Finding the Balance between Making Money and Being Happy

Silicon Valley Millionaires don’t feel that they are successful or rich enough, according to yesterday’s New York Times article on technology entrepreneurs and executives.

These disgruntled millionaires are already wealthy but they are still caught up in the race for social prestige, a factor that is heavily based on their net worth and the amount of money they earn.

The result of this is exhausting 80 hour workweeks with additional peer pressure to make even more money, in order to reach the top rungs of society within the affluent Silicon Valley area.

Fear of an unstable financial future and the desire for more recognition drives all these already rich individuals towards these punishing lifestyles.

When chief executives are routinely paid tens of millions of dollars a year and a hedge fund manager can collect $1 billion annually, those with a few million dollars often see their accumulated wealth as puny, a reflection of their modest status in the new Gilded Age, when hundreds of thousands of people have accumulated much vaster fortunes.

Jealousy or Envy doesn’t Help You to Make Money

Social envy or jealousy is meaningless and not productive. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been envious of some of my competitors’ success, especially when they have a product, website or service which I feel is inferior in features, price or value.

Jealousy will easily lead to bitterness when left unchecked. Because of this, one might even write an snarky article about your competitor or leave rude comments on other blogs about their business or site.

Unless the competitor in question has directly attacked your reputation or product, this is usually unnecessary, time consuming and futile. It’s important instead to develop goals and markers for measuring your own success.

While it sounds like a zen-cliche, your strongest competitor is yourself. Use others as yardsticks but discard them when they are a cause of constant stress or negative emotions.

Jealousy and envy are tools that motivate you to reach a similar level of income but it’s easy to let it overpower your thought processes and focus. Let it make you hungry for personal success and go no further than that.

Sometimes it’s just easier to not frequently compare your website with others because it can lead to disappointment and frustration.

Money and the Art of Happiness

The discontented Silicon Valley millionaires are stuck in the mold of social pressure and motivated by envy to make more money, despite the fact that they are already sustainable.

This is partially due to environmental influence and the fact that they place a heavy emphasis on acquiring social prestige and view money as an satisfying end-goal.

The article reminded me of what was discussed in The Art of Happiness(aff), a book I’ve read several years ago by The Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, an American psychiatrist. The premise of the book is as follows:

The purpose of life is happiness.Happiness is determined more by the state of one’s mind than by one’s external conditions, circumstances, or events—at least once one’s basic survival needs are met.Happiness can be achieved through the systematic training of our hearts and minds, through reshaping our attitudes and outlook.The key to happiness is in our own hands.

Perhaps something to keep in mind when you’re working hard to make money online.

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