The Fallacy of Money As A Means
This is a generally short-sighted article, that looks inward but not at the bigger picture. I want to make a lot of money because I want to start a family, and I want them to have the best life and the best opportunities available. Not to be spoiled, but simply to have a good life. And that's just the start.<p>I want to make money so I can help people. To be able to invest in things which might cure diseases, solve hunger, produce cleaner cheaper energy. Things which might have an opportunity to drive humanity forward.<p>I want to make money so that I can change the world. Not in the superficial way that people think you mean when you say that, but in real ways; in ways that create true value for humanity. Things that might drive us closer to a star-trek-esque free-energy economy.<p>This is what people don't understand about money. Some people want it because it has the power to do a lot of things. It is a measure of value, and you can use that value to create more value. It might spiral so high that you don't even know what to do with it anymore; and that's okay, because all it means is that you've produced value and created something real. If I have billions of dollars when I die, I won't care if I lose it. The real reward was the creation of which it was an accidental result.<p>Travel? Nice things? Acceptance? Popularity? You think that's why people want money? Child's play, all of them.<p>I noticed you have this on your first list: "create the biggest impact possible?"<p>But you never responded to it. It's because it's the real reason. Money <i>is</i> a means to create the biggest impact possible. It is a means to create. Full stop.