Money might as well just be listed on the periodic table of elements up there Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Calcium, Magnesium, and Phosphorous. It is that essential to modern life and survival. Fighting money is like fighting the sun - Too little money can put one in peril. Too much money doesn't actually do anything and becomes something you deal with versus it being part of your nourishment.
We talk about money growing up. It's one of the earliest things we teach our kids. How often have parents had to say, "Sorry. We can't get this because it costs too much money?" And you don't have to be money oriented to notice bombardment of messages that want us to part with our money, even if it is to save it for later. The symbol of Wall Street, the stock market, is based solely on money, and financial performance is how public companies listed on these exchanges are measured. Even more insidious and taunting, there are rankings dedicated to how much money individuals make and have, so much so that there is a term dedicated to accumulation of money - net worth.
As a kid, I was obsessed with money, not in the I want to be a billionaire or Titan type of way. I was obsessed with the idea that if I could have more money, my life would be better. Actually it was deeper than that, I believed that if I had more money I would be not just happier but happy. And, the more I made the I would have reason to feel better about my accomplishments and efforts.
It wasn't until more recent than I would like to admit that I believed what so many believe - that there is a correlation between net worth and self worth. There must be right? Isn't that the reason it is tracked so heavily, so much emphasis put on it. If having more money was really about just having more money, we as individuals and as a collective wouldn't put some much "worth" on it, right?
Turns out there IS a relationship between the two, and the answer isn't zero, although if you go through life with that belief, it won't steer you or anyone you tell it to wrong.
The problem with the real answer though is that it leads to lots more questions. The answer to "What is the relationship between net worth and self worth," is the more self worth you have, the more net worth you will most likely accumulate. The real mind job is that with high self worth you may end up with less net worth than were the opposite the case because you will care less about net worth. Then again, when you don't care about net worth is when the flood gates open on what is possible, through which greater net worth can become an unforeseen by product.
So, at a time when it would be logical to be more obsessed with money and the accumulation of it than any other time (I have a wife and kids, business partners and staff), the only thing I feel that should be increased and worth focusing on is self worth. While net worth can be passed on from person to person, generation to generation, the only type of worth likely to alter lives is self worth.
