Monday, March 28, 2011

Money, Money, Money

Please answer the follwing prompts in a detailed, fluent response. Make sure to comment on other people's views within your own response. Take your level of thinking higher. Make sure you are being thorough and honest. What are your perceptions of material wealth/money? What is "wealth"? Do we see too much excess today? If your financial status a reflection of how successful you are? What is success to you? Are we always wanting more? Do we "want" too much? Is being content or fulfilled enough? When is enough, enough? (Do not do this one till Wed. 30th).

27 comments:

  1. The thought of being wealthy is on everybody's mind. The word 'wealthy' is defined different by every human being. Being wealthy could mean anything from being rich, to being happy. People are hungry for wealth and some will do almost anything to get it. Depending on how you define wealth, your financial status definitely is a reflection of how successful you are. Success to me is being happy and not having to worry about anything. Most of the time, if you don't have to worry about anything, to me that means you have the money to take care of things so you don't have to stress. I, myself am always wanting more because once I reach one level at school or in everyday life, I have to test the next. People definitely "want" too much, or say they "need" more. Nobody will ever be 100% content. If they are successful with one thing, most likely they will want to test the next level or take on the next challenge.

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  2. The word wealthy brings up many obvious ideals to mind for example money. However if we step outside the box we can connect wealth to many other things such as knowledge, good and bad experiences and so many other things. For me, wealth is not just about having material possessions or vast amounts of money but the small things. For example having a family meal or hanging with friends makes me feel wealthy. Like Julia said people tend to define wealth by financial status and lose sight of other possibilities of wealth. Success for me is a great example of wealth. When I do something good for others such as building a school in Belize I feel happy and successful and most of all wealthy with new friendships and a sense of completion.

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  3. My perception of material wealth is a little undecided. It is important to recognize that there are positives and negatives to it. The positives include not having to live a stressed out life style living paycheck to paycheck. However, I feel like the more one succeeds, the greedier they become. I fully agree with Adam Smith's perspective on the meaning of wealth. He believes that it should be defined by how happy you are at what you do, no matter the pay of it. Unfortunately, this is very unrealistic because certain things need to be accomplished, like collecting the garbage, that nobody enjoys doing. Financial status obviously does play some role in how successful you are. On the other hand, so do the things you accomplish in your lifetime and how happy you are as an individual. For example, Mother Teresa does not live in material wealth, but she obtains so much spiritual wealth. I will have to admit that I often want what I can't have. It is just human nature.There is always one thing better than what we already obtain. I believe this is why we as humans find it hard to be content with what we have.In my opinion, the human needs are represented in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs including essential survival needs, comfort/safety, psychological needs, acceptance of others, and self-actualization. Not all of this will come at once, but through our life I believe it is possible to achieve this, which is true wealth inside of yourself.

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  4. Money is the key to motivating men, and is thus the key to civilization. Money is the badge of labor and intellect, the proof that you did a good days work and you deserve what you want, so long as you have worked hard enough for it. It is money that compels Rockefellers and Henry Fords, for without it there is nothing to gain.

    Wealth is the fulfillment of desire, whether this be money, or "good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience."(Mark Twain) Wealth is an earned thing, something that men show off and are proud of.

    The problem today is not one of excess, as every dollar that every corporation makes, every paycheck a person makes, stems from hard work and innovation. The problem is will generation Y be able to prove they are worth the reward, competing with the world on ever evening planes, or are we doomed to fail and drop what generations before us built up and refined? I believe we have what it takes, and it will try us, but we will emerge stronger, wiser, and happier than before, and make our contribution to the gauntlet we will pass on to our children.

    While the world of your friends and family doesn't demand that you bring home the bacon and in thick cuts, the rest of us do have little else to measure your success by other than your money and how you earned it.

    "Man’s unique reward, however, is that while animals survive by adjusting themselves to their background, man survives by adjusting his background to himself"(Ayn Rand)
    Want has power. Who doesn't want more money, who has to many good friends, why wouldn't you want a nicer house, and what sane person would say no to more love? Want is a driving force. it is what drives us to achieve. It is also another name for greed. Greed is how society is built. If it wasn't for a greedy savage, not satisfied with his hunts and berries, would we have agriculture, which is the basis for civilization. Would greedy James Watt improved the stem engine just for societies good? How many years latter would we have the personal computer if it weren't for the competing greed of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates? Greed, want, desire, these are the things that make civilization, the constant desire for more. More food, more love, more money, more goods, more services, more glory, more pride.. It is this constant urge that makes men push to be all they can be

