How to stop being rich and happy
(part of the “do this” directives)
1. Prioritize lifestyle design.
You’ve made it, so it’s all about you, now. Make your dreams come true.
Shape your surroundings to please your every desire.
Make your immediate gratification the most important thing.
2. Chase that comparison moment.
You have the old thing. You want the new thing. Yes! Do it! Be happy for a week.
Ignore the fact that the happiness only comes from the moment of comparison between the old and new.
Once you’ve had your new thing for a week, and it becomes the new norm, seek happiness from another new thing.
3. Buy, not rent.
Why rent a house, castle, boat, or car, when you can buy?
It’s not about the thing, it’s about identity. This shows who you are now.
4. Internalize your new status.
You worked hard to get here. Celebrate. Relax.
Admit you are in a different class of people now, with different needs.
Understand there is no going back.
5. Be a connoisseur.
Learn what others say is the finest.
Insist on only the finest.
You will now be unhappy with anything but the finest.
6. Get to know your possessions.
Now that you own the best, it’s time to focus on what you’ve got.
Learn all about the features of your new possessions.
Spend more time getting your surround sound and heated floor just right.
Work out the solar panel charging of your Tesla car. This is important.
7. Acclimate to comfort.
Eliminate every discomfort from your life.
Blame others when the world seems hard, and is not living up to your standards.
I wonder who or what ticked you off.
Huh? Originally these were all “don’t” directives, like “don’t chase that comparison moment”, but I thought it would be more fun to just reverse the category header instead. Like Charlie Munger’s “How to Guarantee a Life of Misery” talk. — Derek
Hey there how's it going? I have to say when I was on the previous page and saw number 6 how to stop being rich and happy, I thought, "well who would click that?" But I was so intrigued that I had to check it out I am still laughing hysterically!
Love it thanks Derek. I think the funny thing is, if we can do the reverse of all these, we will immediately become rich and happy, no matter how "rich" we are already :)
HA!! hahahahaa!!!! Aaaaaah , , , but it is so true huh? Many actually do these things and the unhappiness and entitlement starts to creep. I can even see seeds of this in my own life.
Thank Derek. I like your new picture btw.
The way you've flipped it forces you to think and reflect if you want to internalize these principles.
Patiently awaiting the book on this :)
Great- that's the topping on this awesome outline. Have you read "The pursuit of unhappiness" by Paul Watzlawick?
Haven't. Thanks for the tip! — Derek
GREAT piece, sort of a negative poem (1/poem). The "rich and happy" only mingle with the other "rich and happy", so all these very real, very tactile steps are compounded by the people around you. I've been trying to untangle the downsides of my material prosperity and have found the social aspect to be the most difficult, surprising and intriguing piece of it all.....Saludos from Mexico.
Love this article Derek, and love your site. Thank you for having no ads- it's just such a completely different experience without them.
I'm in my 20s and all these ideas above feel so natural but there seem to be so many people who simply cannot escape doing the exact things you've stated in this article! Thank you for your service Derek, we really appreciate it. Mike
Certain things are essential (like windows ) even for the not so very rich, but obviously one can fine tune ones desires once well heeled.
You have described the REAL LOSERS in life: The obscenely rich who cannot share.
No matter what, or how much, they have they portray themselves as Losers by always wanting more.
A Winner knows they have crossed the line!
Thanks, Derek. This gave me a few things to ponder regarding my own behavior. It's also interesting & amusing to see the wildly different reactions produced by a single article. If you posted only the comments, I might guess they were responses to 2-3 different pieces!
☺ — Derek
This is great, I can see from this article that you've been given a lot of "useful" advice. Most people in the world search for fame and fortune only to find that happiness lies in the things you cannot buy. The simple things in life truly are the greatest pleasure. I am on the other side of the coin, working to build a useful biz from the ground up. Pursuing the success most people take for granted. Wealth to me is a means to a specific end: benefiting communities and humanity world wide by teaching and sharing sustainable technologies such as organic agriculture, sustainable fuel and renewable energy creation. I daydream about helping people and being a positive force in the world.
I understand. I will follow your lead.
I think it's better to state things, especially directives, in the positive, as opposed to the negative.
I dig it. A nice reminder.
Similar in form to the School of Life's YouTube video "How to get divorced."
youtu.be/03263_ieRZk
Derek,
I've really enjoyed your books and content, but this list of 7 means to happiness seems so off-base that I can not tell if you are serious or joking..... which?
-Albert
It says how to STOP being rich and happy. — Derek
Brilliant, insightful and funny!
This is my favorite of the lists so far. Inverting lends a certain clarity. Thanks for putting them together :)
This pleases me. I'm happy to have been working on the "wrong" thing, and I feel encouraged to continue lol
Founder's frowning formula. xD!!
I'm having difficulty accepting that some of these practices are wrong, especially #6, about appreciating, taking delight in something made. On a glorious bike ride it seems even better to me to also appreciate the bike itself if it's a sleek precision good one, better than clunky heavy ones I've ridden in the past. In a smaller way this also seems to apply to 4 and 5.
Derek,
This is one of my favorite posts of yours!
Most people want to know answers and what to do - the secret sauce to success and wealth. Very few people focus on what not to do. Maybe that might be the counter intuitive approach to six pack abs and billions of dollars.
John C. Bogle put it, “Don’t do something—just stand there!”
I am not rich or successful but this has so much value to me.
LOL, these were good, Derek, love your sarcastic sense of humor! My faves: 'Work out the solar panel charging of your Tesla car. This is important.' and 'You have the old thing. You want the new thing. Yes! Do it! Be happy for a week.'
Lena
I have two thoughts.
At #7 Richardo notes the difficulty of untangling socially from fellow-rich who do life the unhappy way. My answer is that rich and happy folks, such as Derek, are small in percentages, yet in sheer numbers are findable. I try to avoid being a spoilsport when around the majority, while quietly spending time with my own sort.
Next I want to say it strikes how number 5, being a connoisseur, really made the life of Steve Jobs unhappy, according to his authorized biographer. He went without furniture as he searched long for the best. Even near death in hospital he was fussy about his breathing mask.
Derek, I would love it if you could expand on #6 a bit.
I heard you going through the list in the Knowledge project and this one really got me thinking. I don't buy a lot of things, but what I buy I tend to geek out over and get really into. To me that feels as if I'm appreciating and valuing them more, leading to happiness.
Why do you think it leads to being unhappy? I think there might be a good learning opportunity in here for me. Thanks for all your insights, love them!
It's light-hearted, not serious, but the idea is that focusing on your posessions makes you insatiable. Always wanting better, more. And in the process, you're a consumer not a creator, so not contributing to the world, which ultimately drains your money, therefore applies to the title. ☺ — Derek
Thanks. What a powerful reframe.