“Compensation is counterintuitive: The more treasure you give away to those who serve well, the more treasure will return to you. But few people perceive this simple truth. Most try to keep as much as they can for themselves and give little away. That’s why their purses refuse to fatten.” ~ Toyotomi Hideyoshi, The Swordless Samurai
“All human beings seek the happy life, but many confuse the means – for example, wealth and status – with that life itself. This misguided focus on the means to a good life makes people get further from the happy life. The really worthwhile things are the virtuous activities that make up the happy life, not the external means that may seem to produce it.” ~ Epictetus