{"id":75072,"date":"2017-09-13T14:30:47","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T20:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=75072"},"modified":"2024-02-23T16:22:53","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T23:22:53","slug":"2015-09-28-surprising-lesson-wealth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2015-09-28-surprising-lesson-wealth","title":{"rendered":"The Surprising Lesson a Six-Figure Salary in My 20s Taught Me About Wealth"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you do a Google search for the phrase,\u00a0\u201chow to make more money,\u201d you will get a search result of over 1,660,000,000.<\/p>\n

If you did another search for the term, \u201chow to be fulfilled,\u201d you\u2019ll only get 64,600,000, which is a difference of 1,595,400,000.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m not making a case that life should be determined by the search queries of the almighty Google, but I think I can safely suggest that it demonstrates the fact that people are pretty obsessed with the idea of making more money.<\/p>\n

Even here on BiggerPockets, a lot of what we see focuses on the topic of making more money in order to gain \u201cthe freedom\u201d and \u201cthe lifestyle\u201d we want. Today, I want to challenge this by getting you to think about the whole concept of \u201cmoney\u201d and asking yourself if you are sacrificing true fulfillment to achieve a higher net worth.<\/p>\n

My experience has shown me that though most of us believe that money will bring true freedom, satisfaction, and fulfillment, it never does.<\/p>\n

Growing Up, I Wanted to Be Wolf-of-Wall-Street Kind of Rich<\/h2>\n

When I was 23 years old and fresh out of college, I had gotten a teaching degree, but boy, was my heart set on being a businessman!<\/p>\n

Back in my day and age, the term \u201clifestyle design\u201d hadn\u2019t been coined yet, but being naturally more of an entrepreneur, I unknowingly came up with my version of the concept.<\/p>\n

I remember I sat down and created something I called a \u201clifestyle chart.\u201d\u00a0It was essentially a collage of all the things I wanted to achieve in the different areas of my life.\u00a0I remember putting pictures on there of a silver Dodge Viper, three different mansions, a luxury motorcycle, and an engagement ring the size of a Ring Pop (I wasn\u2019t married but had hopes to lavishly spoil my future wife).<\/p>\n

\"wealthy-recession\"<\/p>\n

Everything on there pointed to my desire to make a lot of money and have luxury material possessions.\u00a0At that time in my life, like most people, my entire view of life was measured by how many zeros were in my bank account.\u00a0Even though I dreamed of being rich, I was actually dead broke back then, and I simply lived for the next 100 dollars to get me to the weekend.<\/p>\n

I remember being on a first date, and my debit card bounced! How embarrassed I was to have my date pay for our dinner. Yes, I was that type of \u201cbroke.\u201d\u00a0I remember feeling \u201cless-than\u201d a lot back in those days.\u00a0I used to think a lot about what it was that made rich people rich: What made them so successful?<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong> Working With Purpose: How I\u2019ve Found Focus By Developing My \u201cWhy\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I wanted to be as confident and cool as they were.\u00a0I wanted to have the biggest house on the block, drive the fanciest car, and be the guy who walks in the room and people turn their heads to see.\u00a0At that time in my life, I remember saying to myself, \u201cIf I could just get $5,000 in the bank, then everything would be different!\u201d<\/p>\n

I came up with this number because my parents were both teachers, and I remember my dad saying that he didn\u2019t remember when his bank account ever had more the $5,000 in it. So in my mind, $5,000 was a lot of money!<\/p>\n

So I set my\u00a0sights on\u00a0that goal. At first, I tried a number of different things. I flipped cars, stereo systems, bikes, you name it.\u00a0I tried a couple of different network marketing businesses, which I completely failed at. I even started a DVD business that ended up a disaster.<\/p>\n

Eventually though, all of my entrepreneurial efforts did lead me to achieve that goal of $5,000, and that turned out to be the money I used to buy my first real estate deal.\u00a0Once I had reached my goal, it wasn\u2019t long until\u00a0I realized $5,000 doesn\u2019t go as far as I thought it did. So, naturally my goal changed.<\/p>\n

I went from wanting to have $5,000, to wanting $10,000, and then $15,000, then $20,000, to eventually having a long term goal of having a net worth of a million.\u00a0It was never enough! The more money I made, the more money I felt I needed.<\/p>\n

Well, real estate was very good to me, and I was able to reach a decent level of wealth within a few years.\u00a0I had made it to that big \u201csix figure income\u201d that you read about on \u201cYahoo\u201d articles and other places online.\u00a0For me, that was BIG money. I was in my late 20s and had the big house, the nice car, and the big boat on top of it.<\/p>\n

I wore all designer clothes, had a live-in girlfriend at the time, and man, I felt like finally I had really made it!\u00a0But you know something?<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t all that it was cracked up to be…<\/p>\n

