The people who say money can't buy happiness are wrong.
On cross-country runs, Diane and I always feel better when driving for a great rate than when driving for mediocre money. The more profitable the run, the happier we are.
Diane and I are in drive/sleep mode on a run from Florida to California. Delivery is scheduled for Saturday morning.
The night’s drive was glorious. Under a near-full moon, I got to drive hundreds of miles on I-10 in light traffic, not having to think ahead to my next turn since it was a day away.
I kept the radio off some of the time to be alone with my thoughts. It might be better to say I kept the radio off to fully experience the satisfaction of driving one revenue-producing mile after another on a run that contributes to what will be the financially-best month we have had in nine years of expediting.
It’s fun to drive a truck under a near-full moon on the open road. It is even more satisfying when the money is good.
The people who say money can’t buy happiness are wrong.
On cross-country runs, Diane and I always feel better when driving for a great rate than when driving for mediocre money. The more profitable the run, the happier we are.
We’re in business to make money, after all. When some of your goals are financial, why wouldn’t a full purse provide more happiness than an empty one?
Thinking about this a bit more, the whole notion of money buying happiness seems wrongheaded. Happiness is not for sale. You can’t go into a store and buy five pounds, $100 dollars worth or a week’s supply of it.
Happiness is a feeling or a way of being. People don’t say “I have happiness.” They say, “I feel happy” or “I am happy.”
How do you get that feeling or become that way? I don’t think you do. Happiness is not something that can be gained by seeking it. Happiness is something you already have. It naturally bubbles up from within when fear and want are absent.
Owning and operating a truck opens the door to many negative possibilities, and many of those are financial. But when you are making good money, the negative financial possibilities fade into the background and your natural happiness bubbles up.
I have enjoyed many moonlight runs on the open road over the years. Was I happier on this one because it paid well and was part of a great month?
Yes! Absolutely!
It feels good to make good money. While that money does not buy happiness directly, it eliminates the financial stress that might otherwise be felt, and thereby allows your inner happiness to bubble up. It also creates a financial surplus, providing more freedom and security than a hand-to-mouth existence would.
If you believe that money can’t buy happiness, I invite you to reconsider.
When you say those words to yourself or others — money can’t buy happiness — what do you mean exactly? In what sense are they true, and in what sense are they not?
