"BILLIONAIRE TRADED MATERIALISM FOR TRUE HAPPINESS", was the headline in one of the articles posted on the Internet which made me curiously read through the entire text. It spoke about Thomas Monaghan , the co-founder of Dominos Pizza who sold the company in 1998 for $1 billion at age 61. Raised in an orphanage, Monaghan says he went through an unfulfilling materialistic phase when he became rich.
It suddenly triggered a question in my mind as to WHAT GIVES ONE TRUE HAPPINESS ? Thomas Monaghan had every possible materialistic luxury at his disposal. Yet he wasn't happy. That reminded me of another contrasting story of a village by a sea shore where the pre-dominant occupation used to be fishing.
A harvard graduate once happened to pass by the village and he complimented them on the quality of the fishes there and asked how long it took to catch them. The villagers replied,"Not much time." When the graduate asked them as to why don't they stay for long and collect more fishes, the villagers said that it was sufficient to satisfy their needs. And they could spend rest of their time with friends and family having drinks together, playing and having fun.
The graduate interrupted and put forth all his management knowlegde giving them ideas as to how by fishing longer, they can collect more fishes, buy more boats from the extra revenue earned and therby expand their business.The villagers asked, "How long would that take ?" He replied, "20 to 25 years". The villagers immediately asked,"Then what ?". To which the graduate said, "Then you can retire, spend quality time with family and friends and have all the fun." The villagers laughed sarcastically and said, "When we are already doing it now, then why waste such long time not enjoying ?
In short, best things in life aren't things. There must be more to life than having everything. So the next time YOU pursue towards a particular goal in life, do make sure if your pursual is worth the time you are investing in.
hey Neha
ReplyDeleteawesome post!..... keep them coming!
Hi Neha,
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Your post reminds me of a philosophical saying - "one cannot become happy; one can be happy."
Expecting more from you in the days to come.
- Ravi
good post/rishab kochar
ReplyDeleteHi Neha,
ReplyDeleteNice post.Keep posting.
In one of the Star Trek episodes the captain had to go back in time to fulfill one of his intergalactic missions. A peasant from the past asked him ‘How much do you earn being a captain of the ship?” To which the captain replied “Monetary benefits no longer motivates our race, we work for the betterment of Humanity”.
ReplyDeleteTill such time comes I believe money would be one of the things (I emphasis ‘one of’) linked to happiness.
Must say the blog page exhibits creative at its best… will hook on for more…
hey .. good ya .. :-) keep Posting
ReplyDelete