What does kindness have to do with being wealthy?

I write about the world of money and finance. It tends to be a pretty dry, serious business. But I like to try and keep it light and remember the context of it all. Money is just a tool to use to live your best life. If you only care about the money, you will tend to never be happy and never have enough. It is people that make us happy. It is experiences. It is growing and learning.  Having money frees you to pursue happiness in its truest forms. I like to think of the freedom money buys as units of time.

Time is the truest form of currency and the only one that everyone gets the same amount of to spend. If you invest your time wisely you can reap the benefits. It is like money. If you invest money it creates more of itself and becomes a compounding return. Time is the same. If you invest your time, you will eventually have more of it to spend, but if you spend your time, you will eventually run out.

I like to think that most people are the same, and really are motivated by the same basic instincts. Some people tend to cross the moral boundary because it is in their nature, but I believe that those poor, lost souls are very small minority. I believe that most people who commit crimes, or lie, cheat and hoard are just desperate. They lack the very things that would give them the luxury of self-awareness; money and time.

Money is time and time is money. If everyone had all of their basic needs met, and the equal opportunity to develop themselves to their fullest potential, there would be an awful lot less crime and deceit. Most crime and greed is motivated by need. Yes, there is the odd crime of passion, but most unscrupulous situations are just a result of lack.

Kindness

We live in a world where there is a lot of mistrust and paranoia. We actually pay for people to be nice to us sometimes. Waiters, masseuses, therapists, entertainers and even prostitutes are all examples of people pretending to be kind to us in order to make a living. Sometimes we even believe them. We start to think that the only time people are nice to us is when they want something or have an hidden agenda. This is not the world I want to live in.

So, I make it a habit to be kind to people even when I have nothing to gain. I believe that I can make a difference in the world and that difference starts with my behaviours. I refuse to live my life in fear and mistrust. I like to think I am wise enough to know when someone is trying to scam me, but for the most part, I believe that being kind is just a way to start spreading happiness to those around me and hopefully it will have a ripple effect. I am ALWAYS in control of my actions so I can choose to be kind, without expecting anything in return.

I like to think of this as creating value, like I am always talking about. Money comes to those who create value for the world. People will happily pay you for something they consider valuable, so why wouldn't kindness pay you in kind? It probably won't return as money, but it could. It most likely will result in you attracting kindness back to yourself. That is fine with me. I like it when people are kind to me. It feels good. It makes me like them. It yes me want to do business with them. Kindness is awesome.

I believe that the universe reflects back to you what you put out. A thief thinks everyone is a thief and a liar thinks everyone is a liar.  I also believe that if you are nice to people they will tend to be nice back. Ignore the people who are cynical and think everyone is on the take. They probably have lived a life whereby they encountered a lot of insincere people and may have been victims of broken promises themselves. Even if you get a not so nice response from them, be kind anyway. It costs you nothing and maybe you can be an example for them to change their mind. If you have no agenda other than spreading kindness, then you have done all you can do.

I am writing about kindness in a financial blog to shed light on the perspective that people come first. Money is just a tool. It is a system that we are immersed in, so we perhaps give it an unnatural amount of power over our mindset, but in the end it is just a means to an end. Gathering a fortune just gives you the ability to truly express your full potential as a human being, without the restraints of having to make a living, or putting food on the table. When you rise above "survival" as your primary purpose in life, you have the responsibility to become all that you can be and add value to the world. There is really nothing else to do. Being rich is not the end game. Being free to pursue worthy goals and shine your light on the world is.

So by all means, become rich. Just remember to do something worthwhile with it when you do. That doesn't mean giving it away, necessarily. That would be counterproductive. Use the time it buys you to contribute to the betterment of mankind, either through your efforts to become an amazing person, or through your time and attention towards a worthy cause. Kindness, just like love, is a verb, not a noun. You show kindness and love through actions.

I am not naive. I realize the world can be a nasty place sometimes. But we can sit around and complain about the state of the world or we can change it. We don't live in a bubble. The "world" is an amalgamation of all of us and our behaviours. We are a part of the collective soul of the planet. Be a great part of it.

As Ghandi said

"Be the change you want to see in the world"

Be the kind of person you wish everyone was.  This does not make you a sucker. This makes you a hero. It takes courage to be kind, sometimes. It take sacrifice sometimes. But kindness is worth being. I challenge you to be a kind person even when those around you are not. This is the true mark of superior human being. Be strong enough to be kind.