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  5. Whether people want to admit it or not, money is important to everyone. Money is a necessity in the world we live in. You don't necessarily need to be a millionaire but it gets you the things you need in order to survive.I completely agree with Julia when she says that people are money hungry. It seems to be the only thing that some people care about. Money and success doesn't make you happy. Some of the most successful people living in our world are also the most unhappy. I think true success is when you are satisfied with everything you have achieved and your life and are finally happy. Your financial status shouldn't ever be a reflection of your success, but unfortunatly at this day and age it seems to be all that most people care about. It is incredibly sad that we are sending this message to the future generations and children that money and success is the only thing that can satisfy you. It never will. You must be happy and confident in yourself before you will be satisfied. Our world "wants" too much. We should all focus on the true necessities of life and care less about the extra "wants". All the other baggage and material items that can be bought with money will never fulfill or satisfy us.

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  6. Money is a funny thing. For so many people it determines happiness and personal worth. It can make someones life miserable or fufilling depending on the person. A person could have only enough money to live by but still be happy and content with the few things they have. A differnt person could have endless money and still be unhappy and unsatisfied. I agree with what Sydney said about money is important to everyone. Money usually determines sucess because it shows that you made things happen and have a good job. I think that we have to much excess of money in the U.S. today because people spend money like it is nothing and throw money around, while there are other people who hold on to every last penny just to survive. I think the less money we have the more we care about it and see the need for it. I think that everyone always wants more money. If someone offered you ten dollars would you say no? If you won the lottery would you not be ectatic? I know I personally think sometimes what it would be like to have a lot of money to do whatever I wanted with. I dont think that money should determine sucess but at the same time you cant always suceed if you dont have enough money because you are limited and cant get ahead. Our world today has made it so that money holds a lot of importance. It is what we do with it and if we dont get greedy that makes the difference.

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  7. I believe money is the leading cause of problems, both on a local and global level. Money gives people a feeling of self-entitlement. Meaning, if someone needs help, one feels the need to be paid back in return, giving the one in need unneeded stress and the one helping a lack of morals. Also, in this time, people don’t live off the land, but more so live off money. One seldom sees a person provide for themselves off a garden or hunting completely, so people have to depend on money to provide for themselves and their families/loved ones. So, because money is needed to survive, it is a key motive for murder, burglary (obviously), kidnapping, war, and many other negative happenings. The dollar also gives people power. This is both good and bad, depending on how that power is used. It can be used to either help someone struggling financially or it can be used to annihilate civilizations with expensive and devastating nuclear bombs. I believe money all in all is bad. This is because it is human nature to survive, and thrive; meaning when we receive the power of the dollar, we horde it for self-gain and forget those who need it more. It infects us with a nasty, overcoming greed which corrodes our compassion for the less fortunate. People (specifically Americans) live by an immature-“you snooze you lose” attitude. To have wealth is not always to have greed though. There is a rare type of people which chose to use their power for good. Also, to have wealth can be beneficial to the hunt for success and happiness. Amelia Harris said that financial status relates to how successful one is. I agree with this. That is because to be successful is not necessarily to have money, but to be successful is to be completely satisfied and happy with your life; and it can be hard to feel that way if you’re struggling financially. As I’ve been saying, money makes the world go around, and if a man finds happiness in expensive cars and bodily-flaunting gold-diggers, then he better have a handsome sum of cash! But that is the sick thing about Americans. Whenever we are blessed with shit-tons of money, we blast it on cars and women and other snazzy but unnecessary things. This is because humans have, and always will have, an insatiable hunger. Whether this is a hunger for wealth or women or even something good like the want to influence people in a positive way, people will always “want” something. I would say it’s foolish to say people want too much because to say that would be like saying we breathe too much. Want is unavoidable, whether good or bad. It is the very essence of human ambition, and humans will never truly feel like they’ve had enough. Just some people will choose to think “that’s good enough”. Honestly, I believe that’s good, because if it wasn’t for this attitude, no one would be special. Civilization would evolve either very slowly, or not at all; because it is this ambition and this hunger which drives those which are talented to do amazing, progressive things. These amazing things that people accomplish drive the progression of civilization. Well, that is my opinion on wealth. I’m not sure how to wrap this up, so...yea.....well this is awkward.....

