Remembering our Money Roots
Money is no different, reflect on how far you've come
Senior year of high school, I had the fond idea of not going on spring break. Mainly because I was severely broke with maybe $300 to my name. With no money in hand, I instead opted to work at the local Baskins Robbins. I had AP tests upcoming and thought the downtime it would afford me to study provided with the money of the job would be worth my while.
The pay for the job was a heart-stopping $7.25. After all, I was only scooping ice cream and making the occasional sundae or milkshake. Not to underscore any ice cream store workers, as in my mind, they are essential. Ice cream is the superior dessert.
When the week ended, I had worked 47 hours and had made a cool $340.75, before Uncle Sam took some of my money. Ultimately, it was a disappointing week. I expected to make more but, in this economy, I didn’t realize $7 doesn’t go very far. It was my first job and I lasted two months before I sought greener pastures and began work as a busser at a local BBQ joint.
Although it didn’t provide the pay I wanted, what it did provide was a baseline. Something to forever evaluate myself on how far I have come. The next job I sought out only came with one rule, being paid more than $7.25/hour.
You the Real MVP
In sports, awards are given out at the end of every season. It provides a reflection on the season and recognizes those who have endured and those who have grown. Those who smashed the expectations and blew right past their baseline. Upon receiving the award, the recipient gives an acceptance speech and it delivers some memorable moments.
In 2014, Kevin Durant won the NBA MVP. He gave much thanks to those around him and reflected on how far he has come from being a small kid from Washington DC.
“I come from a small county outside of Washington DC, it’s called PG County. Me, my mom, my brother, we moved so many different places growing up and it felt like a box, felt like there was no getting out.”
“Lastly, my mom, I don’t think you know what you did; you had my brother when you were 18 years old, and three years later I came out. The odds were stacked against us. Single parent with two boys by the time you were 20 years old. Everybody told us we weren’t supposed to be here, we moved from apartment to apartment by ourselves.”
Kevin Durant reflected on how far he has come and how much he has endured. It is a classic acceptance speech but in the end, it will forever be remembered because in the end, he calls his mom, the real MVP.
The path of athletes is always judged by how far they come and acceptance speeches always provide a testament to how much they have grown while enduring the trials and tribulations of life. Life is best judged relative to how we have come from, in relation to ourselves and not in relation to others, the way it should be.
Remembering Our Real Hero
Matthew McConaughey won the Oscar for Best Actor in 2014 for his role in Dallas Buyers Club. He delivered a confident, authentic speech that captivated the audience and the public. Truly, an effortless work of art. He talks about the hero in his life and says that his hero is himself in 10 years. His hero when he is 15 is himself when he is 25. His hero when he is 25 is himself when is 35. It is a never-ending chase of never reaching his hero.
“And to my hero. That's who I chase. When I was 15 years old I had a very important person in my life come and ask me 'Who's your hero?' I said, 'I thought about it and it's me in ten years. So I turned 25 ten years later and that same person comes to me and goes, 'Are you a hero?' I said, 'Not even close!' She said why and I said, 'My hero is me at 35.' You see, every day, and every week, and every month, and every year of my life, my hero is always ten years away. I'm never going to be my hero.”
Provided is reflection. When he does reach 25 he can look back on how far he has come and the growth that has transpired in life. How much 15-year-old Matthew McConaughey pales in comparison to 25-year-old Matthew McConaughey. Unconcerned about those around him and invested in who he is and what he is to become.
Life is relative. Relative to who we are and what we are to become. It is a continual examination, a vortex of self-awareness, of how we have changed, how we have grown.
In life, it is easier to fall victim to the game of comparing ourselves to others but really, the route that makes us whole is seeing how far we have come in work, the gym, relationships, the list goes on. However, there is often a glaring omission in which we don’t evaluate our growth, money.
Our Money Roots
Money is a tricky game. Money, net worth, and salary all provide an objective way to compare ourselves to others. Most of life is compared in a subjective manner but in terms of money, it is largely objective.
Salary, investments, and bonuses all have a number attached to them and the gray area is largely nonexistent. You have a larger salary than me. My investment portfolio produced a better ROI than yours this year. My company performed better and thus my bonus is bigger than yours. A black and white game with no if, ands, or buts about it. Someone has more, someone has less.
Never do people talk about how far they have come monetarily. Money is a tricky game, an endless pursuit where it is hard to objectify what truly would make us happy. Money is the ultimate enabler. It provides the passcode to unlock new levels of life, new levels of luxuries we once were not afforded, which is why it is important to remember our money roots. Remember how far we came. Just like Kevin Durant, remembered being a small boy bouncing from apartment to apartment in DC, it is important to remember the boy who once worked at Baskin Robbins making $7.25/hour.
Life is best lived with gratitude and as Matthew McConaughey likes to say, “It is a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates.” Remembering our roots is gratitude for how far we have come and how much we have endured. Ryan making $7.25/hour scooping ice cream would be giddy at the financial position Ryan is in today. However, Ryan today may fail to realize that if he is too consumed by his position in relation to his peers.
It is easy to get caught in the game of comparison and feel as if it will never be enough. An MVP or an actor would never compare themselves to a counterpart in an acceptance speech. Just like we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others monetarily or we will never be happy. Everyone is playing a different game. Some with more risk. Some with more luck and at the end of the day, no two games are the same.
Parting Words
It is always important for us to remember our roots in any area of life. People talk fondly about how far they have come. Once a small boy from Washington DC is now a boy who could make a case for one of the greatest basketball players to ever grace this earth. Roots are everywhere in life. We grow in so many different areas. In a life we live, where money can be everything, it is important to remember just how far you have come monetarily.
Thanks for reading.
Scantron’s Selections - A few things I loved this week.
Paul Graham - Cities and Ambition - This really got me thinking on the role the city you live in plays in your career