I spent most of the morning developing a synopsis for my next book project and wasn't quite sure what to post here, but then a friend just told me about a Facebook status where a woman gloated over the extravaganza planned for her birthday, something sure to run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
I've also seen shrill Facebook posts re: new cars, new boats, and new home theater units. ("Envy us! We are the lucky ones! Don't you admire us?!")
So here it is: If you're lucky enough to immerse yourself in a continuous stream of high-end material goods, more power to you. I'm happy for you. What you choose to do is nobody else's business, and I hope you can keep padding your life with rampant consumerism (if that's what's important to you).
All I suggest is that you don't confuse your financial good fortune with presumptions that you're of better vision, character, or work ethic than anyone else on the planet. (I spent most of my time, money, and effort on giving my kid the best education I could afford — that didn't keep me in new cars or large-screen TVs, but it's an unquantifiable "commodity" that promises huge ROI).
Stephen King keeps a pretty simple work schedule: write all morning, return calls and email at midday, read all afternoon. What's fascinating about King isn't just how massively successful he's been, but how prolific he is despite that success. Some of the more compelling millionaires I've ever met are social entrepeneurs or fulltime philanthropists who don't just throw money at a cause but get to know its inner workings so they can create more durable fixes. I admire the example set by the late Dr. and Mrs. Brumley, who used their insights and good fortune in life to establish the Whitefoord project in Atlanta, which has benefited thousands of schoolchildren.
Creativity takes courage (Henri Matisse). Creativity requires calculated risk-taking, self-examination, and the "letting go of certainties" (Gail Sheehy). You have to be willing to accept a bit of discomfort. The paradox of regarding your possessions as achievements is that over time you numb out — you forget what the journey towards real achievement feels like....If you prefer to be defined by material goods, and to believe it's the beginning, middle, and end of your inner reserves, then you're going to miss out on a lot, not just as a creative but as a human being.
Currently there are plenty of industrious Americans working in jobs they can't stand, hoping to keep kids in college and elderly parents in assisted-living, hoping to make it to retirement, hoping just to survive. Plenty of Millennials are still struggling to find their first jobs, or trying to kickstart careers in unpaid internships. This nation's still recovering from the worst recession to hit our homes since the Great Depression.
If you've got good stuff, be grateful, not gleeful, and maybe read up on philanthropic opportunities (give a thousand children their very first b'day party instead of blowing it all on yourself). Anyone can suffer a reversal of fortune, and until all of us are doing better, none of us are really doing better — so learn a new level of grace. It'll fuel your creative endeavors too. #getoveryourself
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