what money really means and how to get rich_77

I know now what that "something" is that Brad spoke about, that he

wouldn't tell me at the beginning of our conversation. What he and his staff

give the homeless people who turn to them for help is a sense of self-worth.

And that has nothing to do with money.

"It's easy for me, you know."

"What's that?"

"Skidding off the map, getting us down and out. I can easily imagine

these things."

"It's certainly a big fear. It's why I tap away so much on this keyboard. It's

why I constantly configure scenarios of doom. I've even begun to

think that that's what keeps us going."

"The dire images you have me conjure you really believe will become a

reality?"

"In a sense. What would become of us if we didn't do this, or do that."

"I can't imagine that ever really happening."

"Because of you, I suppose."

"Programmed, might I remind you, by you. Reality, the world you live in,

needs me to do more than just fantasize. I'm here to imagine new

heights, prevent us from falling to new lows. It's an upward climb, I

tell you."

"And you are imagining that you are the elevator that lifts us."

"If you're to be so perfunctory as to use ups and downs, highs and lows,

I suppose, yes. I prefer to imagine in a different way."

"Which is?"

"A helix explanation to life, a matrix that pushes and pulls, ebbs and flows."

"But that must begin with some basic foundations—food, shelter. Then

love and belonging, or security. With such solidity of mind, we can

move forward toward putting our ego into play, heading toward what

will make us, in the end, happy."

"And I've imagined—and I think you've so far proven—that money is the

ultimate promulgator toward that end."

"From your perspective, still, maybe. From mine, money isn't the proven

solution."

"Ah, yes. That's what you've been stuck on. Let me hand you a little something

I use quite frequently—actions, verbs, movement. You seem to

for that matter. It gets us places, places I conjure."

"So you could equate a lack of imagination with being poor."

"I've always imagined it that way. Look at some of the most creative people

we know. Do they lead 'better' lives than some of the richest people

we know?"

"Most, well, yes."

"They can do more with what they've got. It's not about the money. It's

about living well."

"Indeed, I look around us here in Positano, Italy. The house where John

Steinbeck created the most, or so he said, is just over there. It looks

out on to the sea. Below his balcony, a woman selling sarongs and

beach sandals sits happily in the shade, fanning herself. The cliffs

reach high into the clouds. Sun breaks through the crests in late

morning. Light refracts beneath the wake of yachts that moor or

simply cruise by, creating the most illuminating blue-green. A hat, a

book, a bathing suit is all that is needed to achieve a sense of

happiness. In fact, I'm immensely happy now. Put me in New York,

and things would be different."

"Because I imagine a different sense of happiness. Here, it's simple for

me—and therefore for you. I only have a few elements to work with

here. Happiness is just the fulfillment of basic needs, the surrounding

takes care of the rest—the sea and those cliffs you spoke of."

"That's why artists like it here. You can be put to better use, or something

other than everyday use, anyway. There's a bigger sense of fulfillment,

too."

"Yeah 'cause I have a mission. I have a world to create. There isn't enough

of one here."

"We shrink enough away from the real world and your power grows

substantially."

"But we get along nice enough, yeah?"

"Sure, you get your way most of the time. There's a danger in that, you

know."

"I imagine you're thinking of all those artists who realized the two worlds

could never join."

"Hence all those suicides. A shame."

"And you? I've had to imagine those circumstances as well. Usually when

you're quite down."

Maslow's hierarchy from those at the absolute bottom? And how

much does money make a difference?"

"I suppose I'd have to be exposed to having it all, from self-esteem on

down."

"Sort of what I was thinking."

"Because we think alike"

"But how do we get to the next level of love and belonging? I mean, I

can see how we can survive by fulfilling the basic needs. But how do

we step up?"

"In the context of money, it's getting it."

"And how do we do that?"

"There are only a few ways to get money: earn it, steal it, win it, or inherit

it. Whether any of those leads to having a sense of love and belonging

is a whole other question."

"Which I imagine we're about to try and answer."

"You said it."