I have been reading a book called “the Kings of Finance” 
You may have heard of a banking institution and family JP Morgan. The founder is generally accepted as a financial wizard and his exploits are legendary (more later).
Up until the turn of the 1900 century(and after) the gold standard was the way many governments operated their economic systems .
At least those that were members of the international financial club. Those governments that were not in the club certainly wanted to be because that gave them access to cheaper finance ,among other things , and so called status as a nation.
Naturally as governments they flouted the rules...
at one point or another, particullarly during and just after WWI
The gold standard was a system whereby no government in the club agreed to issue paper currency that exceeded the equivalent value of reserves it had in gold.
Simply put if you or I went to the bank we could swap our paper note for an equivalent in gold coin. The value of each govenments paper was fixed.
This was put in place to stop inflation among other things..I have opinions on gold that I will address at another time.
But for now … Warren Buffet’s opinion of it is pertinent…
“it gets dug out of the ground in Africa or someplace then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again.and pay people to stand round guarding it.
The problem with gold is that it is finite or at least slow to produce…..
And thus restrictive
Naturally there were exceptions to the gold standard rule we are humans after all,
I only mention the above to paint a picture for the purpose of this post.
JP Morgan was a massively influential banker who at one point bailed out the economy’s of some of the wealthiest nations in the world .
when he died in 1913 he left an inheritance of 80 million dollars cash the equivalent now of around…. 671,600,000
BUT GET THIS
His contemporary Rockallfeller who was worth (at least financially) 1 billion( the historic calculator coudn’t handle it)….. said
“well he wasn’t a rich man after all.
So what do you conclude from that?
How much money do you want?…
Surely there has to be a limit to our quest for money. If so then you have to ask the question…
How much do I want…
when you ask that question…
seriously…
then you can start to focus on your TRUE goals and to how to achieve them
There is no point in saying I want this or that until you truly know what you really want.
Money is not your goal it is just one method of achieving your goal.
Most of us work to earn money,…..
Getting in the flow of money is the way to accumulate it.
Once we understand this then our place and purpose become attainable , and our goals will reflect our desires in life.
Simply saying to yourself I want a shed load of money so I can do what I like is not specific enough.
Think and really think about what you want …
you may surprise yourself…
Most of the things we desire in life have nothing to do with money…
They often revolve around
things we cannot buy…
you cannot buy friends
Health
peace of mind
Human closeness… love
Queen Elizabeth 1st (1533-1603)said on her deathbed said….
” all my possessions for a moment of time”
You may well say that money makes things easier to cope with and poverty is not acceptable and…
I agree wholeheartly
” The Richest Man in Babylon“… or..” Rich Dad Poor Dad“.. or…” Scrooge“, all advocate TRUE charity as well as the pursuit of wealth.
We must think beyond our pursuit of money only by so doing will we achieve real wealth…
money is attracted to people with this karma.
Life is a Journey…..not a destination… our ultimate end is inevitable
TIME is our most important asset, you can always make money…. Listen to the free Easy Cash Webnar by Alex Jeffreys for some valuable advice on how to make better use of your time
Great post Vince! I am a huge fan of the Rich Dad series and the game Cash Flow is by far my favorite to play. If you haven’t played it, you have to. 100 times better than Monopoly.
One thing I would like to add is that there are 5 components to true wealth. Most people when they hear ‘wealth’, they think money. However, this is not correct. Here are the five elements that must be present to be truly wealthy. (Note: this is from memory, so I may be off by one or two.)
Financially
Spiritually
Health
Happiness
Love
Brandon M.´s last blog ..Chlorella Benefits – What Is It and How Can It Benefit You?
Great post Vince! I am a huge fan of the Rich Dad series and the game Cash Flow is by far my favorite to play. If you haven’t played it, you have to. 100 times better than Monopoly.
One thing I would like to add is that there are 5 components to true wealth. Most people when they hear ‘wealth’, they think money. However, this is not correct. Here are the five elements that must be present to be truly wealthy. (Note: this is from memory, so I may be off by 1 or two.)
1. Financially
2. Spiritually
3. Health
4. Happiness
5. Love
Hi Vince,
Another great book is The Corruption of Capitalism by Richard Duncan. He goes into the same arguments lamenting the breaking of the gold standard. He was Rich Dad’s financial adviser at the Success Congress recently.
He also stood out by being such a reserved character compared to some of the hype. He had an air of gravitas and also has a balanced view of what happens to capitalism next — after the meltdown.
Thanks, Vince, for a thought provoking blog. You certainly are a man of hidden depths.
Cheers
Tony
Hi Tony
Thanks for the heads up on the book I will defininatly read it. I am reading a book at the mo that you may like. I will give it to you at the next TMA meet
All the best mate
Vince
Hey Vince,
Speaking of the laws of attraction, over the weekend, you stopped by my blog but then I haven’t had time to respond so instead I came back to your blog and discovered this post.
What does that have to do with the laws of attraction?
1) I was just watching the movie, Goldfinger, thinking about how changing the gold standard has changed our economy since that film was made and
2) I always, always always played Time on my way home from work – before I was laid off.
As they say in Pittsburgh, Imagine that.
Julie Jules Watson´s last blog ..Getting The Right Mindset
Hi Jules
Yes things have moved on quite a bit since the gold standard, I highly recommend the book Kings of finance there are some very interesting parallels to the current ecconomic crisis and forarmed is forwarned as they say!!
Time is a classic and so very true
It is great to be speaking to you all the way in Pittsburgh from Sherwood Forest in the UK just shows how time is relative and getting shorter with the www
Hey Vince, good post. I liked the lead-in about gold.
But you’re right, money is not the goal, it’s just a tool to reach other goals. Good observation!
Peace,
Darren L Carter
Darren L Carter´s last blog ..Preview- A-Bomb Interview
Hi Darren
I am really looking forward to your interview with the A bomb survivor. The preview you published is awsome.
Hi Vince,
I really like this post. Oftentimes we are too focused on the money but it’s not really about the amount of money we get but rather what the money can do for us. You also bring up a good point about that most of the things that we desire in life has nothing to do with money.
Being specific is important too. I came up with a list of 100 things that I would do not only for me and my family but for the lives of others as well and it has really helped me to push on and move forward with my goals.
Anna
Anna Haller´s last blog ..Do you wANT to succeed
Hi Jean..
Yes dead right…but possessions as you know are only a transitory thing. You hit the nail on the head
V
Hi Anna
Yes we must put the important things first.. many think from the wrong direction … earn wads look after the human things next….
This reminds me of people who will sometimes slave for long hours most of their lives because their dream is to go camping and fishing in their retirement. Really, had they scaled back their possessions in their younger years, most of these folks could have worked much less and gone camping and fishing a lot more when they were young and had their kids around to go with them. Ah well, we all live and learn
Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..Newbie Interview Tips From My Virgin Interview