How To Get Rich Quick

DANGER! DANGER! -- Long rant below! -- DANGER! DANGER!
Grab a drink and go to the bathroom first. Maybe even just close this window and just go play with the kids or any pets you may have.

After yesterday's hideous events in London England I found myself thinking over life and all of it's facets. I did the same thing after the whole 9/11 thing in the states but my life was significantly different at that point and I'm not sure I realized how different until last night. In the course of this I mulled over many a discussion I have had with friends about their lives in recent past. Many of my friends have regrets in their life. They regret relationships they have had. They regret missed opportunities in their life. They regret the choices they have media to bring them to where they are.

I think this all comes down to the human condition. We always seem to be in the hunt for something more, something better. For some reason they are unhappy with the life they have been given and this confuses me. Some of them have followed a more professional career path than mine (Although mine is less a path and more a nomadic ramble through the workforce) and make disturbing amount of money doing what they were trained to do. These career minded folks are wondering if they made the right choices as they have no marriage or family yet (granted they are only in their late 20's and have plenty of time still). Others are family folks like me and regret that they didn't take that high paying job offer years ago as they are fighting money battles today.

While I sympathize with their plight, I don't understand this. My life is far from ideal and there are many things that could be better. I have made decisions that could have been handled better and missed opportunities that would have made radical differences in my life. I could be making a wad of cash or have a great job having fun all the time, but I regret nothing. My friends ask me how it is that I have no regrets and I simply tell them that it is all part of me and my life.

Had I made a single choice differently I would likely not be where I am today. More importantly I wouldn't be the person I am today. People, for some strange reason, seem to like me so I can't see how making lots of money and being just another face in the crowd is better. A simple career change years ago would have steered my life in entirely different directions. Yes I'd possibly have a better house and a nicer car, but I also wouldn't have the beautiful wife and child I have today. Every single choice, every single action we take all add to the person we will eventually become. Like a stone thrown into a pond, everything we do creates a ripple that changes the surface of who we are as well as affecting deeper changes within us.

I could have avoided the pain of death and sense of loss at the cost of not having friends and love ones around to have lost. I could have not have illness in the same people, but then how would I have learned about the fragile nature of life and to treasure it in all it’s glory. I could have avoided having to deal with financial chaos by avoiding a business opportunity that went wrong and that I have just recently dug out from, but then how would I know that I could live on less money that I currently have. All these things I have had to endure over the years, but then I wouldn't have learned the ability to overcome these challenges. Facing all these things has enabled me to see beyond the simple varnish that most people think of as the meat of their life. I don't worry about big TV's and fancy things. I don't stress over money and other silliness. I don't get mad when some narrow minded fool gets in front of me in traffic since I don't need to be anywhere in that much of a hurry. If I'm running late it's my choices and stupidity that makes me that way, not the old guy in front of me with the blinker on driving slowly.

I live a healthy and happy life with a roof over my head and two cars that run (almost). I have wife that I love with all my heart and soul and a child who is the most valuable thing I own. I don’t live in fear like other people in the world have to endure on a daily basis and I don't suffer through illness like many others. How much of what we strive for in this life is actually something that makes it a better thing. What goals are you trying to achieve that would improve your life greatly and which ones do you complain about that, in reality, are only things that would simply be nice to have? I only know what works for me, but I also know that it did work for me. What I never understood in the past, was that while life was kicking me in the ass it was pointing me in the right direction as well.

For all the things I have never had and for all the things I have lost I have become a rich man. Fame and fortune are simply popular methods of filling up an empty life. I’d rather care about my family and myself than worry about what kind of car I drive and the clothes that I wear. If I feel like I have been given a raw deal, and life has left my hands empty, I simply go home at the end of the day and get a recharge when I walk in the door to a family waiting for me. I kiss my wife, pat my dog and get a big hug and a kiss from my daughter and I remember that I have more than most wealthy men will ever achieve in their Ferraris and Armani suits.

Find out what really matters and look for it. Worship life and yourself instead of dollar bills and possessions and you will be better off. I’ve always said that you should never get so busy living that you don’t have time for life, and I stand by that.

Sorry for the rant, but it’s been a wacky week. For all the ugliness in the world, it is still a beautiful place if you know where to look. We just need to stop looking at the wrong things. Take time this weekend to hug the ones you love and play with your kids and friends. There you will find the resources you need to thumb your nose at life and overcome.