Freedom, Williams, Freedom

I've always remember the name of this CD album cover... Freedom, Williams, Freedom... and I think not because I remember the music (I don't), but because of the powerful message. Sure, he could've meant freedom from any number of things, but because I live in this money-driven society that I do, I choose to consider it "financial freedom." As you may have figured out already, the only type of freedom that we have in this world (society) that we choose to live in is financial freedom. Sure, it's great to have political freedom, but what pattern emerges? People are most always happier with some sort of financial stability than they are with liberty and political freedom. If you're poor in a politically free country, your life would probably be pretty crappy. If you're rich in a politically unfree country, you can be sure that things will be pretty good. Like Singapore!

Anyway, the point of today's post is:

"The poor think of survival, the middle class think of comfort, and the rich think of freedom."

When I say "rich," I don't mean someone who has lots of money - I mean rich in the sense of a rich and wonderful life, rich and wonderful thinking. Poor means poor, of course, and middle class is talking about the amount of money they make. However, the key to this is that anyone (living in a developed country) can move up to thinking "rich" and living a life of freedom.

What I talk about today only applies to developed countries... talk about underdeveloped countries is a whole different topic. Anyway, the poor just think about paying their bills, putting food on the table and surviving day to day. And that's all that they ever do, because they don't even know that they have options to live a better life. If they come into a little money, they just "treat" themselves and start enjoying material objects... rather than invest it in some furthering education or some asset of value. It's a mindset. There are a few who move out, however.

As for the middle class - I'm sure most of you out there are middle class - they just think of comfort. They're always asking themselves how they can make their life more "comfortable." Maybe if you work longer hours, you can afford a nicer house... maybe if you kiss more ass, you can take longer vacations? Is that what comfort is? Killing yourself most of the time, so that you can enjoy a very small portion of your life? (Y'know, sleeping doesn't count as enjoying your life, because it's partly done for the sake of your crappy job - AND you don't know what the heck's going on while you're sleeping.)

The rich, however, all they can think of is freedom. And yes, that's a good thing. Sure, they might seem middle class at some point in their lives (and might even start out as poor), but the difference is in their thinking. They're always thinking about what they can do today to make tomorrow free. The key is free. Will you spend the money you have on a vacation now, or will you sock it away and enjoy 10x the reward in a couple years? I think the answer is obvious for the rich. Are you going to buy a fancy Beemer, or are you going to get a nice used Chevy and put the difference away for a rainy day? And by rainy day, I mean freedom.

So go ahead, the choice is yours.