Wealth | Happiness | Spirituality
“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”
–Albert Einstein
It’s important to remember that supporting businesses doesn’t mean people are supporting greed, and supporting people doesn’t mean they don’t want businesses to succeed. Being pro-business doesn’t make someone materialistic, and being pro-people doesn’t make someone spiritual. We need to understand that having material success without spirituality can lead to a lack of inner and outer peace, greed, and war, while spirituality without material development can result in poverty and hunger. An unbalanced system is produced when capitalism lacks spiritualism, and socialism lacks materialism.
I found peace from learning that lots of money don’t increase happiness after reading a 2010 Princeton study that found that happiness plateaus at a household 2010 income of $75,000 a year ($97,500 in 2023) on average in America with some states higher, like California ($90,000 now $117,000) and some lower according to a follow-up study by the Huffington Post. That’s the good news– we don’t have to be overly wealthy to be happy.
The bad news is that as of October 18, 2022, only 33.6% of U.S. households earn $100,000 or more. A household can include more than one earner. Some will reach the financial base for happiness but want much more.
“We work very hard to reach a goal, anticipating the happiness it will bring. Unfortunately, after a brief fix, we quickly slide back to our baseline, ordinary way of being and start chasing the next thing we believe will almost certainly—and finally—make us happy.” –Frank T. McAndrew
Steve Jobs worked very hard and became very rich and successful. Here is what he had to say just before dying:
The last words of Steve Jobs –
“I have come to the pinnacle of success in business. In the eyes of others, my life has been the symbol of success. However, apart from work, I have little joy.
Finally, my wealth is simply a fact to which I am accustomed. At this time, lying on the hospital bed and remembering all my life, I realize that all the accolades and riches of which I was once so proud, have become insignificant with my imminent death.
In the dark, when I look at green lights of the equipment for artificial respiration and feel the buzz of their mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of my approaching death looming over me.
Only now do I understand that once you accumulate enough money for the rest of your life, you have to pursue objectives that are not related to wealth. It should be something more important: For example, stories of love, art, dreams of my childhood. No, stop pursuing wealth, it can only make a person into a twisted being, just like me.
God has made us one way; we can feel the love in the heart of each of us, and not illusions built by fame or money, like I made in my life, I cannot take them with me. I can only take with me the memories that were strengthened by love.
This is the true wealth that will follow you, will accompany you, will give strength and light to go ahead. Love can travel thousands of miles and so life has no limits. Move to where you want to go. Strive to reach the goals you want to achieve. Everything is in your heart and in your hands.
What is the world’s most expensive bed? The hospital bed. You, if you have money, you can hire someone to drive your car, but you cannot hire someone to take your illness that is killing you. Material things lost can be found. But one thing you can never find when you lose: life.
Whatever stage of life where we are right now, at the end we will have to face the day when the curtain falls. Please treasure your family love, love for your spouse, love for your friends…Treat everyone well and stay friendly with your neighbors.”
Were employees happier between the late 40s and early 70s because their employers treated them more as a family and were not stepchildren to investors? When businesses distributed their profits widely and proudly boasted about how much they paid workers and Uncle Sam and when suppliers were getting a fair price for their goods?
Has happiness taken a hit starting in the mid-70s when corporate America began laying off massive numbers of workers and closing factories, which resulted in less money going to workers and more to investors? If someone owned stock, they were happy and protective of such businesses. If someone were a worker, they would take financial hits. This was coupled with businesses trying to pay as little taxes as possible. For the last 40 years, shareholder primacy has existed.
Wealth distribution in America is highly unequal with the top 1% of households owning more wealth than the bottom 90% combined. According to a report by the Federal Reserve, as of 2020, the top 1% of households in America held 16 times more wealth than the bottom 50% of households. The median net worth of white households is 10 times greater than that of Black households and 7 times greater than that of Hispanic households. The distribution of wealth also varies greatly across different regions, states, and cities in America.
The United States of America is currently the most influential economic and military power in the world. It has some of the best hospitals and universities, and its cultural impact can be felt worldwide, particularly through its music, movies, and TV shows. However, despite its dominance, other countries seem to be happier and healthier. According to the Best Countries Report by U.S. News & World Report, the top 10 countries in the world, based on their perceived stability, safety, fairness, and openness, are ranked as follows: Canada, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Jim Collins, the author of Built to Last and Good to Great, identifies the key traits of highly successful leaders. These leaders possess personal humility, which means they are modest and never boastful. They rely on inspired standards rather than inspiring charisma to motivate their team and act with quiet, calm determination. They prioritize the success of the company over their own ambitions and work to set up their successors for even greater success. When discussing success, they attribute it to luck, external factors, and credit others rather than taking all the credit themselves. In contrast, when faced with problems, they take responsibility and look in the mirror. According to Collins, these great leaders are often spiritual people.