How Much Are We Willing to Pay for the Money We Make?
I am starting to re-read the modern classic, Start With Why by Simon Sinek. The premise of the book is that organizations and individuals who know their why will always outperform those that only know what they do and how they do it.
One question that I did not catch my first time through the book is, how much are we willing to pay for the money we make?
It is the kind of question that makes you scratch your head until you begin to understand the ideology behind it.
In the book, Simon gives the example of the major U.S. car manufacturer G.M. and their struggle in the 90’s to compete with Toyota.
At the time, G.M. held a large portion of the automotive sales in the U.S. but began to see that dominance dwindle as Toyota brought a cheaper product to market.
G.M. decided to offer money back to anyone who bought their product at a dealership in order to increase sales. The idea worked beautifully as G.M. recaptured market share from Toyota.
However, after a time the profit margins at G.M. became squeezed from all the money they were offering to folks to purchase their vehicles - executives made the decision to nix the free money for purchasing a G.M. product.
As you can imagine, when the well ran dry people stopped buying G.M. vehicles and the long term trend continued.
What Do We Sacrifice for Money?
The story of G.M. reminded me of successful individuals around me that gave up family capital or health capital in order to earn asset capital.
Our wealth is not measured by the amount of currency, crypto, or gold in our accounts - our true wealth is our time and our freedom.
Giving up time with our families has just as much effect on our wealth as working those extra hours. We lose freedom and joy at the expense of a few extra numbers.
I am not opposed to working hard and earning a better future for our loved ones. What we must not kid ourselves about is that every action has a reaction.
G.M. executives thought they were solving the problem of lagging sales by enticing new customers. What they missed was how much those extra sales were costing them.
When we miss why we are doing something, it does not matter how we do it or what we do, we end up losing in the end.
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Amen and amen.
Dalai Lama frame this paradox very well.
"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."
great post, i hope your vote
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Those are wise words, wow.
Very interesting post, lydon. I thought back over my teaching career and realized my major sacrifice was living in a commuter community in order to lower my housing costs. I did save money but sometimes spent 3 hrs. a day on the road
Knowing you, those 3 hours were spent listening to Intelligent people. :)
Ooooh...that quote! The small stuff and seemingly unimportant stuff....really good post Lydon. It certainly stopped me in my tracks to think about priorities and family.
I am reminded of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38) and choosing the better part.
What will I sacrifice today?
I loved that quote when I read it as well!
Mmm, Mary and Martha are a great example to ponder.
it's exactly as you said! Except the fact that we may sacrifice a lot of things around us like time with friends and family or in general happy moments later we gonna discover that we sacrificed part of our health too!
Exactly!
Nice post.
This got me and I'll say, it's not how long but how well we do whatever we do.
Great point. We can be doing something for a long time but if it is in the wrong direction, we are not further ahead.
Exactly
such a thought provoking post even i had to think after this
Glad it got your thought wheels turning. :)
It’s one thing to make money a central goal to escape poverty and provide for basic necessities. It’s quite another when money becomes our primary motivation and measure of success, or when we equate happiness or worthiness with wealth.
That is quite true. Focusing too much on any item allows it to rule us.
I make my self that question quite often, how much I'm willing to pay for the money I make? I'm willing to pay enough time so my family can have a nice life.
That sounds like a good balance.
very interesting take on this by you loved reading this post got to know the different perspective of it !
Always appreciate your comments @cityslicker!