I watch Shark Tank a lot. It's really a fun show. For those unfamiliar/unplugged: A panel of five millionaire/billionaire entrepreneurs listen to starting entrepreneurs' pitches to invest in their businesses, and they either decide to or not.
One of the more arrogant and obnoxious judges, Kevin O'Leary, had just listened to a woman pleading and sobbing that her business was her life and that she would work hard to make good on the investment if they gave it to her.
After she left, before the cut to the commercial, he commented to his fellow panelists, "Never cry for money. It doesn't cry for you."
It was flip and off-hand, but I thought it was a great simple statement. As we know from YMOL, we all have a relationship with money. As with all relationships, there are emotions involved. Motivations for spending, for saving, for giving it an important place for your life, for fear that it will "abandon" you.
I think Kevin's comment said, in less than 10 words, is that it's just money. It's meant to serve us, not the other way around. As my uncle said, "it's just a means of exchange." But somehow it blows up to be so much more--we use it for power, status, identity, security. We invest hours, days, years, decades of our life energy for it.
With our house closing next week, I caught my husband in a tearful moment. He was misty over the fact that all the proceeds of the house next door are going for debt. I think he was hoping that we could continue on the painful path of writing checks every month--checks heavy-laden with interest so that it would have taken us for the rest of our lives to pay it back. He was hoping I'd keep writing the checks, and he could use this last bit of legacy from his mother for a small vacation home in Vermont. He wanted to be the man, the husband, the dad who was able at the end of the day to provide something of value to his family. Something that represented what his mother always wanted for us.
But it's a bit of an illusion. It's just money. It's not your status as husband or dad. It can't bring back your mother. It's just money. The reality is that in my case--the "present" state of my life energy will no longer be dragged down by the past, or mortgaged to the future.
I like that... "Never cry for money. It doesn't cry for you." I should embroider it on a pillow.