Friday, April 4, 2014

Money, Money, Money...

Please answer the following prompts in a detailed, fluent response. Make sure to comment on other people's views within your own response. Take your level of thinking higher. Make sure you are beingthorough and honest.
What are your perceptions of material wealth/money? What is "wealth"? Do we see too much excess today? If your financial status a reflection of how successful you are? What is success to you? Are we always wanting more? Do we "want" too much? Is being content or fulfilled enough? When is enough, enough?

24 comments:

  1. My perceptions of material wealth/money are that they are very controlling. People let money control their entire lives. They let it dictate everything they do. Wealth can be interpreted in many different ways. In the most literal ways or in figurative ways. To be literally wealthy is to have lots of money. To be figuratively wealthy could mean that someone has lots of friends, family or love in their life. I think that there is too much excess in some of the things in our lives but also we lack a lot of things that would make us happy. Your financial status is not necessarily a reflection of how successful you are. In a sense if someone has a lot of money we do naturally think they are successful. There are other ways to judge success though. To me to be successful is partly your financial status but that is not the most important part. It is about whether or not you love your job, you are married, and most importantly if you are happy. To me, if someone is happy then they are successful. I think people always want more but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I think people want certain things too much. Yes, to me being content and fulfilled is enough. Enough is enough based on the person. Everyone is capable of handling different things.

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  2. I believe that many people would talk about how wealth and money is unimportant and that real wealth can be found in honest and virtuous people because they think that that is the one true answer that people want to hear. However, these are the same people who are wishing to go on an extravagant vacation this summer and would love to get a new car. Who could blame them? They’re just human beings and financial wealth can make life easier. That’s not an opinion. There are factual advantages to money that can improve quality of life. Everything in life has consequences. Consequences are both good and bad. The consequences of a 9-5 employee could be a smaller paycheck but they get to spend more time with their families because they know exactly what hours they have to work and what days they will have as vacation days. The consequences of a business owner could be a risk factor of a profit, unpredictable hours and wages, but maybe with the time they put into their job they could have the money to spend on a family vacation where unforgettable and fulfilling memories are made. Each lifestyle has wealth in it but they are perceived in different ways. We will always want more. It is good to continue to reach for different kinds of wealth because there is no limit and it is human nature to strive. Only an individual can decide when they are content. No one’s life goal is complete until they’re no longer living.

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    1. Alan, this is a very different way of looking at it, but it is totally valid. I guess for everyone it is a little different but it is what you make of the things that you want to put importance on.

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  3. I think that wealth created as a way to barter and trade for what we wanted is us lying to ourselves. Our IDENTITY now comes from how much we have accumulated of what we want, and what the social standard is for us to want. What a GREEDY AWFUL PLACE WE LIVE IN. We dictate our lives on accumulating PIECES OF PAPER that are 2.61 inches wide and 6.14 inches long. I can’t say that I would do great without it because the generation I have been raised in is where I’ve learned I can’t live without it in some sense, whether it’s to get the energy I need to ingest for the day, or if its to accumulate a big enough stack that I can stand on, so I tower over someone else. This is how the difference is between old and new money in the 20’s and it’s how we see today. The MORE you have the BETTER A PERSON you are. You don’t have to follow the same laws if you can buy out the police, the lawmakers, and the tax collectors. We believe the higher you rest on your pile of money gives you POWER over someone else! And we think that racial/marriage/discrimination issues are what are destroying relationships? TRY 2 INCH BY 6 INCH PIECES OF PAPER. In the 20’s two different people could have the exact same amount of money, but they weren't equals! If you were from OLD money then you had the ability, even the RIGHT to look down on the person who worked their ass off to get the same amount of money, and in the system they did it for what? Because it doesn’t matter whether the “new” money is the same amount, or even MORE because they won’t even get the respect for working for what they have. It’s so stupid that this is the way the world has been working. It seems to me that the people who had to get out of their comfort zone and work and sweat for what they earned should be the ones who are in the power. People say, “the sky’s the limit,” and I don’t think its right to crush people’s hopes and dreams but if your dreams are based on the idiocy that money is where the happiness will get you where you want to be, you’re an idiot. And if its really about achieving happiness not the social status, well then you, my friend, were living under a rock, because there are things like PEOPLE that should be receiving more of your time because you won’t EVER achieve happiness when you will never stop wanting more. And the idea that your status of success is determined by money? Since when was a system of classes which would mean inequality between two different persons, the point of life? Who knew that when the whole system of trading pieces of metal would morph society into a place where people are dependent on the pieces of metal and slips of paper.

