Your Money or Your Life?

A robber, with a gun, confronts you in a dark alley in the early hours of the morning, with no other soul in sight. "Your money or your life?", he says in that criminal voice which scares you to almost death. Classic situational scenario you are familiar with.

What would you do? Run for your life with the $1,000,000 in your pocket? Or just handover the $1,000,000?

Unless you are Superman (whereby you can catch the bullets coming towards you), or one of those sort of heroes, you would be better off to just handover the money. You can then fight (or make money) another day. Agree?

But what about in normal, everyday life? When there is no robber?

Can you still have your money ($1,000,000), and have a (happy) life? Or do you believe, that if you have money, money cannot bring you happiness?

Can you do something that you love, and at the same time make money? Or is doing something that you love, an entirely different proposition from making a living (making money)?

In this financial paradigm, if you love travelling, what you do is to work hard until you retire at 60 or 65. After you retire, you go travelling around the work (using the money you saved from working hard). That is why if you go on a tour (say, in Europe), you find that the majority who join the tour groups are in their sixties or seventies (from the U.S.A.). Some with canes to help them walk.

Isn't it possible to have lots of money (not $1,000,000 but perhaps $10,000 extra a year), to go and have an overseas holiday every year. When you are still in your twenties or thirties rather than in your late sixties or seventies?

Is it possible to never have to get a job, but still have as much money as those having a job? Without receiving government money? Such as unemployment benefit or disability payment. Or an insurance payout because you were involved in an accident? What do you think?

Well, a person like Dr Dolf de Roos is one such person. Just after completing his doctorate in electrical engineering, he was offered a job at $32,000 a year (this was a sizeable amount because it was in the last century, ok?). He rejected it.

Why? Because he had just (the week before) netted $35,000 from a real estate deal he had completed. He worked one week on the deal. He could then afford 51 weeks holiday if he wished to (compared to working for the $32,000 job offer). Does he have a job? No. Never. Does he work? Yes. Smart.

A former high school teacher gave up her teaching position. So that she could teach her passion for creativity. Of using magic to teach mathematics. She has shared the stage with professors (even of mathematics) at international fora.

Does she have a job? No. Does she work? Yes. But her work is her passion, so it is more enjoyable. It does not seem like work.

Oh yes, her income from conducting a one day training equals what she used to be paid for one month (as a teacher). Did she go into her passion because of the good money? Or did the good money follow her passion?

The moral of the story? You can have your cake and it it too! You can have both your money and your life!

You can be poor and miserable. You can also be rich and happy. The good news is: the choice is yours!

I wish you Success in your undertakings and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

P.S. Dr Dolf de Roos is the author of many books on real estate investment; amongst them is Real Estate Riches.