Madeleine Morgan of Growu writes:
They may be on the ‘money treadmill’ where no amount is ever enough to make them feel rich. Or they may feel that they can’t trust people to like them for themselves. Or perhaps they realise that money can’t give them what they thought it could – security, freedom, choice, happiness, power, etc.
“Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” Oprah Winfrey
On the other hand many people who have less money do feel wealthy…or at least comfortable with what they have…especially when other things in their lives are going well. For example, some research by Kings College, London suggested that a good relationship felt like an £82k pay rise.
“This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.” Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hikers’ Guide to the Galaxy
Many people I coach say that money is not important to them. Some of those people have admitted to me that they may have ‘overshot’ with this attitude and left themselves too short of money.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to suggest some ways you can be wealthier in 2015 in all areas of your life, including financial wealth, while experiencing the most happiness.
How to Feel Wealthier and Be Richer This Year
To get us started, I thought I’d share this thought provoking story about getting the money/quality of life balance right:
The businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large Bluefin Tuna. The businessman complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”
The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish.
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The businessman then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life, señor."
The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But señor, how long will this all take?"
The businessman replied, "15-20 years."
"But what then, señor?" the Mexican fisherman asked.
The businessman laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions, señor? Then what?"
The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"
-Author Unknown
Dates for Your Diary
- January
Are you interested in learning more about how you can achieve more personal, career and business success?
I have 1 left of the 10 sessions I having been giving away recently.
During that 60 minute session:- We’ll discuss where you are with your personal, career or business life. We’ll uncover hidden barriers to your success
- We’ll get clear about how you’d like your life to be.
- Then I’ll show you how you can bridge that gap.
If you would like to apply for a session, just email me:madeleine@growu.co.uk - The Successful Managers’ Toolkit Workshop February 12 2015
It’s tough being a team leader, manager or supervisor. During this one-day Successful Managers’ Toolkit workshop, you’ll discover how to overcome the challenges and make your role much easier and rewarding to perform. Click on the link or email madeleine@growu.co.uk for more details. - Accountability Club Business Growth Programme Launching Thursday 5 March
Are you frustrated by the slow growth of your business? Is your business experiencing growing pains? Would you like to make more money and have more fun growing your business? Then the Accountability Club Business Growth Programme could be just what your business needs. Click here for more details - ______________________________________