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  8. Wealth is defined as a great quantity or store of money, valuable possessions, property, or other riches.To me wealth isn't only money or things of value, like Carter said it can be the simple things like a family meal or being around friends.A person cannot have too much or an excess of wealth, if it is what a person desires and they work hard and earn it themselves
    that is fine by me, but i think it is wrong when it is handed to people.Success is definitely defined by financial status, especially by people who don't know you because they will easily judge you from things they see,like the car your driving or the clothes you are wearing.If you are seen driving a nice car people will automatically assume you have a lot
    of money or live in a nice house,I even catch myself doing it all the time.Success to me is not only money, it is being happy with yourself
    and what you stand for and not caring what other people think of you.I think people are always wanting more because they want to fit in with the people who have the latest new things, but there needs to be a point in time where you can say to yourself I am happy with what I have and
    it is plenty. Enough is enough only when you can
    tell yourself you are grateful for what you have and you don't need more,you cannot have someone
    tell you that.

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  9. In the society that we live in, wealth usually equals power, status, and superiority. Some act like wealth is what they are, not what they have. My perception of material wealth and money is that it can help you or destroy you, sometimes both at the same time. Like Teddi said, in our world today, money seems to hold some sort of importance. How did this happen? If greed is perceived as being “bad”, why does it continue to happen? Although the gap is getting larger between the rich and poor, we do not see too much wealth today. If anything, we see too much poverty today. Even if it is a trend, it is excellent that celebrities and the wealthy give back to charity to help and support others who are not as fortunate. In a way, financial status is a reflection of how successful you are in some aspect of life. For example, Bill Gates is wealthy and successful because he worked hard, but a trust fund baby who does not have a job, etc. is wealthy, but unsuccessful career wise, but maybe they are successful in terms of having a happy, healthy family. We definitely want too much. Is it really our fault to want too much? Does our way of life cause us to always want more money, the newest car, the best clothes, etc. We often forget what really matters: friendships, family, happiness, and the small things in life. Having these things is considered “successful”. For some, being content and fulfilled may be enough, but not everyone. They always want more, more, more. It’s a vicious, never ending cycle. Enough is enough when the time comes where the materials begin to not really matter, and feeding an ego is a destructive addiction. Of course, money can help certain situations, but in the end, wealth is not what matters.

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  10. Money, it’s something that every one desires. Without money, you wouldn’t be able to legally acquire material possessions, and this would be a very bad thing in a world that is so materialistic. However I would not say that money is an accurate way to measure someone’s wealth. You can have a person who has truck loads of money and little human contact, but I wouldn’t consider them to be wealthier then a middle class person who also has many relationships with friends, family, pets, and co workers. In the “wealthy” countries we base our wealth on how much money we have and what we own. This is because media is constantly showing advertising to buy the biggest and the newest and the best of everything down our throats, and we mindlessly “swallow” these messages. When you have someone who has to buy a new phone every few months just because a newer model came out rather than because their phone broke, it says a lot of things. People are more concerned with what material objects they have then what life has offered them. As far as the question about success, I feel this could go either way. I agree because many of the higher paying jobs take a lot of hard work to obtain, but then I disagree because you never know someone’s situation. For example, at a Christian conference that I attended over the summer I met a college student who was working 6 different jobs, while going to school, just so that she could donate her pay checks to a foundation which sponsors children in third world countries. To many people they would see a girl working very hard, and living in poverty and assume that she is not very successful, but they wouldn’t know that she actually is very successful, but rather than keeping her money, she gives it to people she feels needs it more. Success to me is achieving ones personal goals. It is not making a lot of money, or working the job that everybody wants; it is setting goals for yourself and achieving them no matter what they are. You can set a goal to become something that many people would see as a lower class citizen, but if it what you want, then getting the position would be success. As far as the questions about want, it really depends on the person. You can have a person on one side of the spectrum that wants everything and is never happy with what they have, and then you can have someone on the opposite side who is content with what they have. It is really a personal choice.

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  11. I'm a person that tends to be money driven. Money dictates what I get to do with my friends, money dictates what I buy on vacation etc. Money plays a pretty big role in my life, and I could imagine that it's also significant likewise in others' lives. I also think that everyone's definition of wealth is different. For instance, someone might define wealth as being a certain level of happiness, like what Carter said, but when I hear 'wealth' I think of money. We live in a money driven society. Anything we do costs money. You drive to the movies, you pay for gas. You buy tickets, you pay. You want a snack, you pay, etc.
    I liked Parker's answer for the next topic. He said, “The problem today is not one of excess, as every dollar that every corporation makes, every paycheck a person makes, stems from hard work and innovation.” I agree with that statement. Most everyone works for the money they make and are happy in the end to get paid for the time they spent doing that job, so I feel like money isn't something that we have too much of. We get what we work for.
    I definitely think that wealth is a reflection of how successful you are. Like I said earlier, you work for your money and that's how it works. If someone puts in the time and dedication to make that money, then yes, that person is successful. But I know that there are people that are saying that money doesn't reflect wealth, and I understand that. Some people might argue that lending a helping hand to someone in need is being successful, or donating to save a child's life, is successful, and I don't disagree with any of those things, again, it just depends on how you look at it, and who you ask.
    Success to me, is feeling good about a certain thing, whether it's a material item, such as money, or not. But I think that it's the 'American Way' to want more, possibly even human nature. We are competitive peoples and we will jump in front of our neighbors to get ahead in the world. Competition = People = Americans = Economy = The World. I also don't think that we can want too much, either. Want is good. Want is the driving force for success. If you don't want something bad enough, why would you work hard to get it? Want brings determination. Why feel content when you can feel successful? Why not put forward that extra effort for the extra outcome? Why go for the 'C' when you can get the 'A'?

