How much is enough?

May 19, 2016
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

Australian-Money

It’s very likely that you feel that you could do with a few more dollars … then a few more … and several more after that. Having a few more dollars in our pockets and a few less unpaid bills piling up seems to be a very attractive idea.

But how much is enough?

John D. Rockefeller (1839 – 1937) is said to have had a fortune of around nine hundred million dollars. Measured in today’s dollars, his wealth would make him the richest person in the history of mankind. He was once asked how much money is enough, to which he answered, “one more dollar”. All he had still wasn’t enough. It wasn’t able to satisfy him. He always wanted more.

I found it quite a contrast to hear Dick Smith’s point of view in a recent interview on ABC TV. He said he didn’t have a desire to keep earning more and more money. Of course he has made a lot of money through a variety of businesses but he has come to the point of realising that continuing to chase the next dollar is a hollow pursuit.

It’s amazing how people don’t understand that. They think if you’re a successful businessman you must want to make more money.

I don’t want to make any more money. If I did, I would have stuck to electronics.

I could’ve become a billionaire, but no, I wanted to spend time with my family, to go adventuring, to put something back in, which I learnt from the scouts, and all of those things I’ve been so lucky to do. – Dick Smith

I remember research from about a decade back which said that only 1 in 20 Australian millionaires considered themselves prosperous. They said they couldn’t afford the things they needed and felt they had to make more and more money. Unfortunately, that attitude is likely to mean that they’ll never be satisfied with what they have, no matter how much their income rises.

I don’t always agree with Dick Smith but I reckon he’s got it right this time. Yes, he does have significant wealth already but he has identified those things that he wants to spend his life on like family, adventuring and putting something back. More than identifying them, he’s taken steps to prioritise those things over simply accumulating more wealth. He’s realised that one more dollar won’t be enough if he loses touch with what really matters to him.

I’ve heard people who chase after money say that it’s only for a season. They say they just want to get enough money for this or that and then they can slow things down a little and enjoy life. I’ve seen those ‘seasons’ extended time and time again while the things that should matter are pushed further and further into the background, often disappearing altogether.

Can I encourage you to decide what it is that you consider to be really important and then order your life accordingly. Not plan to make time for things that really matter further down the track but live like they matter today. Because if you don’t live like they really matter today, you might need to face the reality that they don’t actually matter to you at all.



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What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

February 18, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

You can often discover what people truly value when you find out what means the most to them. What is it that we believe we can’t live without?

More 4 Me is a documentary that follows film maker Lincoln Fenner of Creation Box Films through 7 countries across 5 continents as he asks everyone from actors and models to orphans and street sweepers the same simple question; “What’s the one thing you can’t live without?”

Are people in places like New York, London, Los Angeles and even Perth really that different from those living in a Kenyan orphanage, the slums of Nairobi or a remote Cambodian village? Is life really all about getting More 4 Me? Lincoln joined me in the studio this morning on 98.5 Sonshine FM.

Lincoln has been making films since 1999. His 2005 short film Another Chance was part of the Official Selection at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival and it screened in Manhattan that same year.

He holds a Diploma in Film Making (2001-2002) from the New York Film Academy (where he studied at their Universal Studios, Los Angeles school). In 2000, he graduated in London’s West End with a Foundation Certificate from Panico Films (now London Film Academy).

We spoke about the film and about the many answers people give to that one simple question. You can hear our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

What would your answer be? What is the one thing that you couldn’t live without?

I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or two in the comments section of this post.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR180211_1220.mp3]

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Giving it all away

June 4, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
5 Comments

aussie_money.jpgIt’s fairly widely known that Bill Gates has given away a large part of his $US40 billion ($AU48.7 billion) fortune in the fight against poverty and disease. Not content to miss the opportunity to do even more to make a difference, he’s once again encouraging other billionaires to follow his example and give away most of their money.

At a public debate in Oslo, the Microsoft founder has told the world’s richest people that they will find that they enjoy giving their wealth away.

I think all billionaires should give away the vast majority of their fortune.

I’m not saying they shouldn’t leave anything for their kids or to have a little bit for themselves but yes, I think they would enjoy it, I think their kids would be better off, and I think the world would be better off.

I’m a great believer that great wealth should go from the richest to the poorest. – Bill Gates

It’s easy for those of us without great wealth to look at Bill’s example and admire him for what he’s doing while at the same time thinking that the call to support worthwhile causes is only for those who can afford it.

I think the attitude is the same whether we have great wealth or not. We can have an attitude that says we’ve got to hang on to every cent we make or a generous attitude that looks for ways to help others with whatever we have. If we don’t develop a generous attitude when we have little we’re not likely to be generous if we ever find ourselves with wealth.

In the post Thinking about compromise by Seth Godin, he points out the fact that a lot of people who have more than enough are still trying to scrape together every dollar they can.

I know people with $50,000,000 in the bank who still don’t believe that they have enough, who still grind away at a job they don’t like trying to earn another penny.

Seth’s post is talking about attitudes to life and the way that rich and poor alike have to set their own values.

Are you waiting until you can afford it before you develop a generous attitude or are you already being generous in whatever ways you can already?

You and I may never be able to give away billions of dollars like Bill Gates has but we can still give away our time, our experience and our money to help those we can. I believe that we’ll find, just as Bill has found, that a generous attitude is far more fulfiling than the kind of attitude that only seeks to build our own empire.



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