Have you ever heard the expression “Crabs in a Bucket?”
“When a single crab is put into a lidless bucket, they surely can and will escape. However, when more than one share a bucket, none can get out. If one crab elevates themselves above all, the others will grab this crab and drag’em back down to share the mutual fate of the rest of the group. ” – Urban dictionary
Have you ever felt this way? When I was a kid, I felt like I was different. I knew that I wanted to be wealthy. I believe very strongly in abundance. However, the people around me all seemed to have different attitudes. When I shared my goals and dreams, I was met with discouraging advice. I believe that we can all have what we want, but I kept hearing the word “greedy” every time I talked about the wealth that I wanted to amass.
I spent some time thinking about the word “greed” over the last several years… I can understand that there is a lot of greed and corruption, but I don’t believe it is as it seems.
Greed is defined as this;
“a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed”
There are two things that I’d like to draw attention to. Let’s start with “selfish”. If you and a friend are sitting at the dinner table and there are two slices of pizza. You grab both before your friend gets a chance to take one, then I would describe that as being greedy. However, if there were four slices to start and you took two are you still greedy? You still had two slices, why are you greedy in one example but not in the other. It comes down to the finite number of slices. If you take more than your share, then you are selfish and greedy. However, if there were unlimited slices of pizza and you ate until you were satisfied then no one would mind.
When it comes to money, there is no “limit”. Today, currency is not bound to gold as it once was. When we need more money, it just gets printed. Therefore, earning as much money as possible is not a selfish act since you are not taking it away from anyone else. Assuming you are earning your income ethically and with good values.
The second part is “than is needed”. Let’s face it, we all need money. Even though we may say that money is not important, we all know that is a lie. We need money to pay our bills. The irony, is that the more money you HAVE, the less money you NEED. If Donald Trump were to visit your city, how much would he need to pay? Nothing! Everyone would be happy to have him as a guest. He would likely spend a lot of money and even donate to a local charity while he is in town because that is what wealthy people do! However, he doesn’t “need” money because he has plenty. Those who “need” money are those who don’t have it, and often times, they tend to justify their lack by saying things like… “Money is not important”.
I now believe that I am not alone and that there are many people who believe as I do that the world is filled with abundance and love. We do not have to make decisions based on fear that someone is going to get ahead of us. Instead, we can use each other to propel ourselves higher. Find someone with similar visions and goals of achievement and use each other to bounce ideas off of and more importantly for encouragement and recognition.
In large cities, it may be easier to find like minded individuals that are ready for success and abundance. In smaller cities it may be harder to find those who want to achieve financial freedom. I think a lot of the reason is because people like me left the small town. However, I’ve come back and I am confident that there are many more like me… Are you one of them?
