One example of what I mean by this question, would be someone like Elon Musk. This ambitious fellow, the last time I checked (Sept. 30, 2024), had a net worth of $270 billion USD, making him the richest man on Earth. I also hear that he's on target to become the world's first trillionaire. He also has 12 children from three wives.
So when we compare a guy like this to the rest of us, at first glance, it doesn't seem like we are equal at all. However, even the mighty Elon is not going to live forever. And in the end, even he is not taking a dime of his money with him.
Back when I owned my fast food restaurant, I had a business colleague that had a net worth of 3.5 billion USD, who passed away a few years back from cancer. He was the founder of the entire chain, and he did have an incredible life, but he was only 67 when he died.
I remember being shocked, and thinking holy cow, I would be so pissed off if I died with that much money in the bank. The sad irony of it, is that I am now in fact a millionaire who has thoughts of suicide. It just proves that without your health, it's really hard to enjoy wealth.
I remember that I had an idea once that improved customer service in my restaurant. It was a tech gadget, and I figured since it was a global franchise, if it works for me it'll work for everyone. So I sent him an email and explained it to him, and he absolutely loved the idea, so he forwarded the email worldwide, to every franchisee and development agent in the chain.
Apparently his office was flooded with calls from people who wanted to know more details about the idea. So he asked me to send another email explaining every possible detail, so that his phone would stop ringing.
I never got any money for that idea, but I was absolutely thrilled that he would value the opinion of a little guy like me, who only owned one restaurant. I'm a Canadian, and there's franchisees down in the US who own 30 of these things, and are filthy rich themselves.
I guess my point with this, is it may not seem like we're equal at all in this life, but in reality I think we are. We are all biologically fragile, no matter how much money we have or do not have. There's actually been quite a few insanely wealthy celebrities in fact, who have passed away from tragic accidents and suicide in recent years.
I remember when I heard about Anthony Bourdain, the traveling celebrity chef from CNN (Parts Unknown was his show I believe). I was shocked, he had fame and fortune and everything that goes along with it. It's really hard to understand why someone with that much good going on in his life, would want to pack it in. Same with Robin Williams, I mean he had his own personal assistant for Pete's sake!
I mean, it just proves that absolutely anyone in life, no matter how blessed or charmed their life is, can have a health accident or crisis, and end up suffering intensely.
When you look at the really big picture, it definitely does seem like we're all equal after all. We all have fragile bodies, we all have very similar needs and desires, and we all pass away in the end, leaving all of our assets, and many of our loved ones behind.
This may seem like a really depressing thought, but it's not really, because it's just life. That's the deal, and it's a similar deal for all of us. My personal opinion is that we are indeed equal in overall significance. No matter how much money, notoriety, success, happiness, sadness, health or disability. Elon Musk, Taylor Swift, or someone who doesn't have a penny to their name. All of us, 100% equal in significance. But that's just my opinion, I'd love to hear yours!
So when we compare a guy like this to the rest of us, at first glance, it doesn't seem like we are equal at all. However, even the mighty Elon is not going to live forever. And in the end, even he is not taking a dime of his money with him.
Back when I owned my fast food restaurant, I had a business colleague that had a net worth of 3.5 billion USD, who passed away a few years back from cancer. He was the founder of the entire chain, and he did have an incredible life, but he was only 67 when he died.
I remember being shocked, and thinking holy cow, I would be so pissed off if I died with that much money in the bank. The sad irony of it, is that I am now in fact a millionaire who has thoughts of suicide. It just proves that without your health, it's really hard to enjoy wealth.
I remember that I had an idea once that improved customer service in my restaurant. It was a tech gadget, and I figured since it was a global franchise, if it works for me it'll work for everyone. So I sent him an email and explained it to him, and he absolutely loved the idea, so he forwarded the email worldwide, to every franchisee and development agent in the chain.
Apparently his office was flooded with calls from people who wanted to know more details about the idea. So he asked me to send another email explaining every possible detail, so that his phone would stop ringing.
I never got any money for that idea, but I was absolutely thrilled that he would value the opinion of a little guy like me, who only owned one restaurant. I'm a Canadian, and there's franchisees down in the US who own 30 of these things, and are filthy rich themselves.
I guess my point with this, is it may not seem like we're equal at all in this life, but in reality I think we are. We are all biologically fragile, no matter how much money we have or do not have. There's actually been quite a few insanely wealthy celebrities in fact, who have passed away from tragic accidents and suicide in recent years.
I remember when I heard about Anthony Bourdain, the traveling celebrity chef from CNN (Parts Unknown was his show I believe). I was shocked, he had fame and fortune and everything that goes along with it. It's really hard to understand why someone with that much good going on in his life, would want to pack it in. Same with Robin Williams, I mean he had his own personal assistant for Pete's sake!
I mean, it just proves that absolutely anyone in life, no matter how blessed or charmed their life is, can have a health accident or crisis, and end up suffering intensely.
When you look at the really big picture, it definitely does seem like we're all equal after all. We all have fragile bodies, we all have very similar needs and desires, and we all pass away in the end, leaving all of our assets, and many of our loved ones behind.
This may seem like a really depressing thought, but it's not really, because it's just life. That's the deal, and it's a similar deal for all of us. My personal opinion is that we are indeed equal in overall significance. No matter how much money, notoriety, success, happiness, sadness, health or disability. Elon Musk, Taylor Swift, or someone who doesn't have a penny to their name. All of us, 100% equal in significance. But that's just my opinion, I'd love to hear yours!
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