The key to happiness - and it's not MONEY

[T2K]

Does Robert Deniro or some other famous actor keep making movies for the money or because making movies makes them happy?

The same for rich businessmen and tycoons.  They are good at what they do, what they do is lucrative, and they enjoy what they do.

If you are working for the money and the stuff you can get with it, by all means quit once you have "enough", if you confidently know how much that is.

[JRG]

I do not doubt that there are people out there like Bernard Madoff who lead a very comfortable life. Even though he receive 150 years life sentence, it does not make up for those who took their lives. Those who lost their life savings.

On the other hand I know that there are those out there with comfortable lives who give back to the global community and for their own personal reasons, they would like it to be kept quiet.

I don't think one should feel guilty if they happen to have more than others but they should definitely behave responsibly and ethically with what they have.

[Vulcanl]

Very interesting points raised here, which are leading me in directions I have never considered before.  These are my takeaways so far:

*If you happen to have unique talents (like DeNiro or Ronaldo) that are used ethically the market will pay you substantial, unimaginable sums.  This still strikes me as grossly unfair and the system is in need of some kind of equalization

*Money itself is like a loaded gun.  It is not evil per se, however it can be used for evil purposes.  This is where responsible and ethical behavior comes in.  But how does one learn ethics and morality?  Seems to me that organized religion is the answer here, but the World is increasingly secularized.  If this trend continues, are we to expect more financial crises and/or other outcomes that are detrimental to humanity?

*Do we (each of us individually) know how much is ‘enough’ for us?  How many of us have not thought about this and simply continue to buy into the corporate marketing machine hype of unending, conspicuous consumption.  I submit that those who know will have an easier time in attaining happiness.  For those that do not know, they need to be taught somehow, so that they can resist the corporate marketing machine and thus force the corporations to themselves behave more ethically (stop pushing tobacco, toxic structured notes, 52" LCD TVs to low-income consumers for example)

[working_mom]

NEW DELHI: Many of us dream of changing the world through our work. Well, Bill Gates — Microsoft co-founder, software whiz, frequent No. 1 on wealth 
charts — has been there, done that. So what's he doing in his second life, the one after Microsoft? Trying to change the world all over again. Only, this time, he doesn't want to put a computer on every desk and in every home. His mission now is simpler, starker, more imperative: save lives.

He isn't doing too badly. The former IT whiz is in India to receive the Indira Gandhi prize for peace, disarmament and development on behalf of his $38 billion charitable foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — which has given India Rs 1,650 crore so far to combat HIV. When TOI caught up with him and asked about his philanthropic efforts, he replied enthusiastically: ``This is my full time thing now. It gives me a chance to learn new things along with raising my family. It's totally fulfilling. I'm driven by the urgency that children are dying. Why can't we move faster or make interventions available quickly?''

In June 2006, Gates announced that he would step down from full-time work at Microsoft to do part-time work and devote most of his energy and time to the Foundation. His last full-time day at Microsoft was on June 27, 2008, though he remains its non-executive chairman.

So how much time does Bill actually give the Foundation?
"Almost 80%," he shot back. "My life now is completely opposite to what it was when I was at Microsoft full time. Earlier, I gave 20% of my time to the Foundation and the rest to Microsoft. Now, I give 20% of my time to Microsoft and the rest to the Foundation," Gates told TOI.

But do talks of Microsoft's apparent threat from Google Chrome OS, the search-engine giant's newly announced operating system, worry him?
"No, he retorted. ``Microsoft always had and always will have lots of competition.''

Then came some straight-faced humour. "You might forget the names of our competitors, because we competed very effectively." A wry smile followed. "There was a company called IBM."

On a more serious note, Gates added, "The computer field is very competitive and that's great for companies, whether it's Microsoft or Google. That's what made being part of the industry so exciting - the constant change and the whole competition."

But what really made him give away most of his money to charity, with only a small part left for his three children, Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe?
"It is not great for kids to inherit large amount of wealth. Everybody should make up their own minds. At least in my and Melinada's case we decided it would be better for our children if we give away the money as opposed to largely giving it to them. The rich should take their skills and try to give back to society in the best way possible," said Gates.

Gates is a passionate proponent of creative capitalism — companies giving back to society — and believes that it has improved the lives of billions. According to him, companies can make a difference while adding to their bottom line, consumers get to show their support for a good cause, and most importantly, lives are saved.

In a single year, the project RED, which was the brain child of rock star Bono generated $100 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, helping put nearly 80,000 people in poor countries on lifesaving drugs and helping more than 1.6 million get tested for HIV. "That's creative capitalism at work," Gates says.

But has that creative capitalism started to show in India?
"We have never tried to do it in India. I think you have a number of companies in India who do pretty good corporate social responsibility. Even in the drug area, we have a lot of partners who are working on new vaccines and drugs in India. Part of the motivation is purely commercial and part of them is a positive contribution to society," Gates told TOI.

"I think we need to expand this over time. We are also hopeful to see people who have got a lot of wealth from success of these companies do good to the society over time." Gates will meet Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday.

What will he ask the minister to focus on?
"Increased investment in health, better vaccination coverage and nutrition for all,'' he replied promptly. ``The National Rural Health Mission is a phenomenal programme. It would be even better when the National Urban Health Mission comes up simultaneously."

[Vulcanl]

Working Mom,

It is indeed impressive to see multibillionaires giving away huge chunks of their fortunes for the benefit of others.  It appears these guys have indeed identified how much is 'enough' for them. 

I wonder exactly what Bernard Madoff (for example) did with his ill-gotten millions (perhaps even billions)? 

