Most of us wake up every morning and do something because that is what gets us the financial stability.
Arguably, money is the most important pillar for sustenance. We have reached that point in human existence where the real world religion is money. The religion that everyone follows.
I’m certain there are other things in life which hold importance but I’m also certain that most of them won’t be sustainable without money.
The question that becomes is how important and how much and that’s what I want to have clarity about.
Concept of Enough
Let’s first talk about how much is enough.
I want to have enough money in my account to be able to comfortably run my household. Then, I need some emergency reserve in case something catastrophic happens. I want to save some every month to be able to secure my retirement. Of course, I now have children and I want to save for them as well. Coming up with a number is an important vantage point because that will help you forecast where you want to be and how much reserve you need.
This leads us to the second question…
How important is money and why?
As a child, I wanted to create things. Achieve more than just getting a degree and living the rest of my life running towards something that felt meaningful.
Creating things did not happen, of course, making babies does not count.
What happened is life? Not to give excuses but to share my thoughts, let’s try and get into some nitty gritty. I went to medical school at the age on 19. It was a choice that I thought I wanted but was not so sure when it became a reality. I was told that this is the foundation and I should do this and once I’m done with this, lots of options will open up. I finished the degree five and a half years later. Nothing happened, no drum rolls and I was made aware that this was just a start. I now looking back feel I was tamed, I could not think out of my box. I could well be compared to a toad in a well who thinks the world is all between the walls of the well and can’t imagine anything outside.
Looks like I’m digressing but this was a useful piece of writing and I would like to compete this thought. But for now back to the importance of money. All of the above education and then some more, and then just a bit more and then… It went on and I am a doctor today who has got a few degrees. It gave me financial stability. But why did I have to work like crazy, all the unsocial hours. The compromises on most of the fun activities to get where? Financial stability you see. That is utterly stupid, in my opinion. The question that I often ask myself today is, how I would have done things if there was no concern around money and if the roads I traveled were the right ones to get to the objective. Honest answer, I don’t think so. I recently heard a podcast about Berkshire Hathaway, and one thing that made sense. Warren Buffett at a very young age had one objective. To be a millionaire so he does not have to worry about money to be able to do things he wanted to do or something on these lines. Now that is clarity.
Hmmm, I forgot to mention about parental influence and potential brain wash. It might sound harsh but I’m just being honest because I think that is an important step to get to the truth.
So, back to importance on money. It is important because if you have it, you can do what you want..
Now the beckoning…
What do you want to do? Do you need a why? If you do, go and find it. If you don’t, you better enjoy.
Eventually everything boils down to this question.. let’s try and decipher it..