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  12. My view of money is completely different than the majority of those who live in this world. In other words, I believe that the world sees money as a must-have over anything else in life. We strive for the absolute best. We want the best car, house, outfit, ect. The list could go on and on. Wealth, to this world, is being rich and having everything at your fingertips. I personally do not think that is a healthy way to view what true "wealth" is. I agree with what Talor said in that to be truly successful is to be completely satisfied. I think this same idea goes along with wealth. I think some of the "wealthiest" people are wealthy because they are satisfied but they are also humble. Some of the richest people in the world are some of the happiest and not because how much they have but how much they give to others. I think that in everyone's life the motive behind money should come from a humble, giving heart. The millionaires who spend it all on themselves have too much money and too much time to waste it all. How satisfying will that be later on when it's all gone? I think the world measures success based on the idea of how "rich" you are. Everyone at one point has thought about how amazing life would be if we were that rich. I think it's a normal thing to sometimes want that and dream of what you would do. However, success should not be measured by the dollar sign. Success should be measured by how much a person is helping someone else become better. How are we solving today's problems? That's success. I honestly believe no person can feel successful if they haven't worked from the bottom up. Those who have it all right away never once learned what it's like to earn something. I think our world has the wrong idea of money. If we didn't see money as a reward, would we still be working for it? What are we working towards? Is it the money or is it the feeling of doing something productive or accomplishing something new? I believe we will always be wanting something more or something better. No one is perfect and life could always be better to every single person, even the richest of the world. Yet, we get in trouble when we want too much or excessively want it so much that it takes away from our ability to work for something. Maybe instead of dreaming big, we just do what we can do to the absolute best of our abilities. If we make it to the top, great! At least will we know we tried and that's all anyone can ask for. If everyone aimed to do their best with nothing in return I think the world would be a much happier place. There would be less greed, jealousy, and less anger. Only then, would money have a more positive impact on our world.

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  13. Wealth is defined mainly by money but it also can be defined by a few other aspects. Although money is a big part of wealth it is not the only part of wealth. Wealth could be described as being successful, having great relationships with family and friends, or just being happy. I think wealth is mainly defined by money because, like Nick said, you need money to do certain things in your life, and when you do those certain things you are happy. Today their is not an excess of wealth because there can not really ever be an excess of wealth. Wealthy people are usually happy not because of te money but because of the fact that they earned that money and those relationships so they are happy. Financial status can be a reflection of how successful you are cause if you are wealthy, you typically did something to earn that money. Also there are those people who are born into inheritance and don't really do anything to deserve that money. Those people are wealthy but I wouldn't define them as successful. Success to me is doing something great in life, something I can be proud of. Its not always all about the money but money sure ties in right along side wealth and success. In society today we are always wanting more because people always want the "bigger and better things." This is not a bad thing because why would someone go to work everyday just to save money in an account and never spend it. People work in order to buy things, things that they WANT. It is almost impossible to want too much because want definetly drives society today, without want no one would have any motivation. There is never enough either because, once again, people are always wanting "bigger and better things." They want to buy more an more so they go to work to make money. There is never enough today because people are always wanting more and more.

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  14. I believe that most people dream of having a surplus of wealth or riches. Most people want to have it all and in my opinion when you are wealthy life would be much more enjoyable. Talor said that he thinks money is the leading cuase of problems. But I think that without money the world would just not function. You have to have it. People might say that it causes problems and they hate it but not many people would live in proverty. I do not think though that our success is determined by our wealth. Wealth in my opinion means your fincal status. Success can be measured in many different ways I would say someone who lives a happy life is succesful. I also think that there are some people that want way to much once they are extremley rich they just want more some people just have a obbsesion with money and they will do anything even if it means breaking the laws to get rich and stay in that finacial position. Enough is enough to me when I am happy and can live a decant life but for some people it is when they could have anything that they could ever dream of having at their fingertips.

