Today I’d like to share a principle with you that has changed my perspective. The principle is this: money is a tool. You could just stop reading right there. After all, I’ve just shared the most important part of the post. But let me elaborate on this a little bit.
In order to really understand what money is and why we have it, let’s have a short history lesson. Hypothetically, let’s say that you’re a caveman, living in a world without money, and you need some food. Naturally, you go to the local supermarket (I recognize there weren’t caveman supermarkets, but bear with me). The store owner agrees to give you a can of beans if you paint his store. You spend all day painting the store, and he gives you one can of beans.
This doesn’t seem very fair, does it? You just put 100 dollars of value into painting that store, and you only got 3 dollars’ worth of compensation. There’ now 97 dollars’ worth of lost value. Do you see what I’m getting at here? Money is a way for us to keep track of value. If we create or contribute value, we are given money to represent the value we have contributed. Let’s say that you were paid in dollars in the scenario above, instead of beans. Now you have an accurate representation of the value you’ve created, you’re able to purchase your can of beans, and you still have a representation of the additional value that you’ve contributed.
Instead of saying, “I want to be rich; I want to have lots of money,” I hope we can begin to see money for what it truly is: a representation of value. When we look at money this way, I think it helps us down a much healthier train of thought: where can I create more value in the world around me? I’ve been greatly blessed by the principle of money as a tool, and I know it will bless you in your life too.
For more information on this subject, please listen to The Appraiser Coach Podcast Episode:
