Money Does Not Make You Happy. But It’s Impossible To be Happy Without It!

We have all heard the expression that ‘money makes the world go round’. And since it remains the primary means of exchange for trades between one party wanting to sell and another to buy, this undoubtedly holds true. If the economy is the beating heart of any given country, then money is its blood.

My first encounter with ‘serious’ money was when I first embarked on my career with the now defunct Barclays Bank International. However, I soon got bored with that and then became a futures broker, where vast amounts of money can be made or lost within minutes.

This was back in the 1980’s when ‘greed was good’. It was during this time that I first noticed that money does not necessarily make one happy. Several of my clients and associates had plenty of it, but they were utterly paranoid and miserable individuals. Money can’t buy love. But in my book it’s love, not money, that makes the world go round.

To this end, I decided to leave the financial services industry and embark on the second chapter of my career – in telecoms. 

In the late 1990’s, I was first-to-market in UK with mobile ringtones and logos. It only worked with Nokia phones, but back then they had about 50% of market share. Look at them now!

I made what I consider to be a great deal of money very quickly and enjoyed waking up in the morning to see how much money I had made in my sleep. It felt liberating knowing that I could acquire pretty much anything I wanted to. But it was also intoxicating, and the money went to my head, culminating in a visit to my local Audi car dealership where I bought a brand-new car for me, my wife and a friend. A fool and his money are indeed soon parted.

As I enter the third and final chapter of my career journey, I have grown to become less foolish. Being self employed is famine or feast. Having experienced both, I know which I prefer.     

When people ask me what I do for a living nowadays, I tell them three words: “I connect dots”.

I have always enjoyed connecting people. Always have. Always will. It’s in my DNA. But monetizing this skillset can be tricky. 

I now run 150 WhatsApp groups covering a wide range of industries and business subjects. By the time you read this, the real number will probably be even more.  The rationale behind this is quite simple: I know nothing about BioTech. But what I do know is, if you have two or more people in the same (virtual!) room that share an interest in it, you are more likely to have a meeting of minds which might result in friendships being forged and ultimately a transaction being made.

Whilst these transactions do take place from time to time and I then earn a commission from one or both parties, I am also starting to derive an income by teaching others how to network, virtually. 

I have been extolling the virtues of networking this way since 2018 as this article bears witness. ZERO carbon footprint. Totally GLOBAL. And it’s FREE. What’s not to like? And now that we all find ourselves in a pandemic, it’s the ONLY way to network!

I was motivated to write this article by a lady who joined my network earlier this week. She has already made her money, and now teaches the unbanked and financially dispossessed how to make it from scratch.

She instantly saw the value in what I was doing and paid me for my one hour ‘Power Hour’ without hesitation. With the ensuing introductions I have made, I believe she has already made a handsome ROI. When I contacted her yesterday, she told me that she was busy moving money – something I look forward to doing again once more.

I was pondering our 'pay it forward' philosophy with a friend and fellow networker recently who pointed out it will come back with interest when it comes back.

Warren Buffett was once asked what the best thing was about having untold riches. He replied with “The ability to turn left, not right, when entering into a commercial aircraft”.

Having experienced both, like him, I prefer to turn left and by working together hopefully we can both do so.