    The higher stack of money you sit on the further you have to fall off.

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    1. Mandee, that was very well said and I agree 100%!

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  4. I think the idea of money in our generation is interesting. Because like others have said in its own way it is like an identity, what can you by and how fast can you get it. But yet we try to be independent from money and we try not to let money influence too much of our lives. But I would say that money and wealth are to different things, before money and wealth was the same thing but not any longer money is, like I said before, what you can buy and how fast you can get it or in pother words how much money you have access to. Yet wealth is I would say is how you use the money you have. Weather you spend it all on items to improve your present life, or if you are saving it to help your future self. And it all because there are so many knew things that are constantly thrown at us constantly. For example apple makes a brand new and improved iPhone every year. Its so integrated into society that spell check makes sure that you don’t spell it wrong, and I just think that is so crazy. People act like it makes you better if you get every new phone the day it comes out, but it doesn’t like you understand that you just spent a bunch of money for something you don’t need that doesn’t bring you anything except bragging rights for a bunch of people who don’t care. I’d much rather be able to say that I changed someone’s life or inspired something in someone than say that I have something that you don’t. But you know what apple has it made because people are always going to by the new phone and they just get the profits of it all. Maybe it is too much I fear for future generations what does this mean for them is it good or bad maybe this is how we get launched Into those futuristic societies that you often see in movies I don’t know. But I do know that the world is not what it was ten years ago. Fun fact the first iPhone debuted in 2007 think about how crazy that is.

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  5. Wealth is different for every person. Some think that having a lot of money is what everyone should strive for and is the only way to be successful. Others think the opposite, that you should determine how successful a person is by what kind of person they are and how they live their life. I don't think that in order to be successful you have to have a lot of money. However I think someone is successful if they are doing whatever makes them happy. Whether that is having a big house, a nice car and five vacation houses in Hawaii, or if that is living a life that is more focused on trying to be the best person you can and less on the materialistic objects. In society today it seems that the idea of money and wealth only bring judgment. Those that have a lot of money may look at a person with a low paying job and not a lot of money and think that they have accomplished nothing in their life and therefore are inferior. But on the other side a person with a low paying job and not a lot of money may look down upon someone with more money and think that they are superficial and doesn't care about anything accept their paycheck. Either way you look at it, it just brings judgment. No one likes to be judged. In my opinion I don't think it is necessary to buy all the latest and greatest gadgets and I much rather focus on improving who I am as a person than the amount of money in my bank account. But I don't look down upon those that do. We all have a different idea of how we should live our lives. So why should we look down upon others for doing what makes them happy? Wealth is measured in different ways for different people. One definition of wealth is an abundance or profusion of anything. We should let people find what that anything is and as long as it makes them happy and they are proud of their life and what they have done then they are successful.

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  6. Wealth can be two different things. Just like Sarah said, we all have different views. One is your wealth of knowledge; as in your experiences. I believe if you have love in your life you are wealthy. You cannot buy love or friendship even though people joke about it. If someone cares about you, you are lucky. Then on the flip side of the coin I see wealth as money. If a person has a lot of money, they are wealthy. Sadly, in the world we live in today, if a person is wealthy financially they are successful. We don’t typically think the guy flipping burgers is successful. The guy who owns the restaurant and ten others just like it, is the wealthy one.
    When looking as wealthy as in love, we don’t want more. If we are with people we truly love we don’t want or need more. I have never wished for a new mom to love me or a new dad to support me. I am happy and content with the people in my life right now. On the other side, we, I, am greedy. I want new skis, even though mine are perfectly fine. I think it’s human nature to always feel that need for new material things. I don’t think we will ever have enough. There will always be that need, or drive to get more “stuff.” I feel that people with so much stuff, think it’s filling that love wealth. It’s finding that balance that makes people truly wealthy.

