I personally believe that money mostly puts a spotlight on people. It gives you more freedom, more options and, importantly, more opportunities to show the kind of person you already are. If you were generous before becoming wealthy, money can make you even more generous because suddenly you have the ability to help people in ways you couldn't before but if you were stingy, selfish or mean, wealth can simply give those qualities a bigger stage.
Think about someone who has always been the person buying lunch for friends whenever they can afford it, it could be that they aren't rich, but whenever they have a little extra money, they remember their siblings, neighbours or friends. If that person suddenly becomes wealthy, I wouldn't be surprised if they started supporting people around them, paying school fees, helping someone start a business or quietly assisting a family member. Other people that didnt know him before might say, “Money changed him. Look at how generous he has become,” but did money really change him? I think it simply gave his generosity more room to breathe.
Now imagine the opposite person and that is someone who always complained about giving people anything. Someone who would borrow money from you and suddenly become impossible to find when it was time to repay you. Someone who had $10,000 but behaved as though giving $500 to someone in need would bankrupt them. Give that person $500 million and suddenly the same attitude has a much larger budget. They may have more money, but they haven't necessarily developed a bigger heart. In fact, their stinginess might become even more obvious because now everyone can see that the excuse of “I don't have enough” was never really the issue.
I've also noticed this with people who become successful and suddenly start treating everyone differently. The security guard who used to receive a friendly greeting becomes invisible. Old friends become “people from the past.” Family members are suddenly considered troublesome because they need help. Meanwhile, another person can become wealthy and still remember the people who helped them when they had nothing. They might still visit the same friends, support their community and answer the phone when someone from their past calls. The money didn't create their character. It exposed it.
Of course, I don't think money has zero effect on people in terms of changing them from whom they once were. I mean wealth can change someone's environment, priorities and even their behaviour over time. Being surrounded by people who constantly want something from you can make you more cautious. Having experienced poverty can make someone either extremely generous or extremely protective of their wealth but I still believe that money reveals more than it creates. It gives your existing character a stage.
That is why I think its more about who are you right now, before the money arrives? Because if you are kind with $10,000, there is a good chance you'll find ways to be kind with $10 million. Sometimes it just turns up the volume on the one you already had.
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Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash