In May 2007, Vanguard’s founder John Bogle gave the commencement address at Georgetown University. He flagged it off by recalling a story.
The venue was a party on Shelter Island, US. American writer Kurt Vonnegut in jest informs his pal, author Joseph Heller, that their host, a billionaire hedge fund manager, made more money in a single day than Heller earned from his wildly popular novel Catch 22 over its whole history.
Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have . . . Enough.”
In his book Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life, Bogle elucidates further:
“Enough. I was stunned by the simple eloquence of that word for two reasons: first, because I have been given so much in my own life, and second, Joseph Heller couldn’t have been more accurate”.
For a critical element of our society, including many of the wealthiest and most powerful among us, there seems to be no limit today on what enough entails.
All envy and discontent stems from not knowing what is your Enough.
I often like to give this example.
Imagine children at a party playing with balloons. One child suddenly grabs a red balloon and yells: “This balloon is mine!”
Inadvertently, all the children drop their balloons and fight over this red balloon.
A very dumbed down example of what French historian René Girard calls “mimetic desire.” A lot of our desires don’t emerge from within, but from “outside”.
We import our most powerful desires from imitating the desires of other people. So deep is mimetic desire we are unaware that it is truly not our own but of others.
In other words, we desire according to the desire of others. And hence we need to keep earning more and more because it will never be enough.
So, we eat at the right restaurants because that is where everyone else wants to eat. And wear a particular brand because it indicates status. And we holiday at a particular resort because that is where the neighbours went.
The entire advertising industry is founded on the exploitation of borrowed desire. This is amplified on social media platforms which are excellent conduits of mimetic desire.
Don’t get played.
Don’t let others tell you what to desire.
So here’s what I want you to takeaway.
Money is just a tool. A transactional tool. It is to get You what You desire — status, security, lifestyle, home, car, holiday, mental peace…
That is why accumulating money for the sake of it makes no sense. Because money is never an end in itself. It is earned, saved and invested to serve a purpose.
Get clear on your purpose. Don’t look at anyone else’s. Only then you will be content. Only then you will know what really matters to you. That’s when you will understand the power of enough.
It will give you the emotional security and resilience that comes from knowing you can weather life’s storms and rebound. It will give you a sense of satisfaction and contentment. And you will have a low desire to compete with others or impress society with your material capabilities.
If money is an end in itself, then you will never be satisfied. It will never be enough.
So you need to know what is your Enough.
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Thanks for reading Money Mindset Mastery.
Good stuff here, Larrisa, thanks 👍
Lovely read, Larissa