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  7. Wealth has a different meaning to every person. It can be money, happiness, honesty, the list goes on. And even though it's sad to say many people in our world today believe that the more money and success you have the more wealthy you are. I'm agree with that statement. But I also agree with people like Jennifer who say that having love makes you wealthy. I think that if you are doing something with your life that makes you happy that's what makes you wealthy. I also think that ties in with success. Success can mean many things as well. It can mean you have tons of money, friends, love, it's continuous. So I believe the two go hand in hand. If you are happy and content doing what ever you are doing then that will make you both wealthy and successful. And when you realize that. That's when enough is enough.

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  8. Similar to previous responses wealth is defferent depending on your personal opinion. The obvious answer to what is wealth seems to be money. Many people want to make enough money to be able to live a life suitable to their needs. Wealth can also be how you view life. If you live a happy life and enjoy what you have you can be wealthy. I like viewing wealth like this because it brings me joy but for others it all depends on how you view the world. Financial status can be a way of looking at success but it is like wealth, it depends on how you view the world. success can be determined by job, but if a person is in a low salary job and is just as happy as a multimilionair, they are both equally successful. The Person with the higher paying job may have worked harder to get their job but that is because they either wanted the job or wanted a life style that needed money. To me success just depends if you reached your goal in life. If a person wants to be a janitor and they got that job, they were succesful. It is all about trying to get what makes you happy. People do want more but not because we are all greedy. People just want to try new things. When we want something we have to try for it. Most people dont want too much because in the long run it benifits many people. If some one keeps wanting and wanting they will have to keep working and working. Their work will benifit the company and they should feel that they accomplished a step towards getting what they want. Being content is enough. If I am happy and dont want to go out buy something I wont. I am perfectly fine with what ive got. Although their will always be something that I want I am fine with what I have got.

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  9. If you are talking about the definition of wealth it simply means the amount of money somebody has. But, to other people wealth can be there families, their friends, or simply being able to do the things in life they enjoy most. I do not think there is too much excess. If a person has worked hard in their life i believe that they are entitled to get and have what they desire. On the other hand though there is a point where there may be too much excess and that is when people reach the points when they just start impulse buying things. I think for the most part yes that a financial status does show how successful someone is. It shows how a person if they are working hard can achieve success. But, success can also be measured on if a person has found true happiness. If there is a man who loves his family very much and he is truly happy then yes he too can be successful. To me success is to one day have a steady well paying job and to have a happy family with me. In my opinion people are always wanting more or better. But, this is not a problem because people will work harder to get it. And it is for the most part human nature to want more and better things. I think that some want to much and this may be a problem because people may go crazy just trying to get what they want. Enough is enough when someone is truly happy with what they have. On the other hand though enough is when we lose sight of what we need to care about.

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  10. Like other people have mentioned wealth is different to every single person. Someone's meaning of wealth could be just a fraction of what someone else's is. Then there are the people that don't even really associate wealth with money. I don't really think we see excess wealth, especially when we all see it differently. Your finical status is and is not a representation on how successful you are. Sometimes it can show that you have really done a lot in this world, like new money and other times it can just mean nothing when you were born into it like old money. There are also cases where people have accomplished a lot of things in life and money has nothing to do with it. Again it just all depends on how you look at it. I do kind of think we are always wanting more, I don't really know why that is maybe because wealth can translate to having power, which just about everyone wants. Sometimes I do think we can want to much because we just think it will get us what ever we want. Absolutely being content and fulfilled is enough that is why you are feeling content and fulfilled because you feel like you have done what you needed to do. Enough is enough when you feel content and fulfilled.

