Wealth is Boring
You can tell a lot about a culture from observing the back of its vehicles. Case in point:
Yes that is a Ferrari...and yes, that is a fish. Well, uh, oh, maybe, uhhhh....
Don't even try to explain it. Just bask in the glow of all that is South Florida.
Our company is currently doing a number of projects in Palm Beach - large homes, condo renovations, hotel renovations. I've been on 'the Island' - as we call it here - quite a bit over the past few weeks. On Friday I had a few minutes to kill before a meeting, so I drove around Worth Avenue and the surrounding area. Me and my sleek, high-performance (but paid for!) 2000 Nissan Frontier passed by every make and model of luxury car you could think of. There were tanned middle-aged men in white-linen finery walking their poodles (you think I'm kidding.) And store after store of anything the average multi-millionaire would want or think they need.
And every single bit of it was boring.
Sure, the first time you see a brand new Ferrari speeding by you on the interstate is cool, but not the one thousandth time. It's neat to walk around in a 20,000 sq.ft. home with more air conditioning than your average supermarket...but after a while they all start looking the same. Stuff is stuff. When you have more money, the stuff is a little nicer and more exotic, but it's still stuff.
Oh yeah, and all of those rich people are bored out of their skulls too. There is nothing to do when you're rich, except be around other bored people. Believe me, I know some of these people...they are begging for something interesting to do.
You know what is interesting? Go be around some average people. Go spend some time with someone who is happy having a few friends in their house and sharing a simple meal. And don't act like having money will solve all of your problems. Stop playing the lottery. Stop joining the latest make-it-rich-now marketing scheme. Enjoy what you have. Enjoy who you are with. See what God is up to right in front of your nose.
Yes that is a Ferrari...and yes, that is a fish. Well, uh, oh, maybe, uhhhh....
Don't even try to explain it. Just bask in the glow of all that is South Florida.
Our company is currently doing a number of projects in Palm Beach - large homes, condo renovations, hotel renovations. I've been on 'the Island' - as we call it here - quite a bit over the past few weeks. On Friday I had a few minutes to kill before a meeting, so I drove around Worth Avenue and the surrounding area. Me and my sleek, high-performance (but paid for!) 2000 Nissan Frontier passed by every make and model of luxury car you could think of. There were tanned middle-aged men in white-linen finery walking their poodles (you think I'm kidding.) And store after store of anything the average multi-millionaire would want or think they need.
And every single bit of it was boring.
Sure, the first time you see a brand new Ferrari speeding by you on the interstate is cool, but not the one thousandth time. It's neat to walk around in a 20,000 sq.ft. home with more air conditioning than your average supermarket...but after a while they all start looking the same. Stuff is stuff. When you have more money, the stuff is a little nicer and more exotic, but it's still stuff.
Oh yeah, and all of those rich people are bored out of their skulls too. There is nothing to do when you're rich, except be around other bored people. Believe me, I know some of these people...they are begging for something interesting to do.
You know what is interesting? Go be around some average people. Go spend some time with someone who is happy having a few friends in their house and sharing a simple meal. And don't act like having money will solve all of your problems. Stop playing the lottery. Stop joining the latest make-it-rich-now marketing scheme. Enjoy what you have. Enjoy who you are with. See what God is up to right in front of your nose.
posted by Mike Bishop at 8:27 PM
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