Respuesta :
If you’re going to participate in the material world, you must know what money means. Do you need money? Yes… But, being rich is defined well beyond the monetary things in life. In my opinion being rich is about the 4 quadrants of life. Physical, Logical, Emotional, and Spiritual. Whether you’re rich in spirit, rich in your bank account, rich in your willingness to have charity or support others beyond yourself.
Ultimately, what does it means to be rich? I invite you to be rich in your heart and in your bank account at the same time. It’s about creating that harmony and balance that we’re truly striving for, not a fancy car or big prestigious house. People who are only abundantly wealthy in their heart, may have to rely on somebody else’s generosity to support them in the material world; or they can be materially wealthy and poor in spirit and still not achieve happiness. We have all seen famous Hollywood celebrities and popular singers who are very wealthy but are spiritually poor and unhappy.
What does having a large amount of money do for you? It gives you choices. Choice is what people are really striving for. Money can’t buy love, health or time. It’s also not the amount of money you spend, but rather how you spend it that determines your level of richness. I often hear people say they still want to contribute to others and do all kinds of altruistic things after they get rich. My response is “Don’t tell me where your priorities are, show me where you’re actually spending your money right now. Many people make the mistake in believing that being rich is simply a matter of having a lot of money and that’s going to allow them to get their priorities in line. This is just not true, in fact it can lead you to brokenness with first achieving clarity.
Many times, it’s a matter of finding out what it is that you truly want first? Do you want health, someone to love and share your wealth with? Do you want the ability to travel and experience the world? Are you looking for the ability to live in a safe uplifting environment, with the best schools for your children to grow and learn? I say, yes to all the above! According to Mark Twain “The two most important days of your life are the day you’re born and the day you find out why.” And some of us go an entire lifetime without understanding that second piece, finding out the why.
The one thing all humans have in common is the desire to be loved. And what we need to understand is that our purpose is a set of feelings not stuff. Enlightened, wise people, including many of our elders as they get older understand that richness is how you want to feel. Do you wake up each day and have choices? Do you wake up and live a day that’s designed by you to feel exactly what you want?
How does your family history or those past experiences effect you attaining the richness you desire? I believe that our families absolutely influence us and can absolutely influence the environment that we’re in. But, ultimately, it’s the meaning we give to those past experiences that matters. There was a famous study about two identical twin brothers from an alcoholic father. One became an alcoholic and said, “I’m an alcoholic because my father was an alcoholic.” The other says, “I’m successful and I have been abundantly prosperous because my father was an alcoholic and I didn’t want to be that.” Did you come from a difficult, maybe terrible environment? Are you using that as an excuse or as an explanation on where you are in life? Some people can use their family or their environment as leverage to move away from pain and it can be a very powerful lever. We’ve all seen the person from an inner city whose family had absolutely nothing head out on their yellow brick road and become someone rich in every way. Oprah Winfrey become a role model and inspiration. She lives by her core values and grit. She just won the Cecil DeMille award, and was the first African-American woman to do so. A hard family history can brainwash us, but ultimately, we must choose if it’s going to shape our core.
“No one can make you do anything without first gaining your consent.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
— Gandhi
Happiness is an inside job.
— Abraham Lincoln
