As a child, I played all kinds of Mario games. You likely did too. You probably did as well.
There was Mario Kart which put all your favorite Mario characters into a Grand Prix. A blue shell that was not timed correctly can ruin a victory.
And Super Smash Bros is the greatest combat video game ever created. You’d be battling a Who’s Who list of Nintendo icons from Pikachu, Donkey Kong and Mario.
Three games that couldn’t be more different. Different graphics. Different dimensions. Different dimensions. Different characters.
One item was a constant throughout all the games: mushrooms.
These mushrooms improved your abilities in each game. These mushrooms improved your abilities in each game. In Mario Kart, they made the vehicle faster and in Super Smash Bros, they enhanced your attacks.
These enhancements were made to benefit players. The benefit was dependent on the player’s behavior.
Upgrades can make it harder to control your character. User error increased. The likelihood that players will underestimate their ability to jump and fall to death is higher. They crash and lose control. Overly aggressive play can knock them off the map.
The power-up would be beneficial to the skilled players, but would degrade reckless players.
All of these games have mushrooms that enhance your playing style.
In real life, money amplifies your lifestyle.
Is money evil?
In 1 Timothy 6:10, we read ” Money is the source of all evil.” We often interpret this to mean that money is evil. Many people in the world believe that money is bad. Money and morality are viewed as moving in sync on the XY axis.
As you increase your net worth, your tendency to do bad acts increases. Billionaires should not exist. Capitalism has failed society. Etcetera, etcetera.
Money doesn’t care what you think about morality.
You are not morally superior because you lack money. Money is not a moral inferiority. Money isn’t worth anything.
Take investing as an instance.
Consider for a moment using leverage to buy stocks. Margin is generally considered a bad investment. “Don’t use money you don’t possess to invest.”
It makes sense on the surface. Leveraged bets that are risky can cause financial ruin. You are out of luck if you have a 3:1 leverage and suffer a drawdown of 33%. Leverage + extreme drawdowns could even take your portfolio to $0.
But leverage is not a bad thing. Leverage is not a good idea. How you use leverage will determine whether it’s a good or bad thing.
In fact, it has been proven that using leverage at the beginning of your career can lower retirement risk . By using leverage in the early stages of your career, you will achieve a better diversification. If leverage is used early in an investor’s career, retirement wealth can be 90% higher than life-cycle funds.
When leverage is abused in the early stages of a career, it can put you behind before you’ve even begun.
In either case, leverage was neither a problem nor a solution. Leverage was simply a tool to help individuals achieve or hinder their financial objectives.
Money is not a problem either. Money is a tool to help or hinder people’s lives. Growing net worth does not increase the propensity to do evil. It expands one’s possibilities.
What the individual decides to do with his or her larger net worth. It’s up to them.
Your money or your life?
Money allows the gluttons to indulge in their gluttony. It allows the gluttonous to indulge in gluttony. Money empowers those who hate to spread hatred because, when you have money, no one can stop you. The money also makes the unhappy and restless insane, as they thought it would solve all their problems. But it only seemed to exaggerate their problems.
Money also allows the philanthropist to make a contribution to charity. Money can cure diseases. Money gives people the safety margin to explore alternative job opportunities. Money is used to fund the brave entrepreneurs whose failures pave the path for future success.
Morgan Housel said: ” Money can buy happiness the way drugs do. It’s incredible if you use it right, dangerous when used to hide a weakness and disastrous if not enough is spent.
Both money and drugs have their own effects, depending on the individual.
Take a simple equation Y = MX where Y represents our life.
We believe that money is X, an independent variable that drives the lives of our people.
But our behavior = Z. Our lives are not determined by our money but rather by us.
Money is M. The money that we attach to our actions.
Money * is the result of our behavior.
Life = (Money*Behavior)
Y = MX
The greater your wealth, the more diverse the outcomes. A negative behavior when you have a high multiple can be disastrous. Positive behavior combined with a large number can change the entire world.
Money is leverage. Leverage for your life. Leverage your life.
Money amplifies who you are
Many rich people are corrupt. Dishonest. Unethical.
We hear about these cases because the perpetrators of these crimes are wealthy. Know figures. Money increases temptations because rich people have more opportunities than poor people. Money is needed to commit multimillion-dollar securities frauds. Tax evasion. Political corruption.
Money isn’t the only thing that magnifies corporate temptations.
Your marriage can be affected. It can affect your marriage. Your relationship with yourself.
The top ten wealthiest men on the planet have been divorced 13 times. The children of ultra-rich parents are often unhappy because they don’t realize that money can’t solve all problems.
Money can also be a good thing.
Money can scale corruption and dishonesty. Benevolence and philanthropy are also rewarded.
Chuck Feeney is a great writer.
Chuck founded Duty Free Shoppers Group, Inc. in 1960. The entrepreneur’s wealth soared as his empire grew. Feeney had a world-class empire by the 1980s.
In 1984, he gave his entire stake to his charitable foundation: The Atlantic Philanthropies. Feeney made the donation in secret. Even his own business partners were unaware that he gave away a stake in the firm. The Atlantic Philanthropies asked recipients to not disclose the source for their donations.
Feeney insisted on secrecy, believing that it would encourage more donations. He believed other individuals might donate to universities and institutions only to obtain the naming rights.
Feeney was inspired to write by Andrew Carnegie: “To Die Rich is to Die Disgraced.”
Chuck’s goal in life was based on this quote: to give away all of his money before he dies.
Feeney, 88 years old, will close The Atlantic Philanthropies in 2020. He didn’t stop giving because he got tired. He had achieved his goal. Chuck ran out of money after donating $8B.
Each dollar in his name was donated to charitable causes, with the exception of a nest egg of $2M to cover his living expenses.
Chuck replied, “I can’t think of any more rewarding or appropriate way to use wealth than to give it away while you are still alive — to dedicate yourself to meaningful efforts that improve the human condition.”
Feeney’s billions would have helped how many less people? How many educational initiatives wouldn’t have been launched? How much infrastructure wouldn’t have been built? What would have been the impact on students?
Money is leverage. Leverage for your life. Leverage your life.
Who are you?
It is not wrong to pursue success. It is admirable to want to be successful. The hatred for money and those who have it is a result of some self-loathing.
You need to know your own self.
You will know what you are looking for in life. You can optimize your life if you know for what. The money is going to be amazing. Use leverage to help you achieve your goals.
If you do not know what you are looking for in life. If you chase money just for money’s sake. If you want the world to know that you’re rich. If you have another vain goal…
You will be destroyed by money.
It will accelerate it. Money will only accelerate your life.
Timothy may tell us ” Money is the root cause of all evil”.
The Bible tells us, however, that God also gave King Solomon the greatest man ever to live ” Wisdom and Understanding beyond Measure, and Breadth of Mind like the Sand on the Seashore“.
Money is leverage. Leverage for your life. Leverage to amplify who you are. Spend less time worrying over the M variable and more time on X.
