The Love of Money

You can't take it with you kid. Money is the root of all evil, or at least the love of money is. Money is nothing more than a tool. It's a hammer you can use to get things, however if you use a real hammer to get things you will be arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. In that sense, money is much more practical.

When you decide what to do in life, money will be a deciding factor. I hope that is all that it is though, just one part of the decision. If you grow up to be in sales you will have the ability to earn as much as you want, but you will have to trade off other things in life to be able to earn more. If you grow up to be a teacher you will trade some earning power for summers off. If you grow up to be an artist you will never have money and your father will not be there to bail you out. No matter what you do, you should not let money be the deciding factor. Unless of course money is why you never vote for a democrat. If that is what keeps you from voting democrat, then ok.

When money is your motivation you become a slave to the chase of more. I am not saying that I don't do things for money. I don't get up early, work late, and make your mom adjust supper times just because I love it. I do it so that we can afford to have a nice home, drive decent cars, and supply you and your mom a style of life that I think we will all enjoy. But more importantly, I work to try to help others have a better life, and to supply them with a great product with great service. Yes, I am in sales, so I do have to sell them stuff to make that happen. I try to do that with a very simple thought in mind. "If you help enough people get what they want, you can have anything that you want." That my little friend is a quote from the great Zig Ziglar. That dude has lead more seminars, sold more books, and made more money teaching people about sales than anyone in the game. You know what? He makes money by helping others reach their dreams. Does everyone in sales operate that way, no. But there are bad apples in every profession. If you do the right thing, you don't have to worry about being lumped in with them.

So go out there and get yours. Follow your dreams and make as much money as you can, but keep a few things in mind. The money isn't the reason. Money can buy cool stuff, but a mansion full of cool stuff can't replace a woman that loves you, kids that are well adjusted, and friends that make you laugh. When a man is on his death bed he never thinks about closing one more sale, but rather who he has touched and how many lifes he has been a part of. Is that cheesy? Yes. Do I care? No.

Me, I want to get rich like most people do. I just want to know that when I get there that I will have people to enjoy it with. If I never end up rich, that's OK too. I just hope that people remember how kickass I was.

My goal for you is that you are self sufficient and happy. If you do that in sales, teaching, baking, or being a star pitcher for the Chicago Cubs and scoring your dad tickets to all your starts so be it. Just know that money is only part of the reason. The rest is getting your dad tickets to Wrigley.