Chasing money

What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?
What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? – Mark 8:36

As a competitive, ambitious, frugal, investor-minded individual who comes from humble beginnings, this graphic speaks to me.

The competitive side of me wants to be in the top 1% of everything I do (including financial-related goals).

The ambitious side of me wants to prove to myself, my family and friends, my acquaintances, etc. that I can do anything I set my mind to.

The frugal side of me wants to have the financial security money can bring.

The investor side of me hates waste and focuses on being as efficient as possible (like investing in assets and having my money work for me).

But when I think about what’s really important in life and what brings me the most joy, it’s not money…

I’m happiest when I’m hanging out with family – whether that’s at home, going on mini adventures to the zoo, watching our kids hang out with their cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents, or going on our yearly trips to Mohican, Hocking Hills, or the beach.

I’m happiest when I’m working out and competing with friends at the gym (whether or not they know I’m competing with them is up for debate).

I’m happiest seeing friends and playing board games with them for game night or going out and grabbing something to eat.

I’m happiest finding people homes to live in or to invest in and negotiating the best terms for them.

And when I think about all that makes me happy, I realize that I don’t need to always be chasing 💸…life is easier with money, to be sure. But as long as I’m keeping things in perspective and still able to enjoy life while pursuing money, that will be enough for me.

Don’t lose your family, friends, or health chasing money. Because in the end, what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

Finding your rich life

What is your rich life? Rich doesn’t necessarily mean having a lot of money. It’s having enough money while being happy most days. Do you enjoy what you do every day (or most days)? Do you get to spend time with loved ones? Do you get to play? Find out how you can get to do something that you like doing every day, where it feels “light” to do it.

Why shouldn’t work be fun? I love the quote, “I take the work that I do seriously, but I don’t take myself seriously at all.” You should care about the work that you do. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun doing it though. You should not take yourself so seriously though. If you fail or mess up, that’s fine. You should want your kids to see you fail from time to time just so they know that it happens and it’s not the end of the world. But you should also want them to see you rise up and overcome those failures. You cant be kept down unless you chose to not get back up. Nothing can stop you except yourself.