It’s What You Achieve, Not What You Own
18 Dec
I recently had the chance to speak to a very successful businessman and multi-millionaire. He has run a number of companies in the past and now is a venture capitalist of significant merit. Over the years he has collected a number of homes around the globe, many complete with their own staff and a small car collection worth around £20 million. So I was a little shocked at the reaction I received when I asked “How does it feel to have what so many dream to have?”
“It’s a nightmare” was his response, at first I thought he was joking but he carried on to say “I spend a lot of my time working with companies I have funded but seem to spend even more looking after everything I’m fortunate to own, I seem to be working for my staff”
Life isn’t about consuming as much as you can afford, all that excess baggage only slows you down. However this isn’t about turning you into a hippie who’s only possessions are the clothes you stand in. There are plenty of things you own that you don’t use, don’t need and probably don’t even want. Whether you notice or not this clutter creates indecision and distractions while consuming a huge amount of attention. It’s staggering how distracting all this is, until you get rid of it that is.
When I was racing in the Great Britain team I used to travel on a regular basis. The number of times I’ve dragged huge bags through airports, on to trains and into hotels that I only stay in for a few days before returning home is nothing short of ridiculous. The irony of this was I never used half the stuff I took with me, I only brought it for that ‘what if’ situation which almost never happened. I now try to travel light whenever I can and deal with the ‘what if’ situation only if it arises, trust me traveling becomes so much more enjoyable.
Think of your life as that bag, when it’s as full as mine was with all that stuff you’ll probably never use it doesn’t enhance your life like you expect. If anything it is detrimental to your enjoyment of life. Shed the weight and your passage through life becomes so much easier now you don’t have to worry about all that crap.
Times are changing. Success is no longer being wrongly judged by what you own. Finally what you have achieved is more important than what you own.
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