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  11. To me, wealth is something different to everybody like Sarah and Amy said. Wealth can mean a variety of different things, and not all of it is depending on the amount your paycheck says at the end of the day or how much money you have in your bank account; which to many people, that is the first thing that comes to their heads. And personally to me, wealth has nothing to do with how successful you are. Wealth has to do with what you are doing to make your life happy and that is all that truly matters. In my perspective, you don't have to have a huge house with the fancy cars and the million dollar pool and accessories. If you have someone in your life that makes you happy and you live the life you want to live, then you have all the wealth in the world. And success is kinda the same way for me too. Clearly not everyone can be the doctor that makes thousands of dollars. Success to me is doing whatever you do to make yourself happy!! If you live in a huge house with a beautiful wife or husband and have the nicest things in the world, then you have success. If you live in a tiny apartment with a spouse you love and you're happy doing what you're doing with your life, then you have success. Success is based on what the common person describes "wealth" as. But I do think we want too much sometimes. I think that everybody has this idea of perfect wealth in their mindsets that it makes them only think of ways to get more which makes everybody want too much. What I think is enough is based on your happiness. If you are happy, then you have all of the success and wealth people could dream for.

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  12. Money is important but is it everything? No it is not, Should money dictate a persons happiness and wealth? No I know for a fact that you do not need money to be happy and live a fruitful life. I believe money has way too big of a foothold on our generation and we cant break free. We live in a time of excess, excess food, excess money. And we continue to want more and more. As Americans I feel we believe that the more we have, the more we have accomplished. But this is false, If a man makes millions but he is lonely has a wife that is fake and superficial, kids that are snobs and fake relationships compared to someone who make little money but has a real life with real connections with real love. Whos the winner there?

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    1. True but are you saying that being weatly materially doesnt make you happy? I do agree with what you said about rich vs poor earnings, but I could vouch for being happy with lots of money. But also more importantly I think we live in a world focus on and surrounded by money and accomplishment. Sadly men and women will prioritize money over everything else in their lives.

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  13. My perception of wealth and material things is that they don't necessarily matter. We just live in a society that has so much focus on material positions. Wealth to me is being full of life and having a passion to live your life. Wealth is being satisfied of what you have become in this world. We see to many people trying to fulfill their lives with material things and money and it reflects on to our children creating a need to have a bunch of money. Your financial status does not have a reflection on the wealth of life you live.

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  14. My perception of money is that people think they need money in order to be happy. If you have lots of money then you are a very successful person. But having lots of money to I think does not mean you are a successful person. I think some people think in order to be happy they have to have lot of money. But I don’t find that true because I know many people who don’t have a ton of money and they are some of the nice and happiest people. The people who have lots of money yeah they may be happy but they are not the kindest people in the world and they think they are better than other people. You should not love someone because they have a lot of money you should love them for them. If you have a friend you should be friends with them because you have lots in common or whatever not because they buy you things. I think money controls people’s lives and that money is the biggest reason why people are stressed and worry about money so much. Being successful means you should be happy with the people who make you happy and you can be yourself doing what you love. Not how much money you’re making. People always want more because they think it will impress someone and people are never happy with what they have they always have to have the latest phone or computer. I say if your happy with your life and what you do then you are successful. That should be enough. -Meranda

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  15. I think wealth is based on money, but not just money. Relationships, people, love, all of that stuff is wealth to me. People can be very wealthy in many ways many different ways. Being successful is not about how much money you make or how many cars you can buy, it is about being happy. If you are happy with your life and happy with how you are living life then to me you are successful. Peope get to caught up in money and how buying the latest and greatest IPhone or Computer is the way to show that you are wealth; its not. If you show that you are happy with your life and doing ok, then that should be enough for yourself and for you to be successful.

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    1. I agree, Taylor. I think the things that last are what wealth is. Money comes and goes but the important stuff is the stuff you were talking about.

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  16. I think that people let money define them. I dont like this because you are either looked down on if you don't have a lot of money or you are looked up to if you have a lot of money. It makes it so that equality can never exist. People look down on people who don't have a lot of money because they cannot buy the material things that people with more money could. Its sad because most people can't help it if they have money or not and the people struggling to get money are treated badly because the wealthy take advantage of them. I don't think the way people think of you should be based off of the amount of money you have it should be based off of how good of a person you are. I think you can be not as wealthy as some and be more successful. I think to be successful all you have to do is live life and achieve what you want to achieve even if it has nothing to do with money. Its not about how many materials you have or is you have the biggest house, its about your happiness and if you are happy and content with what you have. People crave more and more and its all stuff you could probably live without.

