Holistic-Personal-Development.com

One of my favorite quotations in regards to making money comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The gain is apparent; the tax is certain.” In the modern society this truth is more applicable than ever. I don’t think there has ever been a time when so much of mankind is hyper-focused on acquiring money. Look on the internet and you will see adds galore on how to make money, how to be a millionaire, how to have so much wealth that your friends will be envious. Go to Google and type in Make Money Online and you will see 19,300,000 web pages devoted to helping you do that.

Whatever happened to the quest for excellence? What happened to thinking like the champion coach Vince Lombardi? Here is what he had this to say on the subject: “The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor.”

In life, the general rule is that a person dedicated to excellence will have money. It’s a rare commodity. And that excellence serves as an inspiration for others. It inspires them to overcome life’s hurdles.

When we pursue the trappings of power (the house, the car, the jewels) instead of power (born of true values, excellence, servitude and enhancing the lives of others), our life becomes a living lie. We become shallow.

The trappings of wealth are just that, a trap. The person who gets wealth without earning it, or who gets it through a scheme, is setting up untold suffering. When the money is gone there is desperation because they know they cannot easily replicate it. Even before the money is gone there is a vague sense of emptiness, of some internal discontent.

It all boils down to a matter of consciousness. Just give this some serious thought. Why would anybody take the trouble to be born just to make money, which has to be relinquished upon death? That makes no sense.

Outer wealth that reflects true inner wealth, however, is an entirely different matter. This is wealth born of powerful thought, inspired by inner truth, which has as a key attribute infinite oneness.

Consciousness, focused on money for the sake of money only, is an intensification of separateness. It leads to suffering because it is void of love and oneness. It creates a life of loneliness and despair.
Just as you can have organic and non-organic foods, so can you have an organic or non-organic life. The difference? An organic life is built upon consciousness and natural laws. The inner is the core issue. The outer is a reflection of the inner. There is an emphasis on life being a true expression of spirit, on giving, on serving, on helping.

A non-organic life is one that is built upon false and synthetic values. An example would be the athletes that use steroid drugs for the sole purpose of breaking records in the pursuit of fame. That is selfishness. It doesn’t inspire anyone. It’s living life as a lie. It is as meaningless as taking a helicopter to the top of Mt. Everest. This person wants to be perceived as greater than he really is. It’s really no different than the person who buys a fake Rolex watch.

Yes, we need money to live, but we need consciousness to live in a way that enhances the value of life, the meaning of life, and the purpose of life.

A sole preoccupation with money devolves life into unmitigated selfishness. It causes a narrowing of being. It creates a sense of separateness. People become viewed as objects which either contribute to the amassing of wealth or not. Relationships thus become worthless if they do not contribute to the bottom line. This makes life cold and mechanical.

Life is not meant to be cold and mechanical. Contacts between people are not meant to be barren of inner significance. But there is no inner significance in a life of cold, calculated selfishness.

Life like that is equivalent to living in an ice age. And the only way out of a cold and barren life is through the dawning of love. Then the motives of life become higher. Consciousness becomes the motivator. This is the beginning of true power.

What the world needs now is not more millionaires, but genuine human beings dedicated to being the best that they can be. Not because it pays better, not to get into the record books, but because it’s why they’re here.