Does money create happiness? – not necessarily.

 Michael Jackson and Prince

Overtime there have been many people who have been privileged or worked hard for their fortune only to be unhappy. Michael Jackson and Prince are two superstars who come to mind immediately. They work hard all their lives to build their careers and then tragically died.  Both men died from the same type of phentanol drug overdose.

Michael Jackson had quite a bit of controversy throughout his career with talk of inappropriate relationships with young children. These accusations I’m sure would not have helped his state of mind.

Apparently Prince was in constant pain from all the extensive touring he had done throughout his life. He became addicted to painkillers and they eventually contributed to his downfall.

Michael Jackson and Prince had enough money between them to probably run one of the smaller countries in the world but were still unhappy. Everybody loves stars and are jealous of their wealth and lifestyle but there now seems to be an endless list of unfortunate outcomes in their lives.

Michael Jackson, Prince, Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), Michael Hutchence (INXS) and Kurt Cobain(Nirvana) all had issues that made them unhappy when from the outside they seemed to be living an enviable lifestyle.

You need a passion a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

Many people have a passion to get out of bed every morning but unfortunately sometimes that passion can also be your worst enemy.

Arianna Huffington had been working on her business the Huffington Post for two years. She was spending 18 hours every day working until finally she collapsed in her Los Angeles office. She was clearly successful by most standards but she said “I was clearly not successful if I was lying in a pool of blood in the floor of my office,” Huffington told HuffPost Live’s Caroline Modarressy Tehrani, recalling the tumble that left her with a broken cheekbone.

Arianna went through many doctors tests as she was sure she must have a brain tumour or similar to have such a dramatic collapse. But then she discovered that “what was wrong with me was the way I was leading my life. And what was wrong with me is what’s wrong with a lot of people.”

She was overworked and collapsed from shear exhaustion.

Arianna changed her life.

Arianna Huffington realised before it was too late that her lifestyle was dramatically affecting her health and it was then that she made the decision to work less and eventually sell Huffington Post for a handsome profit. She changed her lifestyle and I’m sure has not looked back! I suppose it was one of those aha! moments when she realised that life is too important and although money is very helpful it can also affect you like a drug. You can become driven by the need to succeed instead of the need to create a good lifestyle for yourself.

What is success?

Success can mean different things to different people but to me it definately doesn’t mean creating a fortune while risking your health and happiness. How many things do we really need? People often say they “want something” but if they really thought about it it’s probably not something they “need”.

Michael Jackson and Prince both had hugely successful careers but they both died alone. I don’t think either had a partner to share their lives with at the time and both seemed sad lonely people even though they were adored by millions. All they left was a huge pile of money for family and friends to probably argue about.

I suppose extreme wealth can sometimes bring with it extreme ideas about what to do with it. Then again, sometimes I’m surprised by people like Warren Buffet (the richest person in the world) who still lives in the same $31,500 house he bought in 1958. He says he has been on expensive yachts and in luxurious homes but that they don’t make him any happier than his own humble home.

I think Warren Buffet is a great man and we could all learn from people like him. If more people were as humble the world would be a happier place.

My idea of success is to live a modest, comfortable life and retirement in a gracious, humble and content fashion.  That’s my plan and I hope to make it happen.