“Strange that with all my knowledge this secret had escaped me!
But it had, unquestionably.
I had known much pleasure, I had had an insatiable appetite for pleasure. I had found pleasure in many directions, few of which could be accounted wholly unworthy; but I saw now that the distinction between pleasure and happiness was wide and deep.
Happiness had an element not discernible in pleasure, a quality of depth, of completeness, of unassailable tranquility.”
–The Autobiography of a Mind by Rev William James Dawson (1925)
PARADIGM SHIFT
Defining the End Goal
There is a popular children’s story called The Fisherman and his Wife.
The fisherman catches a golden fish while casually fishing one day. But like a genie, this golden fish speaks and offers to grant him any wish he would like.
The humble and content fisherman kindly mentions he has need of nothing, and thanks the golden fish as he releases him back to the sea. But when his wife learns of the missed opportunity, she scolds him and demands he ask for a new washtub. They need one after all! And so the fisherman complied.
But it didn’t stop there. One wish fulfillment led to the desire for another.
She went on to demand a new cottage, then a palace, and then to be made royalty. Finally she asks to become equal with God. At that moment, everything she’s asked for up to this point is taken away, and her old condition returns as though nothing had happened.
One interpretation might be that she was punished for her impudence of asking to be like God, and all that she had was taken away. A secondary interpretation might be that God embraces humility and simplicity, which is why a humble cottage with a broken washtub is exactly like a place where God might choose to live on earth.
I believe this story has a lesson for all of us.
We have to define our end goal. We have to define what it means to have “enough.”
It’s good to pursue progress. And it’s good to grow wealth.
But it must stem from the position of 1) contentment and 2) service to others.
In the early years of wealth building, the main “why” tends to be simply to acquire a comfortable lifestyle. Avoiding stress and uncertainty is a major motivator. Once the comfort has been established, however, it becomes more important to work for meaning, personal growth and a larger cause.
Think Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
That’s why I believe it’s important to define exactly what your perfect life looks like.
Can you describe in detail your perfect day?
Your perfect environment, routine and situation?
Can you imagine it enough that you would recognize it when you acquired it?
In the pursuit of wealth, not having a clear “why” means that a person never actually arrives, regardless of how much they acquire. And the risk is that they look back on life and wonder why they ran so hard, had so much, but felt so empty.
Once you obtain this “enough,” you can then switch gears from working mainly for money into working for a higher purpose. And usually both of these come as a package deal.
Here’s a bonus! My sister sent me this podcast during the week which happened to line up so perfectly with this idea. I’ve had a long and deep respect for both Dr Huberman and Morgan Housel, so listening to them come together and discuss money on this podcast is a treasure! Give it a listen if you like.