I have two very successful mentors in my life, both of which live VERY different lives. While I have yet to realize any substantial monetary success myself, I suppose I am very lucky to see both mentors living their lives in their own ways. Hopefully you guys may benefit from this experience as well.
Both of these men are multi-millionaires, but have both led very different lives. My first mentor was my dad's best friend, a Christian man that is the CFO for a large corporation in Tennessee. He has other investments as well, but the bulk of his wealth has come from his current salary and through the stock options given to him throughout his career. He was not born into a wealthy family. This man has been married to his high school sweetheart his whole adult life and lives life very conservatively. He doesn't drive fancy cars (only Toyotas-not even the models with leather interiors), wears a Timex, and eats at home with his wife and kids almost every night. He owns a nice beach house in Destin, FL and a nice home in Nashville, but nothing too extravagant (about $2.75mm between the two houses). He doesn't get drunk, has probably never done a drug, and doesn't seem to have much "fun" other than the occasional trip to his beach house with his family or to the golf course with his coworkers. He always tries to do the right thing (paid off his bankrupt neighbor's kids tuition at the local private school without the neighbor knowing), and supports the local Boy Scouts heavily. Based on his current salary (publicly available online), and an estimate of his other successful entrepreneurial investments, I would say this man is worth about $12-15mm. He is always telling me to join a church and "put God first."
The second mentor is my current boss. This person (an atheist), while morally questionable at times, is a very smart and very kind person at heart. This person loves the party life, the fancy cars, watches, vacations, etc. He is a borderline alcoholic (drunk about 3 nights a week on average), has most definitely done a ton of drugs in his lifetime, and is currently on his third wife (almost 10 years younger). He jokes about his bullet-proof prenups, and the fact that his previous wives (even after leaving him) still have to live in the homes he bought them. While he may seem like a total douchebag at first blush, he is actually a very generous and kind man. All of his employees are taken care of in every way possible, and his current customers keep coming back without question. This person is also self made, but solely through entrepreneurship and not through a corporate ladder. Based on what he sold his previous business for and the success of his current business, I would say this man is worth around $5-7mm. He tells me to "enjoy life for what it is and make the best out of every situation."
Both men seem content in their lives and seem to wholeheartedly enjoy life in their own strange ways. But what I have learned is this: wealth and success do not care about your moral compass or your religious beliefs so long as you are providing unwavering value to your market or business. While my religious mentor has a more healthy way of going about life, my other mentor deals with life in his own messed up way that honestly does seem to suit him best. I am not advocating for either side, but showing my small viewpoint on the different sides of success.
I would love to hear everyone's take on this, especially MJ's.
Both of these men are multi-millionaires, but have both led very different lives. My first mentor was my dad's best friend, a Christian man that is the CFO for a large corporation in Tennessee. He has other investments as well, but the bulk of his wealth has come from his current salary and through the stock options given to him throughout his career. He was not born into a wealthy family. This man has been married to his high school sweetheart his whole adult life and lives life very conservatively. He doesn't drive fancy cars (only Toyotas-not even the models with leather interiors), wears a Timex, and eats at home with his wife and kids almost every night. He owns a nice beach house in Destin, FL and a nice home in Nashville, but nothing too extravagant (about $2.75mm between the two houses). He doesn't get drunk, has probably never done a drug, and doesn't seem to have much "fun" other than the occasional trip to his beach house with his family or to the golf course with his coworkers. He always tries to do the right thing (paid off his bankrupt neighbor's kids tuition at the local private school without the neighbor knowing), and supports the local Boy Scouts heavily. Based on his current salary (publicly available online), and an estimate of his other successful entrepreneurial investments, I would say this man is worth about $12-15mm. He is always telling me to join a church and "put God first."
The second mentor is my current boss. This person (an atheist), while morally questionable at times, is a very smart and very kind person at heart. This person loves the party life, the fancy cars, watches, vacations, etc. He is a borderline alcoholic (drunk about 3 nights a week on average), has most definitely done a ton of drugs in his lifetime, and is currently on his third wife (almost 10 years younger). He jokes about his bullet-proof prenups, and the fact that his previous wives (even after leaving him) still have to live in the homes he bought them. While he may seem like a total douchebag at first blush, he is actually a very generous and kind man. All of his employees are taken care of in every way possible, and his current customers keep coming back without question. This person is also self made, but solely through entrepreneurship and not through a corporate ladder. Based on what he sold his previous business for and the success of his current business, I would say this man is worth around $5-7mm. He tells me to "enjoy life for what it is and make the best out of every situation."
Both men seem content in their lives and seem to wholeheartedly enjoy life in their own strange ways. But what I have learned is this: wealth and success do not care about your moral compass or your religious beliefs so long as you are providing unwavering value to your market or business. While my religious mentor has a more healthy way of going about life, my other mentor deals with life in his own messed up way that honestly does seem to suit him best. I am not advocating for either side, but showing my small viewpoint on the different sides of success.
I would love to hear everyone's take on this, especially MJ's.
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