Material wealth doesn’t necessarily make your life rich
“The millionaires I know seem desperate to become multimillionaires, and spend more time with their lawyers and their bankers than with their friends (whose motivations they are no longer sure of). And I remember how, in the corporate world, I always knew there was some higher position I could attain, which meant that, like Zeno’s arrow, I was guaranteed never to arrive and always to remain dissatisfied.”
–Pico Iyer, “The Joy of Less” New York Times, June 7, 2009
May 9th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Craig, do these well adjusted millionaires have the same Vagabonding interests that most of the readers of this site have? I doubt it.
May 9th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Hi Roger,
This one does. 😉
There is a big disconnect between what the public believes to be the stereotypical behavior of normal millionaires and their behavior. Most of the very well off people I know are not out racing yachts on the weekends, but are working hard to keep businesses running in the face of a lot of economic and governmental challenges (most self-made millionaires are small business owners- 4/5ths of the ones I know are just that), provide for their employees, and at the same time keep a low profile publicly. Our ability to maintain our finances (and the well-being of our employees) is directly proportional to our ability to look and plan ahead: traits that are definitely shared among the vagablogging set.
Besides, traveling cheap is just plain FUN, regardless of your bank account.
And time, not money, is the most valuable asset in the world.
Cheers.
craig
May 9th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
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May 9th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
If your millionaire wealth is derived from your small business, it isn’t small anymore.
“And time, not money, is the most valuable asset in the world.”
Maybe. But don’t we all have an equal amount of time? ie, that which is now? Time is like air. You have it until you suffocate/die.
What we are doing right now, or our state of mind right now, is what gives the moment value.
May 9th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
I’ll take your word for it Craig. I’ve heard how wealth doesn’t go as far as it used to, and frugality is the mindset of the affluent these days. The more wealth you have, the more responsibility and all that. Have your wealth and travel, considerately, too. I don’t have anything against that if you have the Vagabonding ethic. Take care.
May 10th, 2011 at 4:48 am
In my opinion, wealth is like many other legal commodities, such as tobacco, sugar or alcohol. It can cause addiction and, when this happen, all one’s life is centred on satisfying this.
Is it a drug? Sort of. Like many other things in life. Once you start, you’ll never (want to) stop. Can you do without any of these? Yes. As you can survive without passion. Or love. Is it worth living without any of these? I don’t think so.
So I’d say: choose your addiction in life – be it becoming millionaire, eating. Or even vagabonding. Estimate the advantages and disadvantages. And act accordingly. I suggest a formula like this:
Drawbacks X Quantity = 1
i.e. the higher the drawbacks of your passion, the lower you should follow it…
So, in my opinion, alcohol, tobacco and drugs have a high degree of disadvantage, hence their use should be limited or even banned. Vagabonding works the other way round.
And becoming a millionaire? It simply isn’t appealing to me so, quite frankly, I don’t consider it.
November 28th, 2011 at 6:16 pm
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January 18th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
Its interesting reading the fore and against, but realistically I came across this site because I had defined in my own mind the definition of material wealth and how it applies to me. I have a few investments which will generate me enough income so that I can do vagabonding, but I wouldn’t think of working beyond what I realistically need. I want to go traveling and spend my time doing building, woodwork and reading. Things I enjoy. I’ll work if I need a new car or something, but I don’t need a Ferrari. Life is too short for spending it obtaining material wealth. I would rather work for myself building things and doing things I enjoy.
I said this to someone the other day, “how much does someone really need”. Once a person obtains what they need, then its just plain greed after that. A lot of people are convinced they need millions and millions. Why? Surely they have enough to live a great life. Society has convinced people not to question the system and to obtain material wealth because it makes the economy go around, it somehow makes you feel good. I don’t think so. The banks and the government get most of what Ive been making. Its taken me years to figure that out and I’m not doing it anymore.