Money Buys Happiness

[ChrisV]

Happiness is a temporary emotion. Similar to a crackhead chasing his next high..

okay?

 

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[Johnny boy]

I'm extremely happy about my life and here are the reasons in no particular order.

A. I have my own business. I don't have to listen to anyone.
B. I can choose to work a couple hours a day or I can put the pedal to the metal if I choose.
C. I'm in good shape, look good, and have a very rewarding sex life.
D. I have good friends and free time to enjoy doing stuff I like.
E. I live on a lake and spend most of my afternoons swimming, bumping some music and grilling up steaks.
F. I know myself and what I want. My thoughts are clear and I feel the opposite of "lost" in life.
G. I do not take life seriously. I spend a ton of my time laughing and smiling most days.
H. There is not a single person I am forced to be around that I don't like (besides having an occasional mad customer, but I am still in control)

Money doesn't matter so much, which is why you shouldn't spend your life doing shit you hate, just for a little bit of cash. I care more about living.

With that said, I'm excited to grow my business because it's a fun game that pushes me. I'm excited to expand and get more trucks out there working for me, and taking on new problems and developing myself in the process. I love business and it's my favorite activity to do long term.

I'm having a great time.

 

[G-Man]

I don't have @Kak level Carpaccio money, but money does indeed buy happiness. 3 months ago, my 8 month old daughter was having what looked to her pediatrician like mini seizures. Instead of going to the doctor in my shitty work insurance's network, I went online and found the best pediatric neurologist in TX and booked an immediate appointment for payment at the desk in the office.

In 3 days we had the peace of mind of knowing that our little one doesn't have significant neurological problems, and only had a tick that is often mis-diagnosed by less expert doctors as seizures.

A meager $1,100 was the difference between peace of mind and what would have likely been weeks of nail biting, stress, and worry.

That's why I want more money. Not just to have the freedom to tell my boss to eff off, but because that is only a happy story because of a good diagnosis. What if it had been bad? What if the neurologist said, "Yes, your precious little baby has scary condition_______, but there's a clinic in faraway country ______ that uses therapies that aren't FDA approved, but have a high success rate. I know the doctor and can get you in, but you'll probably have to stay in country______ for months to go through the full battery of treatment."

Money bought happiness for me very recently. You'll never convince me it can't.

 

[ChrisV]

I mean it'a common sense. Everything that humans do is for emotional profit. People buy emotions. You buy a bigger home because you want more space. You buy a nicer car because you want more luxury. Emotions are the things that drive humans. So not only does money buy happiness, money literally buys happiness.

The single most important entrepreneurial lesson: People buy emotions.

A Tale in Capitalism. It was two weeks ago. I was involved in a pretty bad accident with the business end of a HVAC truck. While stopped at a light I see quite possibly the worst advertisement for Comfort Cooling... why was the advertisement so terrible? Well the company’s logo was about to...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

That being said, there are other factors to happiness as well.

 

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[Kak]

I don't have @Kak level Carpaccio money, but money does indeed buy happiness.

The last time I was at Brio, I am pretty sure it was $14.

THAT SAID. I want carpaccio now.

 

[G-Man]

The last time I was at Brio, I am pretty sure it was $14.

THAT SAID. I want carpaccio now.

Just changed my signature in your honor.

 

[Kak]

Just changed my signature in your honor.

I changed mine too.

 

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[Deleted50669]

I read each of your posts, and appreciate the insight from each. One of the most salient points is that happiness changes like an emotion. There's an ebb and flow.

My premise is simple. On any given day, I am happier when I have 1k in my wallet than if I had zero in my wallet and bills to pay. I am happier with zero debt (definitely interlinked to cash flow). I absolutely am happier when I can afford to drink Pellegrino, eat sushi, and drink Mai Tais than if I couldn't. One of the biggest rushes in the world is to give away money. I had an amazing experience a few weeks ago in that regard... but I had to have the money to begin with in order to give it away.

Money is part of identity, whether we like to acknowledge that or not. Where you work, where you live, what you drive, how you dress, what you eat, what you give... these are all superficial aspects of identity but part of identity none the less. Hidden wealth is one of the coolest aspects of wealth - when you don't allow people to judge you by your material possessions by downplaying them intentionally. However, every single one of us assesses others in part because of these superficial aspects of identity.

We talk in this forum, for example, about posers. People driving luxury cars that are not paid for. That wanna be lifestyle is part of that person's identity. Traveling the world after cashing in of a fastlane business becomes part of your identity. Living on Maui... becomes part of your identity.

You can give me spiritual, intellectual, and slowlane arguments that advocate the virtue of happiness absent of money, and I can agree with you. There's an argument to be made for a fisherman in Uganda who has never had a dollar in his life, and never had a single possession. That guy can absolutely be content/happy. I have learned to be content in all circumstances.

I have a friend whose little girl is terminal. I have encouraged them to raise as much as money as possible for research and clinical trials. Money buys access to uncommon resources, and access that they could otherwise not get to the best research minds in the country. Even in cases of tremendous grief and sadness and difficulty (such as illness) money provides for a better navigable control of that situation than if you had none. The hypothetical ability to trade money for health doesn't exist... (ask Steve Jobs)... but it provides better comfort, better information, and better medicine than the absence of money. Money can make the afflicted happier.

There's a fundamental and universal fact that money enables you to eliminate stresses that those without it are required to endure. I would be happier on a yacht in the Pacific ocean watching dolphins play than I would sitting in a slum in New York City. The yacht increases my happiness, and requires money.

Money provides peace of mind, eliminates stresses, and enhances enjoyment of things in life that contribute to happiness.

Hell, I'm happier just chasing money than I was coasting through mediocrity. I have a sense of purpose and drive now. There's no confusion when my alarm goes off whether or not I should hit snooze. I'm more worried about what will become of me if I find money.