The Means. The End.


Money does funny things to people. It drives them when they don’t have it. It changes them when they get it. It shatters them when they lose it.

I don’t think that a lot of people realize it, but what money does to people is much greater than what it ever does for people.

Meaning that people go crazy over money. They will go to any length to get it, even betraying their own value sets. They will steal for it. Lie about it. Swindle good people to get it. Couples who are in love, get divorced over it. Some people would kill another human being for it. Entire countries go to war over it.

But what does money really do for you? For anyone? A great lesson is that money can make a great year. It can’t make a great life. You need to have a full life to have a great life. A full life is filled with loved ones, and balance, and inspiration, and peace. And you can’t buy a full life. At least I haven’t seen one for sale yet.

There have been periods of time when I’ve had money. And periods of time when I didn’t. Things change, pretty significantly above ground. But beneath the surface, everything remains basically the same either way. Yes, you will solve some problems with money. But you will create some as well. You won’t have all the same problems, but you will have problems just the same.

And a lot of the issues you had before will still be there. Maybe some manifesting in other ways. I’ve struggled and not struggled in both the high and the low money times. Trust me, it’s the same. I am not happier with money than without. I am not better off with money than without. Not an ounce.

And poorer isn’t better either. This isn’t a ‘the rich suck’ essay. I am equally happy and unhappy in my poorer times too. I do not strive to be poor. I still want. I still very much want a lot of things. And some of those things require money. But I have learned to keep in the front of my mind that what I truly want, is definitely not money.

Money is not the end. Money is the means to an end. There are things you want. And money can help you get there. Or at least you think it can help you get there.

Happiness. Freedom. Security. Power. A life of luxury. A bigger house than your neighbor. Or your father. Or your rival sibling. Maybe you are noble and you want to be a philanthropist? And you want to give your money away to people who truly need it.

I don’t know if all of those are healthy, but money could be the means to those ends. Money could scratch a lot of those different itches. But money isn’t the thing you most want. So what really itches?

I want to help people. But I am not a Bill Gates level philanthropist. I never will be. But I can think and I can write. So, I started Urban Samurai. And I help people in my own way. This costs only time and pays me back a million times over. Nothing to do with money.

Think about what you want. Find that thing or those things that you desire deep down, and be driven by those things. Money can never be that driving force. Being driven by something real will help you make the right decisions to get you what you really want. That is what will be ultimately satisfying to you.

Money can help. It’s just not what you really want. You need to know that in your heart.