The world is not fair. So much in our lives hinges on two things, where we were born and who gave birth to us. In both cases we have no say in the matter. The hand you’re dealt is the hand with which you must play the game.
I understand that I was dealt about as good of a hand as anyone could hope for. I was born in a first world country to a middle class family as a white male in a system that unfairly favors white males. My parents read to me as a child, were patient and loving, and taught me how to excel at school and at work. The list could go on, but you get the point.
Others are dealt more challenging hands in the game of life. You might be born into a much less privileged situation than I was. I can imagine it is easy to disregard my thoughts and advice from that perspective, “Yeah, he can save money and invest it because he was born into a privileged life!”
I agree. I acknowledge that I will never fully understand anyone else’s perspective but my own, and my privilege may keep me from seeing things as others do. That being said, I believe that everyone’s unique perspective is valuable, and we all have things we can learn from each other. In the last few years I have had the opportunity to learn a great deal from hearing about different perspectives and life experiences.
And I want you to learn from mine!
I want the secret equation to become wealthy to be common knowledge. I want it to be a tool that everyone uses, not just those from privileged backgrounds. I want everyone to know the benefits of consuming less. I want everyone to know how to use a Roth IRA to achieve a comfortable retirement. I want everyone to have access to information that they can use to improve their lives if they so choose.
No matter who you are, I believe the ideas I discuss here are applicable to you. Everyone can benefit from simplifying their life or taking a closer look at how they’re spending their time and money. There is not a single human on this planet who is perfect, therefore we all can improve. Since people are still drinking toxic sludge, still buying $3,000 chairs with money they don’t have, and still spending billions on storage units for junk they don’t use, I’d say we have a lot of improvements left to make. #MoneyGoals
(Pictured: Hope Outdoor Gallery. Austin, Texas. March, 2015)