Money in\u00a0and of Itself is Empty<\/h2>\n

At that time in my life, I was working seven days a week. My girlfriend had become pregnant with my first born and because I was working so much, I wasn\u2019t really able to be there for my family.\u00a0Work was constantly on my mind, and now there was something else weighing on me: money!<\/p>\n

You see, a lot of people think they want to make a lot of money so that once they have it, they never have to worry about it again.\u00a0But for me, once I had money, that\u2019s when the real worrying started. I had to manage it and make sure people weren\u2019t taking advantage of me.\u00a0I had to \u201cmake sure\u201d I didn\u2019t lose it, and this worry was always on my mind.<\/p>\n

A lot of the time, even today, I find myself thinking WAY too much about growing and protecting the money I have.\u00a0But you know what\u2019s funny? When I was broke, I never really thought about money because, well, I didn\u2019t have any.\u00a0It\u2019s interesting to me how sometimes people with little financial support can be so wealthy in other ways. Honestly, I have seen some of the poorest people actually be far happier and stress-free than I have been myself.<\/p>\n

So getting back to the story, at this time in my life, my business was flourishing, and if someone on the outside were to look in, they\u2019d probably say I was successful and doing really well for myself.\u00a0But the truth was, I was broken, and my family life was falling apart.<\/p>\n

To make a long story short, my girlfriend ended up leaving me, and on that day she left, I remember sitting in that big house, with that big boat and fancy car, alone with my two-year-old, feeling 100% helpless and miserable.\u00a0I had the money, but at what cost?<\/p>\n

This was not the \u201csuccess\u201d that I had dreamed of.<\/p>\n

\"find-deals-hot-market\"<\/p>\n

The Turning Point<\/h2>\n

This became the turning point in my life and my faith journey, and over the last several years, my perspective has really changed.\u00a0The truth is, money doesn\u2019t bring you freedom. Money doesn\u2019t bring you success. Money doesn\u2019t bring you meaning or make you happy.<\/p>\n

All that money does is amplify the stuff going on within you.<\/p>\n

Another story that I think demonstrates this point well is the tale\u00a0of Roy Raymond. Roy founded the store Victoria’s Secret in San Francisco in the latter part of the 1970s.\u00a0Over the next few years, he expanded the company to six stores, a 42-page catalogue and an annual gross income of $6 million.<\/p>\n

Due to some marketing efforts that were causing the company to lose money (he was targeting men as his customer base instead of women), Roy ended up selling the company in 1982 for $1 million.\u00a0As you know, the company ended up turning around and becoming one of the largest retail stores in the U.S.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, for Roy to sell his business for $1 million is a great accomplishment.\u00a0Financially, I\u2019d say he was at the top of his game.\u00a0But for Roy, it was different.\u00a0Tragically, after a number of failed attempts at different business ventures post his sale of Victoria’s Secret, Roy ended up broke and depressed, ultimately leading to his suicide in 1993.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t know if the money\u00a0had everything do with Roy\u2019s decision about taking his life, but I would ask the question, \u201cIf Roy never had made a million dollars and lost it, would his life ended up different?\u201d<\/p>\n

I have seen many stories of money being a blessing, but as in\u00a0the examples I have shared, money can also be a curse for some people.\u00a0My goal behind this post is to bring us all back to our \u201cwhy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why are you pursuing a business in real estate?<\/em><\/p>\n

What is the real reason you are doing what you are doing?<\/em><\/p>\n

If your ultimate goal is simply to have a lot of zeros in your bank account, I have to tell you that once it\u2019s achieved, you will feel empty, and there will be no end to your toil.\u00a0You don\u2019t come into this world with money, and you definitely don\u2019t take it with you when you leave.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong> Developing Your \u201cWhy\u201d: How to Work for MORE Than Just Money<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Money, business, this life, it\u2019s all temporary!<\/p>\n

I want you to humor me for a moment, and I want you to imagine that you are many years in the future. You are old and on your deathbed.\u00a0What will you be thinking about right before it\u2019s your turn to pass?<\/p>\n

Will it be how much money you made? Will that really matter then?<\/p>\n

What will really matter is the relationships that you had and the impact you made on those around you.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Now, before we finish up this week, I want to be clear that I don\u2019t think that money is in and of itself a bad thing. The fact is, money can be a huge blessing and a power to bring a lot of positive change to the world.<\/p>\n

Now that I have my \u201cwhy,\u201d all the money that I make should be directly tied to it.<\/p>\n

However, if you live and breath for the growth of the zeros in your bank account, I want to pose a challenge to you:\u00a0What is it that actually brings you freedom, fulfillment, and joy? What is your purpose in life?<\/p>\n

Whatever your personal answer is to these questions, it is that thing, that should be the ultimate goal of your life.<\/p>\n

[Editor’s Note: We are republishing this article to help out our newer readers.]<\/em><\/p>\n

What are the aspects in your life that drive you to be a successful investor?<\/em><\/p>\n

Let’s talk in the comments section below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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