When you think of a wealthy individual, regardless of net worth, what first comes to mind?
Do you associate them as someone who is kind and generous or conceited and a spoiled brat?
The truth is, high earners arenât necessarily more grateful or compassionate. This doesnât mean every person who makes more than the middle class threshold of roughly $70k isnât, but more often than not, itâs surprising to reveal that a good amount of those who are wealthy, with an average of $2.4 million net worth, not including liabilities, tend to be less empathetic.
Letâs address the elephant in the room.
Having more money doesnât make you a better person off the bat. It in fact inflates your ego, messes with your brain and after a while, you believe that you donât need to focus on character as much anymore because money speaks for itself.
Although this may be the case, I can still think of many incredible, thoughtful, volunteers and philanthropists with billions such as Mackenzie Scott or Bill Gates who seem to truly be genuinely down to earth people with a good heart.
Of course, rich or poor, there are always bad apples, especially the more you make.
The image about being pathetically rich comes from the movies, most notably from Wolf of Wall Street and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps where drunk drug trading floor addicts are intoxicated by making more money and have no life outside of their job.
Since a movie was made about this topic, Iâm sure they are out there.
Emotions Within the Wallet
According to research from more than 1.6 million people in 162 countries, the study by the American Psychological Association found that high-income earners tend to feel more confident and prideful than low-income earners but arenât necessarily more compassionate or loving.
There could be several reasons why rich people have lost their human side:
-They have a lot of responsibilities
-Have to keep the family afloat
-May be the only dependent of the household = pressure to continue working all day long until death
-Running a company, firm, as a manager or running a large firm takes a lot out of an individual
-Tend to natural forge family and social life
-Hangs out at work all day
-Long hours
-Home is only for lseeping and weekends
-Money is ruining their life
High earners are also less afraid and more determined than low earners which illustrates the charisma, fear, tenacity and grit that money provides.
The stronger safety cushion one has, the more likely they will reach for the stars faster.
Starting a company while swimming in student loan and credit card debt coming from Harlem is much more difficult.
The wealthier you are, the more you want because money is addicting and there is serious FOMO and emotions behind money making.
To make it, you have to become comfortable with the uncomfortable, not working for someone else all your life, giving half of your paycheck in taxes and never moving the needle or taking calculated risks.
Everyone needs to take risks in their life in order to grow.
Risk = reward, without it, you cannot move far and earn more.
Income and Emotion
Thereâs a strong correlation that income does relate to emotions such as pride and confidence but sadly not with gratitude or compassion.
I donât know about you but I would rather be a happier person with less than miserable with more.
Wealthy people are much more hesitant staying where they are. They are more likely to work harder in order to attain more.
They set the bar higher and higher eventually leading them to be prone to burnout, workaholism and lifestyle inflation needing to keep up with the Joneses across the street.
Having money doesnât make you a better person. In fact, it can easily distract you from becoming a better person and living life.
Thatâs why lifestyle balance is all the rage these days.
Especially as weâve transitioned to WFH.
We hear: #worksmarter not harder and soft skills > hard/technical skills or EQ>IQ itâs all true but itâs rarely put into practice by those who need it.
In a 2019 study published in the journal for Applied Research in Quality of Life, researchers found that focusing on the idea that wealth signifies success rather than the belief that wealth is an indicator of a happy life, enhances peopleâs overall satisfaction.
And to top it off, a 2010 Princeton University study found that when people start to make more than $75,000 a year, their happiness doesnât increase.
So Does Success Lead to Happiness?
More like the reverse.
Happiness leads to success.
Just like you cannot be joyful without being grateful.
Most of us strive for success which tends to be correlated with:
-Working long hours
-Rise and grind
-Sleep deprivation
-Not caring about health, instead results + paycheck
-Fcusing on outcomes
-Beating oneself up
-No social life
-Addiction to making more
-Entrepreneurial hustle burnout, workaholism culture
-Believes money finally brings happiness at the end and everything can be fixed afterwards
Iâm sorry to break it to you but a byproduct of success will not be happiness.
One day you will not switch on and become happy if you just achieve something.
Donât get me wrong, being able to buy your first car or separate home not under your parents name is a proud achievement and you will be joyful for a few days/months, but after that, your happiness will plateau, similar to the amount of money you bring in per month from your sources of income.
You must find happiness on your own, money is just a piece of paper we assign value to. The best source of fufilment is helping someone in need. It can be through a small act such as helping deliver groceries, donating some money (bonus tax advantages) to volunteering at a soup kitchen.
It doesnât have to be fancy or unrealistic. Have fun with it and be proud of yourself, only trying to impress yourself, no one else to find it inside
Junk wonât provide anything besides more clutter in your home and things to maintain, take care of and keep protected.
Itâs such a pain after a while to collect and resell stuff.
Thatâs why Iâve adopted the frugal minimalist stealth wealth lifestyle a few years ago. It makes me happier and lets me easily save thousands per year without trying.
Happy people are not more successful than unhappy people. Happiness naturally leads to greater success in all areas of life from social, professional, dreams and money and career wise.
Happy people are more likely to work towards a goal and build new resources.
When you are happy, your day is better, you treat people better, then that translates into them wanting to be around you, help you and actively become a better version of yourself.
But itâs important to remember that being happy 24/7 is unrealistic as well. You will have bad days and hurdles that you will need to overcome and thatâs normal. Behind every success are thousands of failures barely anyone is wiling to confess to.
After all, if life was easy, then that would be a sad life. Itâs hard because you are living it.
Even studies have found that generally happy people experienced negative emotions related to challenging or painful life experiences.
Trust me, itâs never just you!
Happiness Road
An overlooked vital part of success is happiness. To work at your top peak performance level, you must curate motivation, ethics, productivity, find achievement in yourself and meaning.
If you are gloomy, a workaholic, always tough on yourself and canât see the bright side of things, then it will be much harder for you to move on.
Being happy is the greatest form of success.
Happiness is more important than success: There is no doubt that success is a very important part of life, but happiness is a priceless emotion. In fact, it is believed that people who are happy achieve much more than those who keep a serious attitude towards life.
Donât try to be a âknow it allâ or a genius, be relatable, learn and confess you donât know everything in order to become your best.
You cannot replace or replenish happiness. It comes from the inside. Money can replace anything, but never the people you care about and your mental sanity.
To get easily ahead and move one step forward, switch your perspective and your attitude.
Youâre bound for greatness and expect failure and rejection. That means redirection.