Many people are waking up to the idea that you can’t live life large, like a rapper or movie star. This kind of realisation leaves a hole, a kind of sad gap where there’s no wishful castle in the sky to look forward to. Many people need that to look forward to, and no doubt, many lottery tickets are sold in aid of this goal. However, being practically realistic, it’s better to not spend that mental time wishing for something you’ll likely never get, statistically speaking. Similarly, you wouldn’t spend a lot of time worrying about getting struck by lightning, thinking about it, planning for it, and so on. So why do we spend so much time thinking, preparing and longing for riches and fame? I think the answer (and solution) to this thinking habit paradox, is to plug the hole. If we all had a concrete, positive and useful mental target, at which we could direct our thoughts, we’d be happier on a day to day basis, and be making better use of our mental energies, striving towards a concrete and more achievable goal.
Castles In The Sky
A lot has been written about how advertising has tricked us all into wanting big cars, expensive clothing and stacks of cash, when what we actually need is time. Time to think calmly. Time and freedom to just exist and be happy, without rushing around trying to meet obligations.
Recently I’ve had a number of small passive income projects come together, and start to generate $3 here, $10 there, every month. It’s actually started to stack up recently, and now I’m approaching nearly $1,000 a month. I’m as shocked as you are. It feels unbelievable: that’s basically a personal UBI! (More information on Universal Basic Income). I was surprised at how it compounded and added up in what felt like no time. What was even more surprising than that, was the reaction to those people around me, friends and family who love me and support me and want me to be happy. They were immediately averse to the idea when I told them. Most either didn’t believe that it was happening (no-one called me a liar directly, but it was definitely a reaction of disbelief and non-acceptance), or instead decided that I was somehow unfairly earning money, or that it was not ‘earned’
Living at home at the time, I had few expenses and decided to quit my restaurant job, to focus full time on the passive income, reading, and generally improving myself. Hardly stuck on the sofa eating Doritos. Surprisingly, this evoked an even stronger negative reaction from my close family. Their argument was that serving food was helping real people, and "what if everyone made money on the internet, then there would be no restaurants!". I can’t say that my reaction to the hysteria was calm and independent, at the time, but it did get me thinking later. What argument do I really have, to say that eBook sales, artwork royalties and graphic design stationary templates are good for the world, compared to putting a hot plate of bacon and eggs down in front of a hungry real human, up close, smiling and grateful?
I think that the truth to this emotional problem is as follows. If you are financially independent, don’t need credit cards or loans, then you are able to do as you please, and now have time to think about what life should be, you need to direct your actions to plugging the hole. You should stop, pause, think, and take stock of why you’re still pursuing more money. It’s a mistake to assume that more of the same will plug the hole of meaning in your life. Now that I have financial freedom, I get to choose what would bring me meaning. I think most people would think about having children, volunteering, building something with their hands for their family, climbing Mount Everest, travelling, and other meaningful things, before they chose (the very real and honorable) activity of making food for others. But ultimately my family is right: life is about meaning, not about money. They just said it poorly, and were confused about their own definition of virtue and meaning.
Houses On Earth
In summary, if you have the background yearning of "One day I’ll be rich!", correct that mistaken assumption, blow away the illusory castle in the sky, and join me in a house on earth. Make your efforts daily to add meaning and hope to your life, add something to look forward to in the future, and plug the hole with something of your own choosing. Not something that’s in the air you breathe and the advertisements you accidentally see. It’s significantly easier to do this, when you have financial freedom and time. So start there, but don’t forget that it’s not the goal itself, it’s just a stepping stone to your house on earth.
