2927: Greater Riches Than Wealth by Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist on Financial Life Advice

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Finance Daily, Greater Riches Than Wealth by Joshua Becker of BecomingMinimalist.com. And I'm your host and personal finance enthusiast, Diana Merriam. We're going to jump right into our post for today as we optimize your life. Greater Riches Than Wealth by Joshua Becker of BecomingMinimalist.com.

[00:00:28] The love of money is the root of all evil. From both personal experience and personal observation, I believe that statement to be true. Many a man or woman in love with money has compromised principle in order to obtain wealth. No doubt you've seen it as well. There's just one problem with this helpful proverb. We're quite sure the warning doesn't apply to us.

[00:00:54] I mean, we'd never lie, cheat, or steal to gain more money. Therefore, the warning must be for someone else, probably the wealthy. Herein lies the problem. Nobody ever admits to loving money. Everybody just wants more of it. In America, if you ask a room full of people who wants to be rich, almost every hand gets raised. The desire for wealth is almost a foregone conclusion in our society.

[00:01:24] So much so, in fact, anybody who claims that they don't want more is quickly labeled a madman, a liar, or misinformed. But I don't think this assumption concerning our relentless pursuit of money should go unchallenged. It might be a helpful exercise to measure our desires and weigh them against the alternative.

[00:01:46] So let me pose a question. What if the desire for money could be entirely removed from our lives? What riches might stand on the other side? What benefits would we discover? Allow me to offer seven.

[00:02:03] Number one. Happiness can be discovered. The studies always come out the same. Once our most basic physical needs are met, money adds very little happiness to our lives, even though we always assume it will.

[00:02:17] Zig Zig Ziglar said it like this. Money won't make you happy, but everybody wants to find out for themselves.

[00:02:25] Once we remove the desire for money, we are free to discover that happiness has been available to us all along.

[00:02:34] Number two. Security can be found elsewhere.

[00:02:37] Research from Margaret Clark, a professor of psychology at Yale, tells us that human beings look for security in two places, possessions and relationships.

[00:02:48] When one is abundant, the other receives less priority.

[00:02:52] As we shift the focus of our lives away from the accumulation of more and more money, we may just find that genuine relationships with other people provide far more security and fulfillment than possessions ever can.

[00:03:08] Number three. The negative influence of wealth becomes more apparent.

[00:03:13] Most of us fear poverty, but very few ever consider the negative consequences of wealth.

[00:03:21] Pride, arrogance, isolation, lack of empathy, and the clouding of moral judgment, just to name a few.

[00:03:29] Again, we're quick to dismiss the notion that money would ever have that type of influence on us.

[00:03:36] Because we imagine our life would only be better with more money.

[00:03:40] We never stop to even consider if that's true.

[00:03:44] Number four. Work would take on a new focus.

[00:03:48] If the pursuit of wealth was removed from our affections, we may change our career entirely and choose to do something more fulfilling for 40 hours per week.

[00:03:58] Doesn't that sound nice?

[00:04:00] But even if we didn't change our work assignment, our focus would still change.

[00:04:05] We may care less about the paycheck and care more about doing a good job for the sake of doing a good job.

[00:04:13] Or maybe for the sake of the person we're serving in our occupation.

[00:04:17] Work would no longer be selfish. It would become selfless.

[00:04:23] Number five. Generosity could begin today.

[00:04:28] Generosity benefits the receiver, but it also rewards the giver.

[00:04:32] Those who are generous with their money and their time take hold of a life that is fully lived.

[00:04:37] They make the world better and their lives fuller.

[00:04:41] Too often we fall into the thinking if we made more money, we would become more generous.

[00:04:47] But the statistics don't support that presumption.

[00:04:51] Generosity is more about priorities than it is about income.

[00:04:56] Number six. Contentment would become attainable.

[00:04:59] Those who have all they need, like food, clothing, and shelter, but still constantly desire more, prove their discontent.

[00:05:09] It's displayed in the items they pursue.

[00:05:12] I realize that removing the desire for wealth does not necessarily result in contentment.

[00:05:17] Passions can still be directed elsewhere.

[00:05:20] But it's a great start.

[00:05:22] And number seven.

[00:05:23] Regret is more easily avoided.

[00:05:27] People who want to get rich fall into a trap that often leads to ruin and regret.

[00:05:32] They make sacrifices with their time and energy to secure more wealth.

[00:05:37] They're quick to neglect their family, their health, or their soul.

[00:05:42] They make small sacrifices every day in order to make more money.

[00:05:46] But in the end, they will discover that they traded the most important for the least.

[00:05:53] Rejecting an unquenchable desire for more.

[00:05:56] Opens up our life to regain focus on the things that truly matter.

[00:06:01] This post is not a chastisement of those with money.

[00:06:04] That would include most of us.

[00:06:07] And this is also not an argument against hard work, compensation, or earning money.

[00:06:12] Instead, this is a post designed to open up a conversation on this blog and in our minds.

[00:06:18] A conversation about the role of money in our lives.

[00:06:22] And it's a call to re-evaluate our seemingly insatiable desire for more of it.

[00:06:28] You just listened to the post titled, Greater Riches Than Wealth, by Joshua Becker of BecomingMinimalist.com.

[00:06:40] And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:06:43] I think when someone is hyper-focused on financial goals, they likely have misunderstood the purpose of money.

[00:06:52] Money is a tool.

[00:06:54] We can use it to build a life focused on what matters.

[00:06:57] But money is ultimately not what matters.

[00:07:01] If your goal is to amass a large sum of money, then I would encourage you to consider a bigger goal.

[00:07:09] Money is only as valuable as your clarity on how you'll use it and your comfort level of how much is enough.

[00:07:15] If you're just accumulating money with no plan on how you'll use it and you have an endless desire for more,

[00:07:22] I feel this is a wasted opportunity.

[00:07:25] This is why some people feel that wealth is wasted on the rich.

[00:07:29] Money creates options and opportunities and can do so much good in the world.

[00:07:35] But when you hoard it out of fear or ego or other forms of scarcity, you're essentially wasting it.

[00:07:43] There is little utility in making more money that you don't need.

[00:07:48] And as this article demonstrates, the endless pursuit of accumulating more money comes with opportunity costs.

[00:07:54] I think everyone goes through seasons of life where they focus on their finances.

[00:07:59] But there is great benefit to being able to move past that and focus energy and intention around more important things in life,

[00:08:08] like your health, relationships, and meaningful ways to use your time.

[00:08:14] But that should do it for today.

[00:08:16] Thank you for being a subscriber or follower of the show and sharing it with others.

[00:08:20] It really goes a long way to keep this podcast going.

[00:08:24] Have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.