Do You Need Money to be Successful?
Posted on July 05, 2022 by Harry Goldberg, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
Money is a key to success, but not the only key. If you want to build wealth, then you need to learn how to master your worth.
Most people fall into one of two categories:
1. The pursuit of money is the cause of unhappiness
2. Money brings me everything I need and the pursuit is essential
And they are both true. Depending on how you approach them.
Here’s a certainty: If you don’t have enough resources, you will lack the ability to create change in your life & impact in the world.
Money can’t buy you happiness, but it sure does help!
“Holistic Success”
If you’ve been following for a while then you’ll know I created the Success with Purpose podcast. The purpose of the podcast is to define “holistic success” by learning about their journeys, perspectives, mindset & purpose.
And it has become abundantly clear that success depends on 3 key factors.
1. Achievement – Beyond what others expect of them
2. Enjoyment – It’s energising to wake up every day
3. Impact – Positive and lasting impact on their families, communities and society
Let’s look at each of these factors from a money perspective.
Achievement:
Love it or hate it, money is an exceptional measuring tool to define progress. You know you’ve progressed in your career when you have more responsibility and are of more value to the businesses you work in. Our economy works by remunerating people for their value in a range of ways but they can all be measured in “cost to the business” vs “benefits to the business”.
The same applies when you are self-employed and your clients are paying you. Or when you are in a supportive role at home allowing your partner to be unburdened in being more valuable to their employer. Or even when you are a professional trader. You need to have financial success to know you’ve added tangible value to others.
If you are being paid more, you are achieving more.
Enjoyment:
This one is more subjective. I’m a big believer in taking ownership of how we feel especially when we can’t change our circumstances.
Generally speaking, though, when you have more financial resources, it’s easier to enjoy life. Perhaps you can afford a cleaner to do the things you don’t want to do. Or you can afford great experiences for your children which you enjoy experiencing from a far. You can drive a nicer car, you can go on more holidays, you can afford proper healthcare, you can attend personal development seminars, or you can hire coaches & psychotherapists to help you improve your life. The list is endless.
What can money do to help you feel energised every day?
Impact:
This has the clearest link with money of all three factors. Have you ever wondered why the most impactful people you’ve heard of have also accumulated huge amounts of resources?
These resources don’t just need to be cash or investments. They can also be support from others who have a lot of money. And when you take a look closer, these supporters & followers are only able to support these influential individuals because of the wealth they have.
Religious figures, presidents, charity founders…they don’t need to have a single dollar to their name, but they do need to commandeer resources to create impact in the world. And those who create impact that decide to also accumulate wealth end up being exceptionally financially wealthy too.
What does this mean?
You don’t “need” money to be happy, but, without it, will you really know you’ve achieved? Will you truly enjoy the experience as much as without it? What will your legacy be?
Money alone is not success – There are countless “rich” individuals who do not have much “wealth”. They may be high on the corporate ladder, a nice house & car and plenty of cash in the bank but if they don’t have fulfilling relationships, if they don’t love what they do & if they don’t have their health, then their money counts for very very little.
A final thought:
I had financial advice clients a few years ago in their 40s who had almost paid off their multi-million $ home, had a sizeable investment portfolio, were on a household income north of $700k/pa and their greatest fear was that they won’t have enough money to retire. They had everything that most people want but…
…they did not live wealthy lives.
By this definition, they were not holistically successful.
If you might benefit from a life & financial audit, reach out for an intro call. We can clarify next steps for you to make great life decisions and live a life you truly love.
