Prove It!
“yeah I could do that too, if I had a bunch of money”
Ok prove it! Go get a bunch of money and try. This is where I lose most people.
Growing up wild in nature I never really took money very seriously. My family didn’t have much money. My parents fought over money problems regularly, but when their minds were clear they taught me to value my time over money.
At 8 years old I started to work. Not child labor, a job. I would garden for neighbors, and do odd jobs when they popped up. One of my favorite entrepreneurial ventures was getting paid 25 cents per bird to climb around in barns at night catching pigeons, but thats a story for another time.
I wasn’t forced into it, but if I wanted money to buy something I would go to work and make money. Simple as that. There are much harder challenges in life than making money and thats why I don’t take it very seriously.
This is why I get so frustrated when people use money as an excuse to why they are not succeeding. This is very common in agriculture. There is a broad demographic of “farmers”. From poor folks who think that farming is the only thing they can do, to rich gentleman farmers. Success can be had at all ends of this spectrum and it lays in your perspective.
Is it fear that keeps you from innovating or do you really think that money is the limiting factor? Yes, there are plenty of times when you need more money, but that isn’t what is holding you back.
Money is a man-made thing, but like all man-made objects and thoughts; it stems from nature.
Let’s look at the water cycle. Is water owned by any one person? No, water is constantly moving and interacting with the entire planet. Water that has been underground for thousands of years can emerge through a spring, evaporate, fall as rain, then be collected, bottled, and sold to a person on the other side of the planet; who then pees it out to continue its journey. Yes certain people can accumulate and hoard water thus preventing others from using it, but it is never really theirs. They posses it for a period of time, but it will inevitably move on in the cycle. Plug in carbon, minerals, air, molecules, money, whatever you want into this metaphor and possession seems like a childish concept that isn’t quite real. If you can agree to this, then why are you using money as an excuse to not innovate and change the world around you for the better?
There are people out there with money, and people out there with ideas, and people out there with skills, and people with various combinations of all of these things. I propose we get together and figure some shit out. Quit bitching about all of the things “I would do if……..” Go find the people who share your values and get it done. You will spill some water on the way, but the good news is someone else will have a drink on your behalf.
