is found within us. It cannot be measured but priceless when shared.