Seeking and Finding Wholeness

While in college I started to get obsessed about becoming rich. Being me, I started to research the topic. I was told to find how the rich became rich and to learn from them, so I did that and met with a bank owner and a wealthy local real estate owner in the town I lived in; I asked them how they made it and took notes diligently.

I still have these notes. Today I dug out a good-sized pile of printouts and notes, the cream of my research into becoming rich. I had spent years researching and accumulating these notes. I heard all sorts of advice, I read all sorts of books and articles. Some of the advice was really useful and it works as general life advice.

As I write this, the pile sits on the floor next to me. My pile of papers includes articles titled ‘The top givers’, ‘The 50 most generous philanthropists’, some were printouts of Forbes 400 profiles, articles on strategies to get rich, incorporating, budgeting, investing, stocks, home ownership, real estate investing, credit card terms, personal finance education, protecting my identity, credit reports, credit score info, 401k articles, being self employed etc.

The pile includes many pages of notes I wrote summarizing a couple books written by a couple famous real estate investing authors (I am withholding their names because they don’t deserve free publicity). My notes also include research on renting homes, being a landlord, inspecting homes, purchasing houses along with city research.

As a result of my interest I ended starting a small business, I also purchased a home that I rented out partially. Successively I started another business and researched multiple small business ideas. Some of these businesses involved selling electronics and selling dietary supplements. I eventually learned that you must enter into a business solely to want make money, you need to actually like the field. Do not start a business selling electronics if you yourself do not like electronics, if you do you will be frustrated quickly even if you are making a profit. Your business must align with your values and philosophy on life. First you must have a passion, a calling, and then comes the income. First, you must know your passions.

To say the least, I traversed a road in life that included a lot of learning, but it all seemed to lead me to now. A lot has changed in the last year, for the better.

Now I find myself seeking things other than seeking being rich. In fact, I don’t care about being rich. Don’t miss interpret this; I still want to own a business, I do want to make money of the ads I place in this blog, I do want to make a difference in this world, and I do need to make a living, etc..

But I am doing (and will continue to do) all that in a very different mindset than the one I had when I accumulated that pile of papers, I feel a need to seek wholeness, not to seek money.

I just threw that pile into recycling, poof it’s gone.

Seeking wholeness has been far more enriching than seeking money.

Further, I beleive that if I seek wholeness and my true passions, that I will be happier and more fullfilled, financial success should follow, if it doesn’t it wont be the end of the world. It is the journey that counts, not the destination.

Let me hear from you, leave a comment.