I’ve been blessed to know a handful of people who are truly wealthy. They are both personally and financially set for life.
There are a number of traits that set them apart, the most important of which is how they deal with money. They continue to work, and to add value. Some go up to 80 hours per week and are well into their 70’s – an age where “Joe Six Pack” would be one with his Lazy-Boy recliner.
At some point in the wealthy’s financial journey, they passed by making enough money and didn’t have to worry about a roof over their head, the kids’ new sneakers, or eldest daughter’s college tuition. The next milestone was perfecting their retirement.
After putting that in the rearview mirror, they set their sights on something critically important. If you think for a minute that it’s for their time or their knowledge and experience, you’re wrong.
A component of that “more critical and important than money” is adding value, but that significant fraction is not what drives them. It’s something way more important.
I love sports metaphors for business. Like sport, business is intensely competitive. The same lessons that sport teaches apply to business and any competitive endeavor. Not every swing you take results in a home run, but after connecting with nothing but air, a player comes back and does it again. And again, and again.
The professional athlete who has a multi-year, nine-figure salary isn’t stepping in front of a 95 mile per hour fastball because of the money. He does it to win. It’s about winning. Winning is putting one in the record books. Winning is making a difference for the fans. Winning is about the applause. Winning is a mindset. It’s what you do.
The same is true in business – you try a bunch of things, but they don’t all work. But you learn from striking out, and it makes that home run that much sweeter.
It’s about winning. The money from winning is nice, but once you cross the “wealthy” line, it’s about accomplishing durable things that are globally recognized, like settling disputes and creating peace. The wealthy understand the motivator that money can be and will use it as a tool, but it’s not what drives them. It’s never the goal.
Winning is the goal.
Let’s consider the President of these United States. The annual salary for President is $400,000 per year. That’s less than Donald J. Trump made in a week as a private citizen and, in fact, $400,000 is likely less than it takes annually to pump out the toilet and clean the carpets on “Trump Force 1,” his private 757 business jet.
Being President certainly isn’t about the money.
I recently saw some folks who don’t understand wealth pontificating about how the proposed peace deal in the Ukraine would financially benefit Trump. Those folks who don’t understand wealth must also realize the President really does not like war.
War is destruction, and that’s kryptonite to any builder, especially one on Trump’s level.
Consider how much of a personal financial windfall Donald J. Trump would need to increase his wealth by a percentage that would matter? I suggest that number might be equal to the GDP of many third world nations.
He’s set for the next 21 years at least, which would make him 100 years old. His family is set, too. All the kids, their kids. He’s carefully provided for his ex-wives, too. Ya know, mulligans at the altar as well as on the golf course. He did it for the same reason he ran for President three times. It’s about winning.
So, if you think anything he’s going to do is about money, think again. He works tirelessly, and few of us could actually keep up with his brutal schedule.
President Donald J. Trump is a clean freak. He’s also a peace freak – or peacenik, if you prefer.
He is a 79 year old man in Washington DC who is doing a job for free (he donates all of his Presidential salary), working over 80 hours per week, and you suggest it’s about money Nope. Not even close.
Solving important problems is nice, but most importantly, it’s about winning.
