Get Rich Slow

Years ago I worked with a colleague that was only a year out of college but bound and determined to make it big. He was driven to acquire the symbols of success and was relentless in his pursuit of being noticed and admired. His entire decision making process was about the image he projected and the corresponding reflection of that image from all those he came into contact with. He exhibited a sense of confidence, success and arrival well before he had attained it. He subscribed to the age-old adage that image is destiny. He literally began to live and look like the person he wanted to be.

Over time he had learned his job well and even though he had a ways to go, he had stretched his income into the creation of a façade of wealth with new suits and cars; actually it was only one car but it made a statement. His life was a statement. His job was a means to an end and as you might guess, it wasn’t too long before he was not only living beyond his means, but the very identity he sought to own. He was lost in his own creation. He owned the symbols of wealth but not the essence of wealth.

Once, after a job review, he received a raise that he felt was too low. He felt justified in challenging his boss and became upset when the boss simply told him that what he got was based on what he deserved. This upset him quite a bit and for the next few months he began to look for another job. The fact that he still wasn’t totally qualified to do the job he had didn’t bother him. He wanted more and money was the way to get it.

I would talk to him about slowing his path to riches program down a bit and about giving some time to creating relationships instead of income streams. I reminded him of what I had learned about success and wealth, which is that the essence of wealth is not about what you own but who you are. I related some experiences that I had in living in the yin and yang of opulence. And that what I discovered about the process of coming down from a contrived perspective of success based on acquisition alone – hitting bottom hurts like hell and if you’re alone, it lingers longer.
We live in an abundant world and it’s just as true that in our quest for “more” we sometimes forget that we’re only one person and we may not need everything we want because we already have more than we truly need. Still, our universe is pretty amazing and elegant in that it is programmed to listen to our desires and provide everything we want. It also provides stuff we didn’t want, as well as hope for things we still want, and the means to get over things we wanted but then changed our minds about. The bottom line is that like my young friend and colleague, we can aspire to greatness and all of us have the opportunity to get there. But greatness is not the same as your bank balance or title or the suits or car you drive.

Greatness is the twin brother of gratefulness. Greatness is the point when you have nothing but could have everything. It’s the point when, without a single possession you can reach out to give whatever you can. It’s the place in your heart when you feel wealthy beyond belief because of the love you have sown. It’s the place that we all eventually will end up at anyway. It’s the only place that really matters because it’s the only place that lets love thrive without judgment on others or opinions based on possessions alone. Greatness is home and the door should be left open.

Yes, symbols and wealth are nice too, but they are only a by-product of the love that you have inside which corresponds to the love that you’re willing to share – a love that was given to you and needs to be passed on to others. It’s a simple equation and formula for making the world a better and richer place than we could ever conceive or create on our own.

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Today’s Szenippet: Greatness is a state of mind. You can never become great because you already are great.

Gary Szenderski
From the Book of Szen