Who wants to be a millionaire? I know you do, probably your neighbor too, and maybe even your neighbor’s ex-wife’s cousin’s in law, twice removed does as well. Do I? Of course I do! Everyone does! The problem is, we’ve all been going about it the wrong way. Instead of chasing millionaire dreams, we should be trying to build financial stability.
Reasons to Build Financial Stability
Here are five big reasons to build financial stability:
1) Peace of Mind
I don’t think people fully understand what peace of mind actually feels like. You know that feeling when you get home from a long trip, you’ve been walking all day, probably been in the sun. Just pure exhaustion. You don’t even bother brushing your teeth, then you just collapse on your bed and can finally rest. *sigh* that is peace.
Peace of mind at its core stems from our survival instinct. When you have a job that you hate or knowing that you owe money to people, internally we feel uneasy. When you have a mortgage and bills to pay, yet not enough money to pay it, your central nervous system turns its fight or flight response on and you feel as if you’re being chased by a miniature lion all the time. When you are financially stable, you can finally feel that sigh of relief.
2) Your Relationships will Improve
Once peace of mind is achieved, you will start see that “chillness” overlap into other areas of your life. All of sudden, people start sensing something about you, “Why is he/she seem to never be worried about anything?”
Your relationships will improve just by the sheer fact that you are no longer venting about money problems. No more conversations like, “Why is the electricity bill so high!? Did you run the A/C this month?? We need to fix this stupid washer! It’s your nephew’s birthday again? Didn’t he just turn 3 like last week?” Instead, you will be planning with your partner how you can build this financial stability even more.
3) Job security and increased performance
I work for a major corporation, and let me tell you, it is a stressful job. While I am grateful to have this opportunity, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that it comes with some costs.
However, I remember the first year in my role, my stress levels were at an all-time high, and I considered quitting. I told my wife, “I’m so done with this. Honestly if I got fired tomorrow I’d just come home and tell you let’s just go on vacation.” Then it dawned on me.
I calculated our finances and I saw “Oh we’ll be okay. We’ll be okay for more than 5 years.” Immediately all the worry about my job went away. In fact, because I didn’t have anything to lose with this job, my work performance actually increased. Stress levels went down in an instant. I could finally do this job without feeling like my life depended on it.
4) Sky’s the limit
Mansions, houses, skyscrapers all have one thing in common. They must first be built on a solid foundation. When you have a solid foundation beneath your feet, you can build anything upon it. Being financially stable affords you the ability to do what you love more often without the added stress. It’s hard to focus on hobbies, fun, or creative pursuits when all you can think about is how you’re going to pay your next grocery bill.
If you’re focused on chasing millions, you might first want to set the foundation before you start laying bricks. There’s no shortage of people who are trying to take shortcuts and find the fastest way to riches. However, when you slow down, lay the solid concrete first, then lay each brick perfectly day after day, then sky’s the limit on what you can build.
5) You attract more wealth
Something that still blows my mind to this day is that for whatever reason those who are secure with their financial situation seem to attract more wealth from random sources. This wealth can take the shape of many forms:
- Expensive gifts from friends or family members
- Inheritances (not my favorite, but it happens)
- Paid for meals
- Extreme generosity towards you
- Uncalled for pay increases and salary bumps
- Big job opportunities
- Investments grow unexpectedly
I can go on and on. There is no reason for it except that something at a metaphysical level is happening here because the times I have felt broken inside, my finances began to reflect that. The more secure I felt on the inside, wealth just seemed to follow.
Do you control your wealth or is there something else at play?
I’m going to propose a new way of thinking about your finances. Is it really that our hard work and efforts is what results in more money or is it that wealth is controlled by a higher power? Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, declares:
“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.”
– Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 10.8, translated by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
This quote proposes that Krishna, who is considered one of the most important manifestations of God in Hinduism, is who controls anything and everything. I can give another example from a Christian perspective. Jesus states:
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”
– Matthew 6:26, Bible: King James Version
This suggests that God provides for us. If animals seem to be taken care of, then what do you think God has in store for us?
So perhaps there is some universal law at play. When I came upon these texts, I thought I’d put them to the test. Let me focus on my devotion to God and see if that changes anything.
By changing myself in ways that I believed God would love and respect, I stopped focusing on the things that seemed to be feeding my ego. I got off social media as it was fueling my own craving-ness to be something I was not. I stopped trying to become a millionaire because I saw that this was stemming from a feeling that I didn’t already have enough. I then began to pursue something else my intuition kept presenting to me, stability.
The millionaire dream is deceiving
How could you not want a fancy yacht and Lamborghini? I mean, you can throw parties on the yacht, you can show up to fancy dinners in the Lambo, and even… wait for it… Get it valeted! You’re living the millionaire dream.
You know what they don’t tell you about the millionaire dream? How much cleaning and maintenance of that yacht you’re going to have and it’s just sitting at the dock. How much new tires are for the Lambo. How after eating steak and salmon for the umpteenth time starts to really gross you out. Lastly, how the valet literally just parks your car 5 feet away from where you would have parked it, but you just pay it because it makes you feel important pulling up right in front of the restaurant doors.
The millionaire dream comes with its own costs and that cost is over-expansion. This is never spoken about in our modern society. We are obsessed as a culture with more and more, until you spread yourself too thin. You can only be in one place at one time, why do you need the mansion with the 5 corridors and 25 bedrooms?
Not to mention, some of the wealthiest people are actually the most miserable. I know someone who built a modern $20 million dollar mansion in Southern California, only to get bored of it and want to move somewhere else. There is a lack of contentment and gratefulness for what one already has.
Financial Stability is a result of contentment
What is contentment? It is satisfaction. It is when we say, “I have everything I need.” You may ask, “But JT, how can I gain more wealth if I’m satisfied and content? I would only stay at the same amount nothing more or less.”
When we are content, it does not mean we won’t have. It means we are happy with what we have now and let the world, God, life, higher power, etc. dictate when more will be added. It is being non-attached to any outcome while doing enough for your needs. To not crave wealth, nor shun it.
From my experience, as I have grown more and more to my fullest potential, more keeps getting added to my plate. With that, more responsibility and tactfulness to handle these gifts.
Do I need a mansion, fancy dinners, a nice car? No. Am I going to turn those down if they somehow fall into my life if a higher power orchestrates that? No. I welcome both situations.
I want to leave you with one last teaching from another spiritual master to drive the point home. This is a teaching from the Buddha:
Health is the most precious gain and contentment the greatest wealth. A trustworthy person is the best kinsman, Nibbana the highest bliss.
– The Dhammapada, Verse 204, translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita
Now, that’s three different verses from three different spiritual masters belonging to three different cultures all suggesting the same core teaching. These teachings have been around for thousands of years. Could it be there is even some small kernel of truth here?
Going back to my test and experience with putting these teachings into practice. I can say without a doubt, my life has gotten better when applying them. My wealth has grown ten-fold. My health has improved. Heck, I even met my wife by applying these teachings. Looks like the Buddha’s teaching here is dead accurate.
The best part of it all was that it felt effortless and automatic. Once my basic needs were met and I was stable, the only logical thing to do was keep saving and investing my money since I already had everything I needed.
Now, when I want to splurge, the money is always there. When I am content, the money grows. It appears this foundation of stability was the one thing I needed to just feel at peace. To this day, I remain open to what God has in store and keep putting my devotion into him. I let everything else fall where it may.