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  15. I think that wealth is basically just a large amount of money. Everyone wants to be wealthy in this society it is all about the money. People think that money is everything for them. Money is about everything, we can't just live for money is not like it just falls down from the sky. Wealth is really just wanting and needing the things you really don't need in life. I really like what Julia said when she said this... "The word 'wealthy' is defined different by every human being. Being wealthy could mean anything from being rich, to being happy. " i like this because it pretty much sums up what wealth really is. Everyone in this society is always thinking about wealth and how they want to be wealthy. I do think that we see too much excess today everywhere we go we do. I do think that our financial status does reflect on how we are sucessful today because if you think about it if you have one of the better money making jobs you will become more sucessful then others and if you have a job that is a lesser paying job then you will become sucessful it is just a different type of sucess. Everyone comes sucuessful in their own way. Sucess means to me making the money you make and being happy and going far with it and also doing the best you can do.Everyone always says they will not become sucessful or they are sucessful but really everyone will become sucessful even if you don't think so. Sucess is a big word and is a different meaning for everyone else. I do think that we are always wanting more. Thats all we do is want more! WANT is big thing in todays society we want what we cant have we always want something but you get what you get and we don't get what we always want it doesn't work that way we be happy with what we have. We shouldnt always want. We want bigger and better things but we can't have them. I do think we want too much because all we do is want and wanting is not such a good thing because in the end we don't end up with what we want. Wanting too much is not a good thing even though we do it anyway which isn't right.I don't think being content or fullfilled is enough. We act like we are happy with where we are and we are content but we really aren't because we WANT more more more! I dont think anyone knows when enough is enough because we keep fighting for what we want. The truth is we need to wake to reality and know we won't get what we want and be happy with what we have and not always want more. Reality is right in front of us not our happy wealthy life we everything we have that we wanted. This is reality.

    Is being content or fulfilled enough? When is enough, enough? (Do not do this one till Wed. 30th)

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  16. I think that money is an important thing for our society. It is what keeps us going to work everyday and it is what keeps us working hard and being efficient. The probelm is when people see wealth as just money and the expensive things we have. Shouldnt wealth be having the people that we love in our life and the happiness that they bring to us? We take that for granted. We do not see that we are lucky to even have that. We are greedy and always want what we cannot have. We always want MORE. There is a part of human nature of wanting what other people want and what you cannot have and i think that money is a main target in that situation. We want money not because it brings you happiness or gives you anything that you want but because other people have it and we dont. We want people to look at US and say "i want that." Your financial status is not what your level of success should be based off of. Success is not the brand name clothes that you wear or the nice cars that you drive, success is the sweat and tears that you put into something that you deeply care about and believe is worth your effort. It does not matter if you actually get material things out of that either, success is knowing that you tried your hardest and knowing that you did everything in your power to achieve a goal.

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  17. In some ways I agree with Julia, but in other ways I disagree. I think that wealth is depended on the person, but I also think that your financial status doesn’t reflect how successful you are. I think that your success is a reflection of how happy you are. Many people are happy with the way that they live their everyday life because of their family and friends. Others need money to be happy and that reflects their success. To me, success is happiness and reaching a goal of yours. As a human race, we have been taught to always reach for the stars and I think this means that we always do want more. We might have one thing, but we are right onto the next. In some ways we do want too much in materialistic ways. But I never think that we have enough. We are Americans and we have always been told to push ourselves, and that includes never being happy with what seems to be almost perfection. It doesn’t matter if that is money or happiness, I feel like we are always trying to improve what we already have. Money has become a necessity in life though, and this has changed many ways of living. Wealth is the focus of life and it has many different meanings. There is wealth in terms of your family and in terms of money. To me, wealth is the idea of fulfilling something until you feel you have a substantial amount. This might be happiness or an amount of money. I wish that we weren’t so dependent on money, but that is our life and you really can’t live without it.

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  18. Money, we want it, we need it, we have it, we don't have it. Money controls us. That's what I am hearing from most of these comments. But why does it have to control you? It's just a thing. Why does any 'thing' have to control a person? In my opinion, money is an obstacle, blocking me from what I really want to achieve. I have to pay to go there, I have to pay to buy that, I have to pay to eat. You might as well say that I have to pay to LIVE. Everything costs money in this world, which means we can't escape it. So there is no use trying to. My idea of wealth has absolutely NOTHING to do with money. To me being wealthy is being happy; getting satisfaction out of the littlest things in life; succeeding joyfully at a task. Wealth isn't the amount of jewelry I have, it isn't the size of wad of money in my wallet, it isn't whether or not I have all A's. Wealth is doing well at something I love to make even more enjoyable. On the other end of the spectrum there is success. How does success correlate with wealth? Some people might say that if you're successful you will be wealthy or vice versa. But I disagree. Like Nick Tice said success isn't just money (wealthiness) it is being happy with yourself and what you stand for you. On that note I can agree. I am successful because I love doing well in high school and I love to learn. I am wealthy because I cherish what I have and never take any 'thing' or person for granted. WE is a general statement. Yes, WE are always wanting more because there is always more to want. But I am not ALWAYS wanting more. Sure, I see a new iPad on tv and sure I 'want' it. But I don't need it and I know that. I am able to tell myself when enough is enough, but I know people that aren't. When I feel I have achieved more than I was hoping for I KNOW that is more than enough. The problem with today's world though, is that no one reaches that state of accomplishment where THEY know enough is enough. So why can't we just stop to smell the roses...that we already have?

