If you take a moment from being busy & productive and just look up, maybe you too will see what is really important in life.
Bobby
"I’m 76. My high school and college classmates are dropping like flies. My time is coming fairly soon. I’ve had a varied and active life from stealing food from hotel corridors to survive to owning 4 successful companies and retiring at 49 to backpack the world with my kids. 35 was my best year. I was young enough to do it all and smart enough to see the traps ahead of me.
One thing I wish I knew back then, not just philosophically, but at the basic level of my soul: It doesn’t matter. Nothing really matters. There is no point to all of the pain, stress, arguments, hassles, and the rest.
I can buy a Lambo for cash and have my clothes custom-made, but I drive a 2,000 Toyota 4Runner with 242,000 miles on it, my pants are almost as old as my sons, I wear shoes I bought in 1999 that still have miles on them, my favorite food is spaghetti, and I tossed my smartphone six year ago. It drives my sons nuts. They want my wife to buy me a new Toyota Sequoia, a smartphone, and something other than the $9 tee shirts I get off Amazon.
But I learned something years ago, long after my 30s: It doesn’t matter. None of that stuff made me happy. It gave me pleasure, but pleasure fades and the darkness falls unless you are happy at your core. I am. So, I’d have liked to know not to take life so seriously. It cost me my first marriage and bad relationships all over the place because I tried to grind my way up the “ladder of success”. And it didn’t mean a thing."
Source: Marlon Brandy on Quora
"100% true and profound based on my own life experiences. I worked for a man who is swimming in money and sinking deeper and deeper into unhappiness.
I have been in third world countries where there was no money, and there was pure heartfelt happiness. I have been betrayed by FALSE friends, used financially and emotionally, stolen from, manipulated, deceived and left for dead.
I interview people and ask them to define "success", it is as if I asked them to define the "atom", the only answer they have is "money". People have made character , ethics, integrity and honesty an under valued waste of their time.
It reminds me of the 5 Life Regrets published by "Hospice International", these are the regrets of people who are in the last hours of theirs precious lives, they are poor, middle class and mega rich, they all have the same regrets, if you take nothing of value from this post, TAKE THIS.
#1 I wish I would have had the courage to share my true feelings with people.
#2 I wish I would have been true to myself, rather than everyone else.
#3 I wish I would have spent more QUALITY time with my family and friends.
#4 I wish I would NOT have worked so long and so hard, especially doing things I did NOT want to do.
#5 I WISH I WOULD HAVE GIVEN MYSELF PERMISSION TO BE HAPPY.
You notice there is NOTHING about success, money, materialism and soul mates. When it comes to climbing the success ladder of LIFE, you better make damn sure you are not really climbing DOWN."
Source: Gary King
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