Money and happiness

`5:58:09`

who would made certain amounts of money, how much money would it take for you to feel secure? They'd ask people who had a million dollars network? How much money do you need? Probably need 2 million. 2 million then I'd be good. Then they'd ask people with a net worth of 5 million, how much do you need? Ah, 10, I need 10. Ask people with 10 million, what do you need? 20. Every single time people would need double of what they did. I did that for a couple of doublings until I realized, you know what? This is silly. I am already where I wished I would be and a million times over. So what less is there to pursue? Now that doesn't mean that if more money is coming my way, I'm gonna say no to it. Of course not. But it does mean that I'm free to set other things higher. And I also do think you realize, as Jim Carrey would say, I wish everyone would get all the money they wished for and they'd realize it wasn't the answer. That money solves a whole host of problems and anxieties, and then it creates a bunch of new ones. And then it also doesn't touch

`5:59:10`

a huge swath of the human experience at all. The world is full of miserable, anxious, hurt, rich people. It's also full of miserable, anxious, poor people and I'd rather be a miserable, anxious, rich person than a poor person. But it isn't this magic wand that make everything go away. And that's again, one of those insights just like having children that you cannot communicate in words. I've never been able to persuade a person who's not wealthy that wealth wasn't gonna solve all their problems. — One quote you've returned to often that I enjoy a lot is the Coco Chanel quote of the best things in life are free. And the second best things are very, very expensive. And I guess the task is to focus on surrounding yourself with the best things in life like family and all of this and not caring about the other stuff. — I would easily say you can care about the other stuff. Just know the order of priority.

`6:00:11`

If you are blessed with a partner that you love, some children that you adore, you've already won the greatest prize that most humans are able to achieve. Most humans in this world, if they are of marital age and they have children, if you ask them what's the most important thing, they would all say that. They would all say that. No matter whether they're rich or poor. It's easy to lose sight of that when you're chasing the second best things. Because do you know what? They're also very nice. I really like that Pagani Zonda. It was a very expensive car and I would have no chance of acquiring it if I hadn't become rather successful in business. So I don't wanna dismiss it either. It's great fun to have money. It's just not as fun for quite as long or as deep as you think it is. And these other things, having an occupation

`6:01:12`

and a pursuit that you enjoy, being able to carry burdens with a stiff up of a lip and with, again, a sense of meaning is incredible. To have family, to have friends, to have hobbies, to have all these things that are actually available to most people around the world, that's winning. And it doesn't mean you have to discount your ambitions, it doesn't mean you can't reach for more, but it does mean it's pretty dumb if you don't realize that it's not gonna complete you in some hocus-pocus woo sense to make more. It really isn't. — What gives you hope about the future of this whole thing we have going on here? Human civilization. — I find it easier to be optimistic than pessimistic, because I don't know either way.