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  19. This topic is all over the place in my mind. Wealth has always been something I have had mixed emotions about. I can never come to a conclusion. My perception on material wealth and money isn’t about happiness, it is about being comfortable. I believe money provides security, which leads to comfort. Yes, having material goods does lead to happiness and having nice things does make someone feel good, but I believe there is a lot more to life than just money. I agree with Eric and Talor. Money can cause problems because unfortunately, there are people out there who believe money is the number one priority in life. However, I also agree with Eric. Without money, the world would not function. Money is a huge part of our society. I believe that money provides a feeling of freedom; freedom from doing the jobs we dread, freedom from being an average person. Everyone strives to have the freedom that allows us to own our own lives. Unfortunately, there is a lot of excess in our world today. Money controls a lot of people’s inner beliefs and attitudes. People will do anything for power and money, which often leads to greed. This leads to the topic of reputation. Everyone wants to be seen as a wealthy person. Everyone wants to be known for having power and being successful. In our society, financial status is a reflection of how successful you are. Think about it, the more successful you are, the harder you have worked to earn your money. Like the doctors and lawyers who live in the beautiful homes in Cherry Hills, those lucky people who own beach houses along with mountain homes and sweet cars. Any person would look at those people and think they were very successful. Unless you win the lottery, or you get lucky and inherit a lot of money, financial status is a reflection of how successful you are. Success does not always mean being successful in the business world. Success can be anything you want it to be. It could be finding the love of your life. It could be losing those 20 pounds you have been trying to lose for years, and it could also be success in the business world. Everybody wants what they can’t have. Everybody wants more than what they have. It’s human nature. My dad has always told me, “Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.” People may always want more than what they have, like the fancy material goods, but I believe you will find true happiness in the things you already have. Material goods provide nothing but comfort, accepting what you have is when one is truly happy. Like family, you should never need anything more if you have a loving family that provides for you. I don’t understand why some people always want more and can never find happiness. Some people want way too much. Those are the people who will try their whole lives to find happiness in the material goods, but will never ever find it. They may be content or fulfilled, but in the end, they won’t be truly happy. That is never enough for anyone. Enough is enough when someone wants too much and they continuously get provided with the silly material goods. Also, enough is enough when one doesn’t put things into perspective. Some people don’t have the money to buy material goods. Some people don’t even have enough money to buy food and clothes. At this point they will never learn and they will never find true happiness. I believe that no one can be truly happy until they realize that family is number one. They will be there for you through thick and thin. Material goods do not matter, all you need is family and you will find true happiness.

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  20. I agree with Eric we need money to run our country, and I am torn into two halves because I don’t want to let money control me but it is essential to survive in this world. Money has corrupted our country and world and it is sad. I agree with Taylor too money does cause a lot of problems. So how do we live life without money? We can’t! Money is just an idea. If I hold money in one hand and a regular piece of printing paper, money has more value. But the printing paper is bigger why not want what is bigger? Money is so confusing and I know it’s cliché but you can’t live with money and you can’t live without money.

    Wealthy…[wel-thee] –adjective, wealth•i•er, wealth•i•est. 1. having great wealth; rich; affluent: a wealthy person; a wealthy nation. 2. characterized by, pertaining to, or suggestive of wealth: a wealthy appearance. 3. rich in character, quality, or amount; abundant or ample: a novel that is wealthy in its psychological insights.

    Too much wealth today? Yeah probably. I bet we could live with a little bit less money or at least use that money on something more helpful than a new pair of shinny shoes or the new ipod.
    Success is a mystery to me. I have no idea what it is. I feel like success is a word that is used too much and out of context. Success could be anything so some people said it could be a new friend, a dinner eaten with a family, a new big expensive house, getting that job you always wanted. It could be anything. I have no idea what it is to me because I don’t know what I want.

