You and Bill Gates - How Similar or Different Are You Really?

I recently took the Economics 101 online course from Hillsdale College. In one of the lectures, the professor asks, “What’s the difference between you and Bill Gates?”. And then he answered his own question:

“If you want to go to Los Angeles, you will fly. Bill Gates will fly too. He will likely fly in a private airplane, while you may fly economy in a commercial airliner, but you’ll both fly and will both take approximately the same time to get there.”

And then he compared your situation to a refugee in Syria.

This comparison seemed too hypothetical at first. Why should I be compared to someone I’ll never be? But the exercise had a dramatically useful result. Only when he started doing that comparison did I realize that we often focus on what we don’t have (and we aspire to have), but we totally ignore what we do have.

Going back to our comparison with Bill Gates, I focused on private jet versus economy seats in a commercial airliner. But I totally ignored the fact that both I and Bill Gates have the freedom to fly to Los Angeles. Neither of us will worry about having enough food or drinking water during the flight or when we get to Los Angeles. We won’t worry about harsh climate. Even if the outside temperature is 110 degrees, we will both enjoy the cool air inside the airport. We both will be able to use transportation to get to our final destination, and conduct our business. We can both dream. We won’t have to worry about being blown up by landmines on our way.

A new perspective

Give this new perspective, it seemed to me that on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 denotes that none of the basic human needs of food, shelter, clothing and safety are available, and 100 denotes our definition of heaven and bliss, I and Bill Gates were much closer than I thought at first. Maybe we were at 70 and 80, or 90 and 92, or 95 and 99. It doesn’t matter. The point is, we are both so far removed from the condition of the refugee in Syria, who would be close to 0 on this scale. With this perspective, both Bill Gates and I seemed so close to true heaven and bliss.

When I was in the emotional depths of my life a few years ago, I would have taken offense to such a comparison. Maybe you do too. But if you have freedom of life and the basic amenities of life, all it takes is to really, truly count your blessings, and then you will agree with me. If you still disagree, think how your life would be if you were born a thousand years ago, in AD 1000. This is how Ann Williams begins her description of Britain in 1000 AD.

‘The King went into Cumberland and ravaged very nearly all of it; and his ships went out round Chester and should have come to meet him, but they could not. Then they ravaged the Isle of Man. And the enemy fleet had gone to Richard’s kingdom that summer.’

Imagine yourself living in such destruction and pillage.

Or, imagine life 400 years ago. This is how the British Literature Wiki describes the life of an average family in 17th century England.

The life of an average family in late 17th century England was simple and laborious. Families lived in one or two room houses that became crowded with large families as well as lodgers that shared their living space. The average wife gave birth to eight to ten children; however, due to high mortality rates, only raised five or six children. The children of average or poor families began working very early on in life, sometimes even as early as age seven. These children worked mostly on farms as shepherds, cowherds, or apprentices and often left home to do so. [...] The average and poor families of the late 17th century England did not yet have the luxury of piped water, which created a rarity in bathing. Because of the unhygienic lifestyle, lice and vermin were very common with these families.

Does this help you appreciate, and I mean truly appreciate from the bottom of your heart, the life we live today?

We should be grateful

Today we are constantly bombarded by media about comparisons with the richest, or the most influential 0.001% of society, but we ought to be grateful for being born in this day and age where the life of an “average family” is probably better than the life of a rich family a few hundred years ago.

Let’s define some of these things that we should be grateful for.

We live in a world where information is at our fingertips whenever or wherever we need it. There’s actually too much information, which is the topic for another post. But, if you wanted to research any topic, like how to create and use blackout curtains for a better night’s sleep, or how to self-publish a book, or the most economical places to retire, all you have to do is to use the power of the internet.

We are free to pursue our dreams. As I described above, you have the information on how to make your dreams come true. For example, if you want to become a millionaire, just search for it and follow the steps. It may take a long time, but you will get the results. Or, if you wanted to be a fashionista, or open your own coffee shop, or feed the homeless, you can pursue your dreams. Of course, nothing comes easy, so you have to be willing to pay the price. If you want to become a millionaire through online marketing, you have to be willing to learn, put in years or decades of work, stick to your goals, believe in yourself, you may have to change the people you hang out with, and so on. So my point is not that it’s easy. My point is that for a sufficiently motivated and determined person, it is possible to make the dreams a reality.

Tremendous progress

We have access to food, shelter and clothing. We aren’t constantly fighting the elements of nature for survival. We have overcome most debilitating diseases. The infant mortality rates are the lowest they have been in history. See this statistic from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

From 1915 through 1997, the infant mortality rate declined greater than 90% [...], and from 1900 through 1997, the maternal mortality rate declined almost 99% [...].

We are thinking past the moon now, and SpaceX has the bold vision of enabling people to live on other planets.

Technology has allowed some people to accumulate large amounts of wealth, but philanthropic efforts have grown as well. The Giving Pledge is a commitment by the world's wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.

Yes, there continue to be problems in the world. The refugee crisis, new forms of disease like the Zika virus, new economical problems like the currency wars unimaginable in Adam Smith’s perfect world of free-market economy, and so on. But if you take a step back and, as I said, compare an average family’s situation with that a hundred years ago, you’d agree that we have so much to be happy and grateful about.

Happiness

We always seek happiness based on the context we live in. Four hundred years ago, living today’s average family life would have been considered the zenith of happiness. But today, we aren’t happy with having access to healthcare, food, shelter, clothing, safety, entertainment. Today, we all want to be Bill Gates, or at least that startup founder who sold his company for $10 million. Anything less, and we aren’t happy.

Recognize that you and Bill Gates have much in common. You two are very close together on a scale that shows all of human experience - from the most tragic to the blissful. Happiness is achievable, and does not depend on your bank balance. Start with these two simple steps that have helped me tremendously:

• Every day, write down 1, 2 or 3 things you are immensely grateful for
• Every day, write down 1, 2 or 3 things you absolutely love about yourself

This article first appeared on SuccessWithYourSoul.com

Images courtesy Pixabay, released under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.