Was it squirreled away to a swiss bank somewhere, then pooled into hedge fund investments that evaporated into thin air (eventually lining the front office's pockets)? 

This speaks to deploying massive wealth in a responsible manner!

[Vulcanl]

I continue to be fascinated by just how emotional people get when talking about money.  My merely pointing out facts to certain posters on this site in attempts at honest debate often results in incoherent outbursts and personal attacks against me.  I find this illogical.

These posters never answer my questions, and what I am trying to understand from them is 'how much is enough'?

There is a very good thread in 'careers' right now about people earning SGD 200K or more.  This is an impressive number.  How much is going out the door, though on a monthly basis?  How many of these high earners even know?  I even wonder how many of them even know what their net worth is?

One owns a Ferrari and is bragging about it.  Assuming he/she lives in Singapore, I wonder if this capital could have been put to better use here?  Hmmm...

[tweek]

These posters never answer my questions, and what I am trying to understand from them is 'how much is enough'?

Isn't that a very subjective question? I can't imagine if there is a number that it would be the same number for every person and/or family on Earth, can you?

[Vulcanl]

"...Isn't that a very subjective question?..."

I would say that it is no longer subjective at a certain level.   

"... I can't imagine if there is a number that it would be the same number for every person and/or family on Earth, can you?..."

I can imagine more than one number, but let's for the sake of argument say that number is USD 300K per annum.  Clearly, surely beyond the shadow of a doubt this is more than enough to live on and be happy for each and every family on Earth.

We have been conditioned since birth to believe that we should constantly strive for more, more, more - to constantly outdo ourselves.  I am simply asking the question now - Why?!??!

[cripperz]

My personal point of view of "How much is enough"

This draws down to personal satisfaction and achievements of reaching his dreams or simply learnt not to be greedy. Your lifestyle comes into a big play to make it a point that "what i earned is enought and i am happy of where / what i am now". The people around you will give the big influence to make you conclude what is enough. The more levish and poshy friends you have, the more you feel the peer pressure, directly or indirectly. Its either you stick around or get out - right?

Also, religion comes into play, which many who have belief in a religion would definitely know that there is life after death, incarnation, etc. So other than racing for that fat pay cheque, one will consider the other factors in life to conclude his satisfaction and happiness, diversifying his targets and goals which finally led himself to say, "its enough".

[Vulcanl]

Cripperz,

Brilliant post - I agree with you!

The problem nowadays is that as society has become more secular, belief in God and organized religion in general is considered ‘backward.’ 

Re: organized religion, I can understand nonbeliever’s criticisms to a certain extent if they choose not to participate.

But than then leaves a gaping hole in terms of what will dictate people’s actions.  I believe that it is this lack of guidance that sends people down the path of material pursuit, which inevitably leads to ill effects for society as a whole.

Perhaps basic philosophy taught at an early age in the primary school system (anywhere in the World I mean) is an answer??!?

[so what]

Of course money is the key to happiness.
The more money you have, the more you can give away to others.

[working_mom]

Vulcanl, I personally have many atheist friends who are in late to early 20s and they are involved in various social initiatives in India.  These young people are from well-to-do families and are highly educated. Please don’t mix this with religion. Ethics has nothing to do with religion.

I have seen crass commercialization of religion by evangelists who lure people to the religion by offering money. I don’t see any difference between these religious fanatics and Madoff.

[Vulcanl]

"...Ethics has nothing to do with religion..."

Of course it does!   

"...evangelists...I don’t see any difference between these religious fanatics and Madoff..."

What you have observed is possible, but this is an extreme example.  Some bad apples do not spoil the entire barrel.  The vast majority of clergy/religious around the World are people who have dedicated their entire lives to serving others, and live 'good' lives. 

[JRG]

working mum is correct in saying that ethics has nothing to do with religion. Religions do set ethical standards which most believers follow. If ethics were to be as one with religion, it would mean that it applies to those who are religious only. I am sure you know of someone who leasds an ethical life without religion.....

and I think working mum's comparison of the evangelicals with Madoff is plausible. They are very similar, come to think of it.

I do agree that some bad apples do not spoil the entire barrel. The same can be said for both sides, believers and non-believers.

I applaud those in their 20s who are involved in community projects in India although they do not have to. I have seen a few children from well to do families who are wasting their lives on taking drugs, alcohol, etc.   

[Vulcanl]

Ran across this, very interesting:

Psychotherapy Can Boost Happiness More Than Money: Study

HealthDay via Yahoo! News
SATURDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Psychological therapy may be much more effective at making people happy than getting a raise or winning a lottery prize, suggests an English study.

Researchers analyzed data on thousands of people who provided information about their mental well-being and found that the increase in happiness from a $1,329 course of therapy was so significant that it would take a pay raise of more than $41,542 to achieve an equal boost in well-being.

That suggests that therapy could be as much as 32 times more cost-effective at improving well-being than simply getting more money, the researchers said.

The study was published online Nov. 18 in the journal Health Economics, Policy and Law.
"We have shown that psychological therapy could be much more cost effective than financial compensation at alleviating psychological distress," said study author Chris Boyce, of the University of Warwick. "This is not only important in courts of law, where huge financial rewards are the default way in which pain and suffering are compensated, but has wider implications for public health and well-being."

"Often the importance of money for improving our well-being and bringing greater happiness is vastly over-valued in our societies," Boyce explained. "The benefits of having good mental health, on the other hand, are often not fully appreciated and people do not realize the powerful effect that psychological therapy, such as non-directive counseling, can have on improving our well-being."

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about emotional health.