    Yes we are always wanting more stuff. But sometimes we want the right things such as wanting to be a nicer person or something like that. Wanting too much is something everyone struggles with. When we have the money we want something or we see something and then if we like it we want it. Being content or fulfilled can be enough if you are a person who is willing to do that. But most people aren’t. Enough is enough when I see myself as the person I don’t want to be.

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  21. Like everyone has said in previous comments, wealth is something that really cant have an all around definition put on it. Some may say money, while others say it is appreciation for what you have in your life. Im going to blatenly come out and say that, wealth if the fulfillment of a persons wants and/or desires. To sum it up, thats what it is. When people say that being wealthy is having a lot of money, thats what they truly desire in their own life. When others say that they are rich and wealthy in connections with people, thats what they want. The people that put a definition on this "wealth" are only defining what they think they need in their life. Is their excess? Yes there is excess, because how often do you hear someone say that they dont want or need anything anymore. Everybody wants something, and once you achieve or even start to obtain what you want, then you are becoming wealthy. Success and wealth go hand in hand. I would say the same things for both of those statements of being wealthy or successful. And you can never want too much. Once you have stopped wanting, what is there to live for, because even when material things are aquired, dont you "want" family and "want" to just live. It never ends and i think that is an alright thing! All in all, you have to ask yourself, what is the wealth i seek. You have to know what your looking for before it can be found because you cant be wealthy if you are unaware of the "riches" you have obtained.

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  22. I believe that money is important, but it is not something to show of or be greedy about. I know that going to certain schools, or living in neighborhoods can make you seem "rich" and that is something that bothers me. I went to Cherry Hills Christian School from pre-school to 8th grade, and coming into Arapahoe, people would tell me that I had to be rich just from going to my school. But really that's just what my parents choose to spend their money on, it didn't necessarily make me have anymore money than kids who went to Powell. Just the other day I went to go drop something off at my boss's house, and friend came along. After we left she asked me about his house, and that if he had the job he has, shouldn't he be living in a nicer, bigger home? I told her that some people do other things with their money than invest in giant beautiful homes. Those are the people I respect, they have a steady job that makes them a lot of money, but just use it to get the necessities. A home big enough for their family, food, clothes. They don't waste it on fancy cars, and mansion homes to show off the fact that they make a ton on money. I don't believe that it is something to show how successful you are. That can easily be kept to oneself. I also believe that Americans can never have enough. We are always wanting more, or new. I can't count how many I know that had the old Iphone, and it worked perfectly, but the second the new one came out they had to have it. Not because they needed it,but because they were bored with what they already had and wanted more. I honestly don't know when enough is ever going to be enough.

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  23. A providing, make or break you, tiny but huge concept; money is complex! I agree with Teddi that money is wierd. For some people it's their life and all they ever aim for. While for others, it's simply an object used in the grand scheme of life. Even now, not even out of high-school, I feel the weight of importance of money on my shoulders. It's terrifying because it can make or break you, and motivating because it drives you to work hard.
    Wealth is a hard definition. Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is money; the "good" life full of carefree spending and beautiful people. But when you think hard about it, that's not what wealth means at all. Wealth is a definition that fits your individual lifestyle that you, personally, aim for. For a lot of people, that happens to be money. However, its not the only thing.
    Walking through the hallways here at Arapahoe, I see excess every single day. What with clothing brands, hair, cell-phones, even food. Not just in high-school either; ever been to Vegas or Tokyo? I think it's kind of greedy. People can buy what they want when they want it and however much they want. The saying "you can never have too much of _____." Yeah, I disagree completely. There's a stopping point for most everything and we, as people, have taken it over the edge.
    I think financial status plays with our minds a little. If we let it, it'll make us think we're better or worse than other people. Success is determined by where you are in your own life and what you aim for as a person, not by how much money you have compared to the person next to you.
    Wanting is a natural reflex. That thing that you cant have is exactly what you want. Its curiostiy and jealousy that drives us to want those things. We look at everbody else's story and think "If only I had that", but are blind to our own. I think we need to learn how to appreciate what we have right in front of us.
    Being content and being fulfilled are two different things. Contentment, on one hand, is settlling or resting on something, without strive or motivation to keep moving. While fulfillment is a feeling of accomplishment, thus driving us to keep going and get that again. Fulfillment is enough but while contentment is nice for a while, you aren't living your life if you're just sitting in your comfort zone.

