“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t like.”
Will Rogers
Money is just paper. A number on the screen that makes us happy at first and miserable later.
Because you think it’s the solution to all problems when you don’t have it. But when, after a lot of work and sacrifice, you get it… you realize that you can’t buy happiness.
- You can’t buy your partner’s love.
- You can’t buy your children’s health.
- You can’t buy the respect of your peers.
There are many things that money can’t buy. And among all of them, for me, these are the most important.
1. Time is the ultimate measure of wealth
The most vital thing in this world is time. No one can buy time. Time is spent whether you use it well or bad. Besides, you can’t quantify it. It is foolish to think that we have all the time in the world because no one knows how much time s/he has left.
Today you are here. And tomorrow, you are gone.
These are the numbers according to World Population Review,
World Death Rate
- Deaths per Day: 163,898
- Deaths per Hour: 6,829
- Deaths per Minute: 114
- Deaths per Second: 1.90
The only thing you can do with money is to free your time from unnecessary responsibilities and tasks. And that is the ultimate measure of wealth.
Houses, cars, jets, all that stuff takes time. Imagine having to manage three mansions, four Lambos, and so on. You have no time left to live!
You live for your possessions. Therefore, your possessions own your time and not the other way around.
Don’t forget: what you own takes over your life.
2. Energy is more valuable than money
Life energy is more important than a bank account full of bitcoins.
Have you ever felt down for a long time?
You don’t have the strength to do anything that makes you happy. You lie around like a rag all day long. You don’t even feel like eating.
Life without energy is a torment. And that kind of life is usually caused by spending money on unnecessary things: in the typical short-term rewards that screw up our life in the long term.
- Fast food
- Netflix
- Video games
- Alcohol
- Tobacco
- [Insert your favorite bad decision here]
And it’s not enough to just shoot up on caffeine.
According to the NHS, the Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends that anyone feeling tired cut out caffeine.
Try to stay off caffeine completely for a month to see if you feel less tired without it.
What you need to do is drink plenty of water. One of the main reasons for tiredness is a lack of hydration.
So now you know, stop spending the money you earn on unnecessary luxuries and lead a healthy life, you will surely go further. (Or at least get you off that couch 🙂
3. Health is more valuable than money
“So much does health prevail over all external goods that probably a healthy beggar is happier than a sick king.”
Arthur Schopenhauer.
What good is money to you if you can’t lead a happy life?
If you don’t take care of yourself, money is an accelerant. Your vices will take you to the grave much faster.
I have a friend who is a millionaire. And one day, he told me how he made his fortune.
His father owned a chain of car repair shops and a travel agency that operated all over Europe. But his father always wanted more and spent his days under a lot of stress. He smoked too much, ate a lot, slept too little. And what was bound to happen happened: he died prematurely at the age of 50.
That’s why my friend was rich in his thirties.
Do you know what my friend told me when he finished telling me the story of his fortune?
No money in the world can replace the loss of a father. I wish I was poor. But I could go to the field on Sundays with my old man.
4. People are better than money
“Would you rather have a million dollars or a million friends?”
Asked, in an interview, Grant Cardone to Brian Rose. Brian looked thoughtful, and Grant said.
“Choose a million friends. The people are the ones who have the money you’ll need. People are the real wealth.”
I know most of the time, we think people suck. But it doesn’t.
Not everyone is evil. Some people are living miracles. Stars that fell from the sky to illuminate our darkest nights.
A good friend is something money can’t buy and will give you more happiness than anything money can buy.
What happens is that you have to be careful and know who you are with.
But how do you know who will be a good influence in your life and who will not?
An old monk once told me this,
If you ask me for money and I don’t have it
How can I give it to you?
It’s the same with happiness
You can’t give what you don’t have
If we are not happy with ourselves
How can we make others happy?
Love yourself
Love yourself so much
So much!
That you can give happiness as a gift…
And that’s the key to choosing the right friends. Be happy. Because when you are happy, you attract the right people into your life.
Last but not least
Remember,
A golden cage will always be a prison, no matter how beautiful its bars are. Living surrounded by luxuries and comforts will never be synonymous with being lucky. Because there is no greater misfortune than not being free in your private environment where it is so important to feel respected.
Insight by Alberto Garcia
