Dying poor is a conscious choice and an outcome of not living to our full potential
We can’t control where we are born, our family, our place, or our material circumstances at the time of birth. Bill Gates was criticized by many for saying, “if you are born poor, it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor, it’s your mistake.”Human evolution is such, and part of it is the scarcity many of us faced in our early lives that instantly we connect dying poor with how much money we generate in our lifetime. Sure, money plays a very important role in life. However, I agree that dying rich is not only about money. As I write in my blog:
Dying rich is answering yes to; did we live to discover our true potential. Did we create an atmosphere for emotional, personal, mental, financial, and spiritual growth? Did we become better people, contribute to the community, and leave the planet better than we found will define the richness of life.
Birth is the new beginning. The reference to the poor at birth can also be viewed as a blank page of a new story. How we live our life, set goals, whatever they are, and the experiences we gather on the journey to accomplish them will define how rich we are in the end. Dying poor signifies that we did not live to our full potential. Imagine yourself thinking on your deathbed that there were so many things you could have accomplished. This state is parallel to dying poor.
However, you can’t deny that money solves most problems and is a crucial component of many other life objectives. So, let’s first address the issue of getting rich.
Naval Ravikant says that every person on earth could become rich. The irony is that most people do not believe they could be rich. They accept it as their reality. Confucius said the man who says he can and the man who says he cannot…are both correct.
Creating wealth starts with a strong desire, unstoppable action, and the unshakable belief that the goal will be achieved. Unlike prior generations, where only a few entrepreneurs could get rich by executing industrial projects, others traded their time for a living. Technological developments over the last few decades laid the foundation accessible to this generation, providing tools and opportunities to create wealth.
Technology is an excellent equalizer by democratizing accessibility to various tools, including software, automation, and information/knowledge. Most of all, technology is taking on mundane tasks so that we can be creative in innovating novel business ideas, products, solutions, and services. This is how the new generation will create unprecedented wealth.
Peter Diamandis says if you can solve a problem for billion people, you have a billion-dollar business opportunity. Technology provides tools to experiment and create faster at an unprecedented pace, reach more audiences digitally and physically, even for your niche product or service, and a real-time feedback loop to improvise and maximize output.
Internet connectivity and computational power laid the foundation, but the next generation sets the stage for unparallel productivity and creativity. For example, think about how the breakthrough of GPT-3 and DALL.E will help create value by helping write code and design images.
The limitless creativity of human beings and unwavering persistence, combined with rapid innovation, will inevitably generate wealth.
However, I concur with many others that creating wealth should not be the sole goal; instead, it is about happiness, family, and many other qualities of life. I want to put this from a different perspective. Fulfillment in life is what you aim for. Now, fulfillment could have different definitions for people.
For the majority, it is about creating wealth, but many prioritize spirituality or taking care of the family as a primary objective. Nothing wrong with it. The key is leaving no stone unturned in achieving your calling. Suppose your life objective is to be spiritual or become a good father. Devote your life to it; the accomplishment will make you feel rich.
I’m sure you will agree that this is 100% our making, and everyone has a choice to be rich in this perspective. Rumi said, “What matters is how quickly you do what your soul directs.”
I have made my choice to create wealth and live a fulfilling life. Have you made a choice?
About the Author: Anurag Bansal positions his services at the confluence of hardware and the software needed to become more of what we are, push our limits, and become truly unstoppable. He helps understand how one can utilize unprecedented innovation (hardware) with creative imagination, a positive mindset, and organized action (software).
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