A friend sent this email to Sally S. today: Read Below:
I just heard this song again and it reminded me how important it is to do what you are passionate about and be surrounded by people who love and support you. My family and friends are my foundation and I am grateful everyday for them.
A big house and fancy cars mean nothing if you don't have people around you to share it with. Whether it is with your family, your friends or your significant other, make that your foundation and you will excel in everything you do.
Material things bring
temporary and short-term happiness...family and friends are priceless. That is the definition of success...not the passionless love for material things.
Be grateful everyday, have integrity, love and support those around you and it will all come back ten folds.
Measure Your Success:
* Rich in friends—A person who cultivates friendships and who is a joy to be around can have hundreds of good friends and can be rich beyond the wildest dreams of others.
* Rich in health—A person who spends time eating and drinking right, exercising and relaxing from stress can be extremely healthy, and this health can be far more valuable than any amount of money.
* Rich in strength—A person who works out with weights every day, runs, swims, etc. can be rich in strength and will have an attractive body.
* Rich in family—A person who devotes time to his or her spouse and children will have a strong and happy family that is rewarding throughout life.
* Rich in knowledge—A person who reads and studies will become rich in knowledge.
* Rich in skill—A person who practices anything daily (a skill, a sport, prayer, whatever) will become excellent in that skill area. Excellence has its own rewards.
* Rich in character— A person who works hard at being honest and truthful in all situations will become rich in character and will be trusted by everyone.
See my response below:
It is possible to do what you are passionate about AND have money- and lots of it, actually. I realize there is an obsession in our society with the material. Possessions are pursued at the expense of other important things- there is no balance, for some.
On the other hand, I vehemently disagree with an overly humble attitude toward money, possessions, and material success. Ambition, especially in women, is shunned.
Shouldn't we just be satisfied with good friends, a gym membership, and family?
Maybe. If it pleases you.
Yet, there are some of us, women included, who are tenaciously pursuing our material goals- because we want to make a difference in the world, professionally, and be able to support ourselves, AND make boat loads of money if our ambitious little hearts desire. We are not any less "evolved" or "spiritual" than one for who those values don't apply.
There is a rather sexist imprint in this philosophy. For example, I may feel, as a woman, the need to justify my ambition with statements like, "I just really want to help people, and that's why success is important to me." Very few men are called upon to justify their ambition in this manner.
It is considered poor form for a woman to be restlessly driven- just for ambition's sake. Even in today's society, it's relatively rare to hear a woman openly admit to being a capitalist of the highest order, that is, placing ambition/success (of which material items are a natural extension of success) at the top of their list.
Parting Observation:
Oddly, it was not a stay-at-home mom who posted the article above; in fact, it was a young female entrepreneur at the prime of her earning potential- (30-35 years old).
How intriguing.
~S.S.
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