More Than Money

I just wrote a A Simple Guide to Financial Freedom based on my experiences with Financial Freedom. Consider giving it a read if you are interested in this topic.

Zooming out and pausing momentarily has made me realize that maybe I’m tapping into the wrong motivations to build. Some of my more vulnerable moments have been charged with a hint of greed. I already have enough. I know that. And yet. I keep on wanting more.

This is a basic instinct we humans have. Wanting more. More food, more comfort, more of everything “good”. But in today’s world of overabundance, it is a recipe for disaster.

My inner greed will never be sated. It can’t be. No matter how hard I try. When I was studying I lived on something like 1/10th of the income I have now. And I was content with that. Now that I have more money, my lifestyle has changed but my overall level of happiness has stayed much the same.

Money can’t be the sole reason for me. It must not be my only motivation — my North Star. If so, I start making bad decisions and I become overwhelmed with a sense of despair. Ugly feelings will rear their heads.

Instead, my best creations have been driven by something more than money. Curiosity has yielded beautiful experiments. Creating for myself has built things I’m proud of. Creating almost just for the sake of creating has built things better than greed could ever do.

Most of these builds will never see commercial success. Many may never see any kind of ‘success’. I’m okay with that. I do want to build something useful and share it with the world. But to do that I need to keep greed in check. A hunger for commercial success is fine, but too much greed will twist and bend me to do things that are bad in the long term.

Find something more than money and let it motivate you to build beautiful things.