Competitions advertising large cash prizes are hard to miss these days. There is the lottery, TV game shows, radio guess the voice competitions and countless others. Across the various different types of media we are encouraged to fantasize about what we would spend all that money on. Winning all that cash is meant to be very exciting. However I think there is far too much hype about money and that many have lost sight of what it really is.
In order to get hold of money you (or the people who gave it to you) have to provide something e.g. goods or services. The money you get given represents the time you spent on providing those goods and services. You can then go and ‘spend’ or exchange that money for some other goods and services, but what you are really paying for is someone else (or a number of people) to provide those goods and services for you i.e. their time.
The real value is not in the money, it is in the time that was spent by each party. Money is just a coupon which is widely accepted by people in exchange for their time and effort!
I believe mainstream fantasies about having or winning lots and lots of money are really about having the ability to focus lots and lots of people’s time on doing things for us without having to do very much directly in exchange.
Now I find that interesting, because it could say a couple of things. Are people who fantasize about owning large sums of money:
- all really lazy wanting other people to cater to their every whim or
- do they feel that they need lots of other people / highly valued people to spend their time fulfilling their needs for them (or at least the option to have that kind of control over other people).
I think that the second option is more likely and that money often gives people a sense of control. However, why does money give someone the magical power to suddenly gain control, fulfill their needs or to live the life they really want to? It is because if you offer someone some money they tend not to ask you how you earned it! If you asked someone to do something for you in exchange for something you can provide or even for free, the transaction involves a fair amount more thought and negotiation, which is a stumbling block for many.
In my opinion, believing in ourselves and seeing the immense value of our time and choosing how we spend it is the key to being rich! I also believe that if we genuinely need the help (i.e. time and effort) of a small or large amount of other people there are a variety of ways to attract that help without the need for money.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not entirely anti-money, it does make things simpler, however I just think that we need to be more aware of the blood, sweat and tears behind each transaction and not let the exchange of money blind us to reality. It is also important to know that having money is not the only way to get the things you need and want.
Has this made you think about money any differently? Tell me what you think in the comment section below!
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