I would not consider myself a financially ambitious person. I didn’t graduate college and go into the most lucrative industry (I probably wouldn’t have been able to even if I tried) to get rich. When I worked at Celanese the years I got a bonus it was mediocre because the amount of effort and time relative to the bonus amount just didn’t seem like a good return. I had the same type of rational for climbing the corporate ladder. The higher position you had, the more pay you were compensated with. That is true. However, the amount of time, effort and sacrifice required never seemed worth it to me.
Of course I also realized that not having enough money can make life more stressful, especially when you have children. Thankfully, the barrier to entrepreneurship is relatively low and the financial upside can be great. I discovered that I was pretty good at a lot of the aspects of entrepreneurship, which is to say I was ignorant, hard working and desperate.
In starting businesses I never wanted to get rich. However, I did want money. I wanted money to allow my wife to quit her job and stay home to raise our children. I wanted money to pay off our mortgage and car loans. I wanted money to quit my job and be an entrepreneur. I wanted money to allow me to take control of my time and have financial freedom. All of this seems like I just wanted to get rich, but it’s not. Getting rich often means just living a more luxurious and expensive lifestyle. Your income goes up and your costs go up with it. I wanted my income to go up and reduce my costs.
Having a goal of becoming rich is usually not a good goal because it makes you focus on short term gains. It makes you short sighted. You will do whatever it takes in the short term to make money. That normally does not end well or there is a lot of damage done when trying to do that.
Most people are under the impression that money will solve all their problems. If they could just get more money, then everything would be better. They think that people who have lots of money have nothing to worry about. It is true that money does solve problems. Money solves money problems. Money does not solve all problems.
When your car breaks down and you have to repair it and it costs $500, that is a money problem, especially if you don’t have the money. When you don’t have enough money to pay for your utility bills or rent or mortgage, that is a money problem. When you need a car, but don’t have enough money to buy one, that is a money problem. All of these types of problems can be solved with money.
There are other types of problems in life that you face as well. These problems cannot be solved with money. If you get sick with cancer. If you have marital problems. If you have relationship problems with your children or other family members. If your faith or the faith of someone you love is tested. If and when you face death. All of these types of problems cannot be solved with having more money. Also, all of these types of problems are much more meaningful and important.
Will money solve your problems? Yes, but just the money problems. The other life problems that tend to be more important need to be solved with time, patience, sacrifice and love.
Gradual Ascent 