What would I do if I became rich, like from winning the lottery? And what difference would it make to anyone else?
I hear other people declare what they would buy, quitting work, making their life as carefree as possible. Once is a while, a person without an altruistic motive declares that they would use the money to help others.
[wealth can become] burdensome very quickly.
My experience with a many good paying jobs versus low paying jobs has given me insight that has molded my own perspective on wealth.
While it’s much easier to buy stuff whenever the whim takes me when the income level is greater than my needs, it also becomes burdensome very quickly. The forethought of what it truly needed at that point disappears. And once all that is desired is purchased, what’s left to do?
A story quite poignantly points this out.
A man died and was taken to a place of light. A being came up beside him and said he was sent to give the dead man anything he wished for all eternity. So the dead man asked for all the women and money and things he ever wanted.
“But,” the dead man said, “I’m bored!
The dead man was granted his wish. He indulged in all the women, money, and things he never had while alive. He enjoyed himself immensely!
But after a while, he became bored. The women, money, and things no longer satisfied him. So he went back to that being and said, “I want something else.”
The being said, “I’m afraid the choices you made when you got here cannot be changed.”
“But,” the dead man said, “I’m bored! These things no longer make me happy! It’s like hell living this way!”
The being just looked at him and smiled. “That’s because that is where you are.”
How this relates…
Dopamine rushes only go so far
Things and money not only don’t satisfy after a while, they can become a burden. Dopamine rushes only go so far before the brain ups the ante.
But being limited in income, it only takes small purchases become the hit that is needed – just enough to satisfy.
If it is needed at all.
So what would I do if I hit the jackpot?
The top 10% would be given away. A little bit of the money would be set aside just to blow over time. Some would be set aside for residual income to meet my needs and a little to give away. (And having lived on a tight budget between great incomes has tightly honed my list of necessities.)
But the majority of it would be set aside in a trust fund.
That money would be used to help those in real need. And it would be managed so that those who needed it could be vetted to eliminate the grifters – the ones who have the capacity to earn their own wages, but would rather get a handout.
..vetting also helps determine what the person really wants instead of what we think they want
And vetting also helps determine what the person really wants instead of what we think they want. That perception needs to be more finely honed by listening to them.
The fund would be used to give people a hand up instead of a handout. It would be in place to get them over the threshold of pain they are unable to avoid. As others have done for my family and myself in the past.
That is what wealth is really for.
And I’d like to be a good steward of it.
But done quietly.
I’ve had opportunities to do so on smaller scales a few times. The joy of giving to those in need is far greater than ever accumulating stuff for myself.
Getting praise and thanksgiving for doing what is right just puts the spotlight back on giver where it doesn’t belong.
Especially when it can be done anonymously. Getting praise and thanksgiving for doing what is right just puts the spotlight back on giver where it doesn’t belong. What I get and earn is a gift. And it should be handled without highlighting what I’ve done.
There is nothing that can satisfy the inner human heart more than to hear of the joy it brought to someone in a unexpected way right on time to meet their needs.
Perhaps you would like to share your views on this subject. How would you manage the extra money that goes beyond your needs? It doesn’t even have to be much. It is the perspective of wealth and what it is for that matters.