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I Never Wanted To Be Rich
I wanted to be independent
When most people say they want a million dollars, they mean they want to spend like a millionaire: Buy the big house, the Lamborghini, the fancy watch. That self indulgence, however, is not wealth.
It’s like a leaky bucket. When all of the money has been spent, the bucket is empty. Many lottery winners go through that. They spend all the money they won and then are as poor as they were before.
Wealth is the money you didn’t spend, money that you didn’t blow on a fancy vacation or a flashy luxury car.
Wealth is the money you don’t see. It is hidden. But it is more precious than the biggest diamond. It gives you independence and autonomy, the ability to wake up every morning and do whatever you want with your life.
Therefore, a millionaire has a million dollars that is not spent. It is not just a cushion for the present; it allows you to own a piece of your future, and so you may say at age 50 that you are done with the 9–5 and will retire early.
Independence and autonomy, control over their own lives, makes people happy. Having no control makes them miserable and unhappy. It causes stress, and stress is not good for people’s health.
