“Rich experiences can make you happier than simply being rich.”
Bert R. Mandelbaum, MD, via The Win Within (Page 103)
“‘It is good,’ he thought, ‘to taste everything that one needs to know. As I child I learned that wealth and worldly pleasure are not good. I knew it for a long time, but I experienced it only now. And now I know it, know it not only with my memory, but also with my eyes, with my heart, with my stomach. Good for me that I know it!'”
Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha (Page 87)
“He could have remained with Kamaswami for years, acquiring money, squandering money, fattening his belly and letting his soul go thirsty; he could have gone on living for years in that gentle, well-cushioned hell—if this had not come: the moment of utter hopelessness and helplessness, that extreme moment, when he had hung over the rushing water and had been ready to destroy himself. He had felt that despair, that deepest disgust, and he had no succumbed: the bird, the cheerful source and voice in him were still alive; and that was why he felt this joy, why he laughed, why his face beamed under his graying hair.”
Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha (Page 86)
“What’s the point of success if it doesn’t free you up to do the right thing? If your money doesn’t give you the security to tell a jerk or a racist to go to hell, how much is it actually worth? The Stoics said that money, like power, was neither good nor bad—that having it was not itself virtuous—but they also believed it was better to have than not, especially if it facilitated being able to act on your virtues”
Ryan Holiday
“If you already live a comfortable life, then choosing to make more money but live a worse daily life is a bad trade. And yet, we talk ourselves into it all the time. We take promotions that pay more, but swallow our free time. We already have a successful business, but we break ourselves trying to make it even more successful. Too much focus on wealth, not enough focus on lifestyle.”
James Clear
“You probably don’t want maximum effectiveness. For example, the most effective way to make money likely requires a lifestyle you don’t want to live. Instead, you want the most effective path that fits your desired lifestyle. How do you want to spend your days? Start there, then optimize.”
James Clear
“People always talk about ‘leaving money on the table’ like it’s a terrible thing. Why don’t you sell another digital product? Why don’t you do a mastermind? Why don’t you sell physical products? But no one ever speaks about the mental and emotional costs associated with managing all of that. I think we need to shift our perspectives.
April Perry, LearnDoBecome
– Why are you leaving ‘peace of mind’ on the table?
– Why are you leaving family time on the table?
– How about mental health and being ‘enough’ with what you already have and do?
– How is your connection with God?
– What’s the quality of your marriage?
– Can you sit and ‘just be’?
– Can you laugh and sing and truly relax with loved ones?
– Can you look at your relationships + natural + all God has given you, and sit in awe for a moment?
It doesn’t have to be ‘either/or’ but out of all of that, if I have my family’s financial needs covered, the FIRST thing I’ll leave on the table is money.”
“I’m a firm believer in building our lives first – designing an existence that truly reflects who we are and what we value. And from there, growing businesses to fit that intentionally designed life. Not the other way around. Life shouldn’t revolve around scaling businesses. Businesses should revolve around enriching your life.”
Justin Welsh
“A lot of rich people in this world live very poor lives. They’re rarely not thinking about money. About how to acquire more of it, about what they can trade in their life in exchange for it, about who they know who has more of it than they do. These poor souls know they have a lot of money, but what they don’t understand is that, really, money has a lot of them.”
Ryan Holiday
“Money isn’t rare. There is nothing precious about precious stones. It is all incredibly common. Most of the people who have it are not impressive, most of the great fortunes are, in fact, the opposite of great. The way to think about money is as a tool, and what did the Stoics use their tools for? To do good. To get better. To make the world better. We can do the same.”
Ryan Holiday
“I had this idea that I wanted to be a millionaire by 25. Where this number came from, I don’t know. I made it up, it was ego, and I didn’t hit it. But you know what the difference of getting there a little later was? Nothing. No one throws you a party. Accomplishments don’t change who you are.”
Ryan Holiday
“Money plays an important role in life, but it can’t be the only filter for how you decide to spend your time. Nobody will ever pay you to go on a date with your spouse or take your kids to the park or grab coffee with your parents.”
James Clear, Blog
