How many seminars are there on getting wealthy ? How many books on the way to become a millionaire ? How many times have we said to ourselves “If only I had more money !” ?

And as a result most people work with the following goal in mind: “I’ll just work until I have X dollars and then I’ll do what I want.”

The problem with this as I see it in two-fold …

  1. Do we really want to BE millionaires. Or do we actually just want what their millions can buy. Holidays. Butlers. Exotic travel. Perhaps a massage on the deck whilst you listen to waves lapping against the  timber posts of your thatched-roof bungalow. It all sounds good doesn’t it ! The fantasy isn’t the $1,000,000 in the bank – isn’t it the lfestyle of complete freedom it supposedly allows. Isn’t the aim to create freedom of time and place so you can do whatever YOU want. Rather than more, don’t we want more quality and less clutter. Don’t we want freedom from doing what we don’t like and the ability to pursue our dreams without reverting to work for work’s sake ?
  2. Do we actually know what X is ? If we don’t define the “what I want” activities the X figure just increases indefinitely to avoid the fear-inducing uncertainty of this void we live it. And will X be enough anyway when even $1,000,000 is not very much in a world where traditional retirement could span 30 years and inflation lowers your purchasing power 2-4% per year.

Our solution to date has been to resign ourselves to 9 – 5 (and more usually) drudgery in exchange for (sometimes) relaxing weekends and the occasional keep-it-short-or-get-fired vacation. The life of a lemming. The blind quest for cash. An all-consuming routine which conveniently stops us from having the time to consider our dreams and consider how pointless the routine of the money wheel is. We sacrifice the most physically capable years of out life for the retirement solution way down the track. Deep down we know it is an illusion, but with everyone participating in the same game it’s easy to forget what the real game is. Do we really want to be those people 20 years ahead of us with the

The real game is more than money. So what do you WANT ? Freedom and excitement I’m guessing. But what does that mean  ? Define it. What would excite you ? What does freedom mean for you ?

Ponder this and start by realising that the real game is far more than money.