Money Can Buy Happiness

Winter is close at hand, but the flowers I planted in the spring in front of my house still have a few pretty yellow blooms on them.

I spent considerable time last winter trying to plan some upgrades to my landscaping. I wanted lots of color, lots of variety, and something that I could be proud of when I pulled in the driveway.

I have to put it out there that I can barely dress myself (some might say that I can’t!). While I can appreciate fine design and I recognize when things look good together, I find it impossible to understand how they get that way.

I may have a little bit of a music gene, I have absolutely no design or decorating gene.

So I spent the winter pouring over books and online guides about what goes where, how they all go together, and how to make things look good.

None of it worked. By spring I was no closer to a plan than I was when I cracked open my first landscape design book the previous winter.

I was frustrated. My landscaping was a source of frustration, and (in my opinion) an eyesore.

Then one Saturday early in the spring I went to the public market downtown. It was a cold, sunny morning and the market was packed.

As I wandered around taking it all in, one vendor caught my eye. She had all kinds of plants laid out, all different colors, sizes and shapes and suddenly it hit me! I don’t need a plan! I don’t need to keep overthinking this situation. I just need to grab a bunch of these plants and put them in the ground!

So I did. I spent every penny of the $20 I had in my pocket and ran home excited to put my haul into the ground.

At home, I put my anxiety aside, grabbed a trowel, and started planting. My only rule was not to put two plants of the same color next to each other.

Before I knew it, I was done! $20, and 20 minutes had erased months of searching, pondering, planning, and worrying.

Best of all, when I stepped back and looked at what I had done, I was very happy. My heart felt warm, the colors brought more happiness than I would have thought possible.

And throughout the summer, every time I passed the front of the house, I got to look at all those colors. I watched the little plants grow into big plants with more flowers and more colors.

I worked very hard this past summer, many long days, many miles driven, and quite a bit of time away from home. But every single time I pulled in the driveway and saw those colorful flowers, I felt better. I felt happy. I felt at peace in that moment. They seemed to be a beacon reminding me that I was home and everything is ok.

So money can buy happiness. In this case, a measly $20 bill, and it was happiness that repeated itself over and over again during the past 6 months.

Winter is close, so today I’ll be pulling out the flowers and cleaning things up to prepare, but I’m already looking forward to the spring when I can return to the public market with $20 and buy some more happiness.

The Richest Guy I’ve Met So Far

To be fair, I don’t rub elbows with too many rich folks. I know lots of people who live a good life, who have the things they want while living a comfortable life, but I don’t know many people who I would consider to be rich.

Since leaving corporate America to get into real estate and loan signing, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and (briefly) get to know a few folks who I would consider to be rich.

I’ve visited million dollar homes and completed documents for people buying or selling million dollar properties. I’ve met owners of corporations and other folks who certainly live “the good life”.

I’ve gone to closings and parked my crappy little Jeep next to Porsche’s and Ferrari’s and Corvette’s.

Most of the people I’ve met at those places have seemed nice. They are usually friendly and interesting to talk with and I’ve had some very interesting conversations with a few folks nice enough to engage with me.

Sometimes I leave those appointments envious, or even speechless. For someone struggling to grow a business after a lifetime in corporate America, such wealth is hard to fathom.

But a couple weeks ago, on a random sunny Friday afternoon I met the richest guy I’ve ever met.

He and his wife live in a very modest home in a nice suburban neighborhood, they had a regular Toyota sedan sitting in the driveway.

No fleet of super cars, no groundkeepers, no pictures of their personal jet or yacht.

When I met these folks, it was to have them sign a few simple sale documents related to the sale of their home in another state. Upon entering their home, the wife greeted me and said “we need to conduct the signing in the bedroom, my husband has terminal cancer”.

Quite caught off guard, she ushered me into the back bedroom where her husband was propped up in bed watching TV.

He was very friendly and warm and although his body was apparently failing him, his mind was obviously sharp. We chatted a little, he reviewed the documents and asked a few questions.

So why was this the richest man I’ve ever met? He had terminal cancer. By modern standards, he was too young to die, and I’m guessing his impending death was not going to be pleasant.

He was living his final days in a very modest home, apparently confined to a smallish room with a TV.

While he was reviewing the documents and signing each one, I noticed his wife out of the corner of my eye.

At one point she started rubbing his feet, gently massaging the tops of them (apparently he was having issues with his legs).

A couple times she walked over near his head and they would review something together, then she would return to the foot of the bed where she would again touch his feet.

The feeling of love in the room was overwhelming. The way she looked at him. The way she lovingly caressed his feet. The gentle way she spoke to him

Whatever he did during his years with his wife to earn that kind of love must have been something special.

To be loved by someone with such care, such intensity, and such devotion. That’s why he’s the richest person I’ve ever met.

I don’t know if he owned a jet or a huge house. I don’t know the size of his bank account.

But I do know that in the days leading to his death, someone is there loving him with all her heart.

He is the richest man I’ve ever met, and I’m forever grateful to have witnessed the purest form of love imaginable.

We should all be so lucky as to be loved like that.