I was talking to a good friend of mine and the conversation went to money and wealth. His father happens to be wealthy and he used the word “greedy” to describe rich people.
I stopped him right there since I wanted to understand more about how he was thinking. I asked him to define greedy… Interestingly enough, he couldn’t give me an answer other than “a person who has a lot of money”. Clearly that is not the definition.
I looked it up. Here is the “full definition” according to Websters.
a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed
This brought up so many questions.
How much money does one need? I suppose it would depend on their lifestyle. What does a person have to do in order to get this money? Do they need to do something they don’t like and get paid just enough to cover their basic expenses? Does this mean that a person can earn a passive income that covers basic expenses but no more?
I think, when it comes to money, the word “need” is extremely subjective. The word “selfish” and the word “excessive” are just as subjective.
Here’s how I see it… If there are 2 people and 4 pieces of pie. If one were to grab 3 before the other person gets a chance, then I think we can all agree that this is greedy. However, what if there were 10 pieces of pie and I grabbed 3. Would I still be greedy? Same number… but what has changed is the number of pieces to start with. I think someone is “greedy” if they take more than their share.
Here’s the thing about money. There is no limit. They keep printing more. A lot of people look at the gap between the rich and the poor and think that rich people take money from poor people and therefore they have “more than their share”. However, it doesn’t work that way. Rich people do different things to attract the money they have. Anyone (especially in North America) has the same opportunity. Many of us simply leave the money on the table since we are scared to take a risk and someone else comes and picks it up.
Opportunity is all around us, but for whatever reason most people don’t seize it. It is usually those same people that end up complaining about the gap between the rich and the poor.
Money is a powerful tool and if you can attract enough to pay your bills and enjoy life experiences, then you can use the surplus to start changing the world. Set up charities… Donate time and money to a cause. If you give more than you use for yourself you are definitely not greedy.
