Your responses to my request in last month’s blog for input on my book are astounding.

First of all, there were a lot of them, over 100 to be exact.

Secondly, you shared some deep and personal feelings about your life and wealth’s relation to it. You can be sure that while your wonderful input will be used in further developing my book, your confidence will be kept. No quotes will be assigned.

I’ll write more words than usual this month and next to give you a sense of some of your comments that will alter my writing.

First, here’s who “we” are, according to this sampling:

We are well educated. The bulk of us in the non-profit sector are middle to upper middle class. Many of us in the business sector have done even better. A few of us have $10 million or more in net worth. A few of us are just getting started and have nothing.

We are split pretty equally male/female and range from 23 to 81, but the bulk of our little circle ranges from 40 to 60.

Most of us are still working and on balance are not worried about making today’s living. We live well and we are fairly confident we can maintain our standard of living but not so sure about our long term security.

Our view of wealth:

My sense is that we are conflicted about wealth. We are not even sure how to define it.

Some days it feels like we need more, other days less.

All days though we seem to feel the material side of wealth is (surprisingly) unfulfilling.

We get our eye on a promotion, work extra until we get it and reward ourselves with that new car we’ve had our eye on. Two months later we are driving that new car home from work at 9 at night thinking, “This was way not worth it!”

When the stress from earning more money gets heavy, we decide that we are “doing this for someone else.” Our spouse, our aging parents, our child needs more in order to be happier. We must endure the stress so we can help our family more.

In the great Judeo-Christian tradition, we hover between grateful and guilty. In fact one reader captured this in a very interesting manner:

“I’m so happy that I am safe and warm and have enough food to eat when only 2 of 6 billion people on the planet make more than $2 a day and sad because you wonder why you should be so lucky and they so unfortunate.”

Still most of us get trapped in seeking more. More room in our home, better car, more vacation, more electronics, more food, more parties……just more.

We say it doesn’t but peer pressure affects us nearly as much as it did in high school. It’s hard not to notice what the Joneses down the street just bought.

Keeping up with them seems to still be our American Dream.

Our view of “adequate” wealth:

Our definitions of this vary widely.

The consensus is “enough to pay my bills and save a little.”

One reader referred to Carl Jung’s four stages of adulthood, saying that in the fourth stage, the focus is on fulfillment by giving. Perhaps that radiates both my own age and the age of my reader/audience.

To one person adequate wealth is being able to donate $100,000 a year to charity.

One of the most interesting definitions of adequate wealth is the reader who said, “I will have adequate wealth when I feel I can take more risk at work.”

To another it is “being happy with who I am when I’m alone.”

Finally, one friend said it’s “providing for family members I will never know.”

In all I took more than 12 pages of notes from your wonderful input.

Thanks again for sharing and the honor of being trusted by you. The book’s mission will be enhanced by your kindness. If you think of more things to say about your views on “Empty Abundance,” feel free to email me anytime at tim@thebusinessofgood.org.

Peace,
Tim McCarthy