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  17. People may say wealth is having an abundance of money or just simply happiness. Personally I would say it is however you intepret it. If you feel good from a moddest happy life then yes I would say your wealthy. As would I if you had $100 million. In todays society I feel people are defined as sucessful or not by the financial status. Hardly ever do I see people referring to someone as successful by anything but material wealth. Success is what someone feels when they've met or exceeded a desired goal. Of course we are always wanting more. We were all taught as kids to shoot for the moon and reach out as far as possible. Sure I support the idea of being optimistic about your future and wanting it to be great. But if everyone shot out for the moon, there would be no one else left on earth. The point Im trying to make is that, realistically, we cant all have that be true. Some people will be millionaires and some will be trash men. Which brings me to fulfillment and contentment. I think you can never be at a point to where you have to stop. It all comes down to a mental decision to decide if enough is enough to you.

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  18. Wealth is excess. I believe wealth is often times accompanied with greed and that is what causes a negative outcome of it. My dad always says he knows a little about a lot. Isn’t that what we need? A little bit of everything, just enough. Not a lot of little. But, that’s the problem is having too much of one thing, like money and then it skews your perception of what is important. Too much focus on one thing is not good. Now, wealth is not always bad. Having a wealth of knowledge, love or happiness is always a good thing. But it is when the greed sneaks in and takes away the wealth of the positive things, that it gets ugly. Some of the wealthiest people in the world are unbelievably giving and loving, pouring out all they have for others and due to their generosity, the wealth comes back around and they always have what they need. Whether that is the money or the love and community that comes from giving. That is wealth. Love. Happiness. Generosity. Gratitude. Respect. Peace. Joy. Patience. Of course, having a wealth of these things would make the world a better place but there is too much money blinding people. Excess of one good thing leaves no room for another. Be well versed. This translates into success as well. Yes, in the world we live in, money does, to an extent, represent success. But think about it, if giving comes back around and I believe it does if it is for the right reasons, then you will always have what you need and it will allow you to drop the worry and be the most loving, giving, peaceful person the world has ever seen. And that is what everyone is really searching for isn’t it? That is success. Yes, we are always wanting more and we always want more than we need. But giving will end in receiving and no more want. Being content is not really enough for most people. But should it be? Maybe not being content is what drives success, which leads to wealth, not necessarily of money. On the other hand, being content and at peace with yourself allows you to give more to others. So it all comes back around

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  19. i think wealth is the only thing that we can rely on judging others for. This may sound horrible but i see it almost as racism; in the past you were "better" if you were white and had more privileges and short cuts, but blacks were put down and treated unlike human beings. That is how i see wealth in our society now. I see that a (money) rich person is more influencing and has more demands filled than the lower class. I think its wrong that since some people either couldn't get through high school or college or doesn't have good enough skills to get a well paying job should define who they are. Too much is expected from everybody nowadays, kids are expected o do a million things a day along with trying to deal with themselves personally, adults are pressured to make a ton of money and have Audis and Escalades or they are not "successful" Its wrong that there is only really one way people view wealth and success.

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  20. I believe that todays idea of wealth and money started in the 1950s with the boom of consumerism. All of a sudden it was all about, “Keeping up with the Jones”, and the way to do that was to buy new and improved things. But wealth not just a collection of things you have sitting on your shelves, or shoved in a closet. And because of this consumerism we are constantly told we want more. More clothes, more electronics, more stuff. And before long it becomes a competition of who is more wealthy. In reality, wealth has nothing to do with your social status, or the money you have in the bank. Wealth is happiness. It is the people you love, and the ones that make you laugh until your abs hurt but you keep laughing anyway. Wealth is adventure. It is new experiences, and learning from them. Wealth is feeling on top of the world, and hitting rock bottom all in one life. Wealth is knowledge, which is a right denied to people all over the world. Once we start seeing the wealth in the basic rights that are given to us, maybe we will stop looking to “things” for happiness.

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