Talking about wealth and happiness is borderline taboo.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett sparked criticism in 2018 when he said, “If you have $100,000, and you’re an unhappy person, and you think that a million dollars will make you happy, it isn’t going to happen.”

Across the social media universe digital gasps were fired off as plenty of people were triggered by that sentiment.

I know it’s as cliché as they come, but it’s true: Money doesn’t buy happiness.

No. It offers you something much more important than that…

I always dreamed of money.

I know that sentiment might strike the wrong chord with some at first.

But the reality is, every poor kid dreams of money.

And I didn’t want money so I could accumulate things.

To me, money represented something else…

It represented freedom.

Liberty.

Security.

Stability.

Those were never provided for us when I was young.

Growing up, we struggled.

And I don’t mean “suburb poor.”

I mean, “Where are we going to live?” “Where’s our next meal coming from?” “Don’t get sick because we can’t afford a doctor.” That kind of struggling.

My adopted father raised us all his own. He was one of the uncelebrated single fathers. We moved from one town to the next, multiple times per year.

It was difficult, especially when we changed schools mid-year.

He was always on the hunt for money. Sometimes at the expense of our own safety and well-being. But he continued to chase it and chase it and chase it from one coast to the next and back again.   

And unfortunately, he never caught any.

Something my siblings and I promised ourselves would never happen to us.

But here’s the part a lot of people don’t understand…

Through it all, my siblings and I laughed. We were close. We were each other’s best friends. We had to be because there was no one else.

We developed great senses of humor and learned to appreciate the joys in life – no matter how small.

And a lot of people born into similar situations do the same.

It’s a survival tactic.

Because if you focus only on the despair, you’ll be overwhelmed.

It’ll crush you until all that remains is anger.

Believe me, there were times I was overwhelmed. That I felt helpless. That I was angry by the hand that I’d been dealt by life.

But I didn’t let those moments consume me.

What I let stay with me – the moments I let remain crystalline in my memory – are those that bring me the most joy:

The first time I kissed the woman that would become my wife…

The day I told her I loved her…

The day she said “I do”…

Each moment while traveling the world – one of our passions – where a new foreign place reveals its soul to us…

Hiking through the forest, watching the sun dance through the leaves…

The ocean…

Getting lost in a book…

Drawing… painting… taking photographs…

Listening to the chorus of wood frogs and toads during summer evenings…

These are what make my life worth living. These are why I get up each day.

Not money.

The reason we all invest is hopefully not because we think we’ll magically be happier, but because we know it’ll provide us the freedom to do what we want.

Buffett still lives in the house he bought in 1958 for $31,500. When asked why he hasn’t upgraded he simply said, “I’m happy there. I’d move if I thought I’d be happier somewhere else.”

I’m sure there are plenty that grew up watching MTV Cribs that struggle with the idea of a billionaire living in a modest home. But how many of those celebrities on that show ended up broke?

There are times when I feel like my journey has taken multiple lifetimes.

That the distances traveled are sometimes too vast to comprehend.

And I’m sure there as those out there that feel the same.

But that’s a life well spent striving for more, not just for more’s sake.

Underneath it all, there’s a secret… And Buffett and some many before are right. I knew how to find happiness before I had money. Even during times when it seemed bleak and hopeless.

That’s why I’m happy today.

The biggest  difference today is, I have more freedom. And that’s a freedom that I think we should all be able to enjoy.

Living free,

Matthew

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