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  24. To me, the fact of the matter, is that wealth should be detirmined based on the amount of money someone has. This is not a figure, nor should it have anything to do with polital power and control, or the feeling of social immuntiy. These are some of the "burdens" certain kinds of people carry with them when they have a lot of money. Capitalism at it's best!!! This is our country's way of constructing a system based on money. But with wealth comes an opportunity to use your "wealth" for either self benefitting things such as power, material possessions, and control, or... wealth is the reward a person gets after years of virtous life, working and thriving for success, and setting goals to achieve. This is the difference between selfish rich people, and people benefitting not just themselves, but everyone. Wealth should be used for the betterment of lower classes, then comes the opportunity to bask in your riches. This means success is not measured by wealth. Its very hard to gain power without money and it's unfortunate our society has made it this way. If we had a better distrubtion of wealth, it would improve many poor peoples lives, yet also make many rich people's lives less extavagant. We need a more fair balance nonetheless, because in some cases people dont eben realize how rich they actually are. They just start spending, instead of putting the money where it needs to be. I believe we want too much, we need to enjoy the simple things, so when the complex things come along, they are all the more amazing. Wealth can be achieved but you will never know when you are becoming a selfish statistic, so I try to stay virtuous and open minded.

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  25. Material wealth/ money is a huge part of todays world. People are always on the edge trying to achieve, or gain more and more of it. The idea of being "wealthy" is almost always associated with money. You see it come with fame, you see it come with success. These days who doesn't want to be rich and able to buy anything you want. Thats the perfect life right? I do think that idea has too much excess today. It's way over rated. However when I looked up the world wealth in the dictionary is came up with: an abundance or profusion of anything; plentiful amount. Wealth doesn't necessarily have to be about money. If you had a lot of it then yes you would be wealthy with money, however you can be wealthy of friends, talents, spirituality, or happiness. I'm not gonna lie and say I wouldn't mind being wealthy of money, but there is so much other wealth I could have that I'd choose over money any day. Your financial status does play some role in how successful you are, but only of certain things, like you your work habits, schooling and such. There are things though, that you can be successful in that can not be shown through how much money you have like I stated before. Success to me, in all honesty is to be how and where you want to in this world. With that comes happiness and you can not achieve this without being content with yourself. Yes, people are always wanting more. The bigger, the better, the nest greatest thing, and I think we do that to much. If we are always wanting more then we clearly are not content. I say if we are content then it is enough, but those who aren't will never be happy enough. Enough is enough when we are content. I guess it depends on how you where raised, and what your views are in this world, but everyone is different, and no one will ever be content enough.

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  26. In my opinion, wealth can have a different meaning for everyone. Whether it be the amount of money a person has or the ability to supply you and your family's necessities. Wealth to me means being able to pay for everything you need like food, clothes, and a home. I feel that when your happy with your life style, no matter what class your in, your "wealthy."

    Money to me is an odd material in our lives that we can't live without. People are always saying that we don't need money and we will be much happier without it. But the realization of not having money in our lives is unrealistic. I'm on both sides of the subject. I do believe we would be happier without money because people wouldn't be in debt and have to stress about paying the bills. But our world runs on money, I couldn't even imagine our lives without it. Its sad to think that we can't live our lives without a certain man-made material.

    People are always wanting. We are always looking for new things that we don't need. Whenever a new iphone comes out, people are rushing towards the apple store just to get a new one. They don't need it because their phone is working just fine, but its not new anymore..its old. I think its sad that we are always wanting everything. We see something new on t.v. and we think to ourselves, "I need that." But we know we don't, we just try to make ourselves think that we do.

    Success is another weird word that can mean so many things to different people. The definition I hear often, is accomplishing your dream and getting that well paying job that you worked hard for. I kind of believe that, but I feel that when your successful in life, is when your happy with your life. I don't think it matters on what job you have or how big our house is or the nice sports car you have, all that matters is if your happy with what your doing with your life. After high school, I don't know what I want to be, all I know is if I find that job that pays for my bills and my family's necessity, I will be successful.

    I feel that no one is ever content or fulfilled with anything. People are never completely satisfied with their life. Well, I can't say that for everyone, but through my eyes, I don't see that. I feel that people are always looking for more. They can't get enough.

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  27. Wealth can not be judged on a number ammount, but sadly often is today. People put a lot of importance on how much stuff or money that they have. People need the newest iPod or the nicest and fastest car; why? Why can we not be happy with just enough to get by? people never used to have a small box that could hold thousands os songs to play at your conviniance, why do we need one that does that and ten thousand other things? I think that people need to stop being so conserned with what they have materially and start looking at the important things in life. Why bother your one and only life with small things that aren't important? If it is something that you don't see yourself talking about in the future, then it isn't important. You need to focus on the friends, the family, and the moments. Live your life based on happiness, not based on money. A successful person in one that wakes up to go to work in the morning and doesn't call it work. If you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life.

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