This quote totally resonated with me. Many of us are guilty of being too serious and worrying about the small details from time to time; we fail to see the big pictures, like the beautiful things in our lives. Money and finances are important parts of our lives but they shouldn’t govern how we live our lives and how we treat others around us. We need to be more appreciative of our close relationships and what we can do to help out in our communities.
Although I aim for early retirement and financially independence, when I look deeper, what I am really trying to achieve is to be financially free so I can help others. This is the exact reason why successful and financially free people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet founded “The Giving Pledge” campaign. One of my biggest dreams is to be able to write a one million dollar cheque to a charity of my choice one day, most likely the BC Children’s Hospital. Having went through some medical scares the first few weeks of my son’s life, I felt really fortunate to have access to such helpful services so close to home.
To achieve this ultimate dream, I understand that I need to enjoy the journey along the way. I need to enjoy the finer things in my life, like love, relationships, talent, creativity and individuality. I cannot focus on only finances & money and completely ignore Mrs. T, Baby T, and the rest of my family and friends. My life will only suffer as a consequence. I have come to the realization that my life is great and beautiful and I wouldn’t treat it for anyone else’s life. If I cannot achieve this big dream, I need to accept the fact and understand that I’ve already helped out others along the way by making monthly donations to charities and volunteering in the community.
If you haven’t read Anita’s book yet, I’d highly recommend you reading it. It’s not related to personal finances or investing at all but it will widen your perspective on what we call life.
For now, I’ll leave you with one of my favourite songs – What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.
This is powerful. I think if most of us (though certainly not all) have an underlying reason why we want to make/have more money. My reason really is more toward the freedom to do what I want to do and live the life I want to live, and to inspire others to do the same, free of the chains of consumerism.
Inspiring and motivational post for those of us who forget about the big picture and the relativity of our situation sometimes.
It’s interesting to see that so many personal finance bloggers watch carefully over their finances exactly to enjoy their friends, family and creative outlets more. They use money as a way to enhance their lives rather than stress over it.
Thanks. Money isn’t everything and we all need to be reminded about that from time to time.
Great insight. 🙂 Sounds like an interesting book. Money is simply a tool we can use to gain more time and freedom, which are the ultimate sources of wealth. In the end we can’t take our money with us. More people should realize this, even if they’ve never personally encountered a near death experience before.
Appreciate that you enjoyed the article. Thanks for dropping by.
Beautiful. Sometimes it takes something as big as death to bring things into focus.
I do worry that sometimes I spend so much effort to not be affected by consumerism that I drift too far the other way- being a miser. I try to combat that by generosity. I try to not spend on myself so that I CAN spend on others.
Thanks for the suggestion. I immediately requested it from the library. Another powerful book in this vein is Things I’ve Learned from Dying by David R. Dow.
Yeah I can see this happening after a near death experience. Yes many people stress out over money, but at the end of the day, stressful situations were placed their by us. We are to blame for all those financial issues. I like that the book mentions all the great positive things we can focus on in life and avoid the negatives.
Best wishes on your truly honorable quest to help others. And you managed to make me want to read Dying to be Me.