"Money...so pedestrian, when you think about it. Reputation, information, and favors are worth their weight in gold. Heavier even than their owners' hearts." - Mr. Hands (Cyberpunk 2077)
Yes, all these things matter much more than money, there are also things like trust, loyalty, generosity, self-awareness, intelligence, wisdom, and the list goes on...
But, the first thing you notice in a man, are his pockets, and how deep and heavy they are. Everything else you see listed above, all of this comes later; in society's eyes at least. That's what I've seen and experienced in the past 3 to 4 years or so.
Whether you provide for your family, assist in the benefit of society, or add value to other people's lives, one way or the other, all of it requires money; one way or the other. And, when that inflow of money no longer exists, they start throwing shade...
How much you've once done or have contributed, might no longer even matter to them.
A man is only loved under the condition that he provides something" ― Chris Rock
ᴵᵐᵃᵍᵉˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵒᵛᵉʳᵃˡˡ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵉⁿᵗ ᵃʳᵉ ᵐʸ ᵒʷⁿ ᵘⁿˡᵉˢˢ ᶦᵗ'ˢ ᵐᵉⁿᵗᶦᵒⁿᵉᵈ
I've always been a trustworthy person, I work hard, I prefer to work smart, and I've always tried...
Win or lose, failure or success, high risk or low risk, I've always tried, till the end; for the people around me, and obviously, myself. I'm a decent problem solver I believe, and I'm good with decision making.
Yet, all of that began to matter after I started making a decent amount of money. The amount was nothing too impressive, but when a proper inflow of money started to come in, my opinions and thoughts suddenly started to matter to everyone around me. People came to me for suggestions(even the ones who used to bash me), and they started asking for help, guidance, and my thoughts about certain aspects.
Before that, in their eyes, I was just a vagrant, an unsettled man, drifting from one place to the other because I hadn't experienced my big break yet.
However, I didn't spend those years partying, sleeping, or on drugs; I was working. I've invested in countless small businesses, I was a crucial part of two startups, and I did all of it during my teens and early 20s, but since I wasn't making much, none of it mattered.
As most of them said, "It's just a waste of time"...
Now, fast forward it all by quite a few years, and I've learned a thing or two.
Money won't completely change your life for the better. Money can only give you access to a bit of "fake respect", some freedom, and open a few windows of opportunities.
To truly become a valuable person/man, you need to identify these fake people first and maintain your distance; it's needed for your own growth. You need to understand what version of freedom you require, and you need to identify the genuine and profitable opportunities that come your way. Then, it's all a game of adding value to your surroundings, and maybe even the world.
One thing is for sure, money won't buy you happiness, it won't buy you peace, money only gives you access to comfort and luxury.
You may have a lot of money, but at the end of a long day of making all that money at the office, you have to step into your home. And if there's not a sliver of peace present there, then no amount of money in the world can change that. Then it's not even a home, it's just a vacuous and expensive big house.
In these past few years, I've learned more about life, than nearly three decades of living and breathing on this earth. And I'm glad that I learned it all the hard way, while sitting and experiencing it all from the driver's seat.
I've become twice as focused and I've been scouring my vicinity for more work and opportunities.
The times surely have been tough, fortunately, I can say that these tough times and have only brought my family closer, made our bonds stronger. And I truly believe that I have all the things money can't buy.
Now, the only thing that's left is to make enough money, so that we never have to go through what we had experienced about 3 years ago.
And if I end up making more than what is needed, then I'm probably doing something right...