Rich Life
A Rich Life Is About So Much More Than Money
Before we even begin, we’re going to say right off the bat that you can’t lead a rich life without SOME money. At the same time, though, living a rich life doesn’t necessarily mean having LOTS AND LOTS of money. You can actually live your life fully and joyfully with what you already have. After all, once basic biological needs are met, living a rich life and enjoying it to the fullest has very little to do with money. It might sound counter-intuitive, but once you entirely let go of the idea that only more money will make you happy, you’ll probably be in a better position to actually make more money.
Living a rich life is all about enjoying what we already have, and has nothing to do with getting more of what we think we need to be happy. You’re content when you have learned to live with yourself, knowing that what you are and have is enough. That state of mind, in turn, makes getting more of what you want both easier and more enjoyable.
Once you know it’s the art of appreciating what you have (and not the material count of exactly WHAT you have), that leads to living a rich life, it becomes easier for you to choose what you really want. Once you get rid of some of the widespread misconceptions and can identify what you really want, you stand a better chance of not only getting it, but also enjoying the journey that will ultimately lead you to it. Because living a rich life (and achieving success) is a journey, not a destination.
In the words of Oprah Winfrey:
Before I had a lot of money, I was really quite happy. And I will tell you this – you may not believe it – I never would have gotten the money if I wasn’t happy to begin with. I never would have gotten it.
The basic message here is to enjoy what you have in order to have what you want.
Of course, all that doesn’t mean that you should totally forget about the money. It IS important. What you have to keep in mind, though, is that a rich life is all about BALANCE. Unfortunately, too many people are too busy earning a living to actually live. And that reminds me of the movie “A Good Year”, where Russell Crowe’s character realizes he’s been so busy making money that he basically had no life.
If you’re on the other side of the spectrum where you’re too poor to enjoy life, you’d better get going. Get enough wealth to follow your dream. Money is nothing but a means to an end. People don’t want to be millionaires in order to have millions of dollars, they want to be millionaires because the millionaire lifestyle appeals to them.
There lies the key to living a rich life: enjoy what you have now so that you can get yourself together and find out what makes you happy. Then leverage that happiness into an attitude that attracts wealth.
