More Important than Earning Money is the Wisdom How Best to Utilize It

To earn our living is a fundamental necessity imposed on us by nature. Only by earning can we fulfill our daily needs and enjoy other worldly means of happiness. But at the same time, it is equally true that money is not everything. Money is useful only as long as we use it as a means to attain inner satisfaction. There are so many people in the world who are wealthy but very unhappy and dissatisfied. They neither live a life of contentment nor do they make others happy.

Money's importance and value cannot be denied in today's times. The more the money a person has the more powerful, strong and superior he feels to others. Likewise, a financially weak person feels that he is incompetent and helpless. This attitude towards wealth, however, is prevalent only in today's society. In the history of our country, there have been several great men who despite their enormous wealth lived a very austere, and yet a very happy and contented life.

It is true that capital plays an important role in facilitating a person's progress. But wealth is useful only when the person who has it also has wisdom and righteousness. Else the same wealth can lead to innumerable wrongs and facilitate downfall of its possessor. Pride about wealth creates ego and conceit and leads a person to the path of misfortunes. On the other hand, worthy utilization of wealth refines the personality of a human being and makes him very useful to the society as well.

According to Maria Nemeth, a psychologist — "Money is like an energy, which fuels bravery within us. This energy can be positive or negative. So after acquiring wealth a person must become careful. If he understands the worth of wealth and learns its proper utilization, then he does not develop self-conceit."

Famous comedian Charles Chaplin had lived a life of penury in childhood and later, even after he had made a lot of money through his films, he never forgot that money is not everything. Likewise, Andrew Carnegie, the famous American oil baron who had amassed great wealth, donated all of it later to establish libraries for the poor. More than one fourth of all public libraries in America were built with Andrew Carnegie's donations alone. In an interview at a later date, he said the maximum contentment he attained in his life was not in becoming the richest person of the world but in building the libraries for the poor.

Money is only a means of commerce and trade. If a person loses his ethical values while acquiring wealth, it results in his moral downfall. In 'De Profundis', Oscar Wilde has written — acquiring money is worth it only as long as it does not become a mental disease, an obsession, and instead it opens doors to happiness, friendship, expression of love, and peace.

American author Henry Miller has conducted extensive studies on wealth. He says — to many people just knowing that they have a lot of wealth is not enough; only the touch of currency notes gives them comfort. But surely, money earned by a person in lottery does not give as much happiness as the money earned as salary through hard work.

Emery University conducted a study where the volunteers were divided into two groups: one was paid free money while the other was paid in return for some labour. The study confirmed that the portion of the brain associated with happiness showed much more excitation and activity in the people who earned money in return for their labour than in the people who were awarded free money.

Robert T. Kiyosaki, author of the book 'Rich Dad – Poor Dad', says — earning money is an art which can be learnt only when one takes a firm resolve to start earning. One must continuously remind oneself to earn money by sincere hard work and through the right means.

Warren Buffett, one of the richest persons of the world, says — though there is no guarantee that money will always bring happiness with it, it will definitely not come in our way of spreading happiness. In fact, there is nothing wrong in being rich. What is wrong is to believe that all happiness can be attained only by being rich, because that is not possible.

It is great to think about becoming rich, but what is more important is to be careful about its proper utilization. Earning money will be useful only when we will learn the methods of conserving this resource and also its most appropriate utilization.