New Paradigm Wealth

Extreme Wealth is an Illusion

MONEY 

 As a society, we live to get it and we can't live without it. We've been brainwashed to desire what it represents - luxury. The American Dream. Vacations, cars, swimming pools. Designer jeans, Tiffany rings, 5th Avenue Bling.

In the First World, wealth has become synonymous with a form of materialism that is so far removed from reality that those who have vast amounts of it are inventing new and absurd ways to spend it. $1000 ice cubes. $100 million apartments. Private jets and yachts. These images are plastered in our mind and we feel that our very worth as humans depends on becoming the person who owns all that.

But it's a mirage. None of these things has anything to do with health or happiness. You will work and hope and wish and spend everything you have trying to achieve even the smallest modicum of that wealth and you will never achieve it, because it is a complete illusion, an absolute mirage.

As of December 2013, the US is the most UNEQUAL of all advanced economies, according to Huffington Post. That means that the richest 10% of people control 75.4% of all wealth in the country. 75% of people own less than 25% of wealth. Other first world countries are in similar predicaments, and it's only getting worse.

Many people, as they realize what's happening, become horror stricken at the realization that they will never come even remotely close to their dream; and because they've dug themselves into a hole they become absolutely desperate. It forces a turning point in their lives... the moment when they are faced with reality and have to decide what's really important.

This is an extremely difficult and painful experience for most people. It's more than a mid-life crisis, it's like being reborn. We become naked in front of the world, our lack of wealth exposed, and it can be humiliating beyond bearing. Some people, formerly middle or upper class, end up homeless, or turn to crime, or even kill themselves rather than face this crisis and ask the questions that need asking. They can only identify themselves with the dream they've been sold.

However, for most others, this turning point becomes the most crucial moment in their lives because they DO face the crisis, and ask those all-important questions:  

What is my purpose?  

What is the least amount of money I need to live a decent life? 

Is it possible for people respect me for who I am, and not what I own?  

Can I make my mark in this life in other ways than making or spending lots of money?

Once people begin to recognize and answer these questions, the pressure begins to relent and the illusion that has been presented like props on a stage, vanishes. Suddenly there is recognition of all the other people who have taken this same journey, from illusion to reality, and bonds begin to form; strong bonds built on helping each other and looking after each other. And as we begin to join the community, and feel the absolute joy that comes from sharing our skills and talents, we recognize that this is the TRUE wealth. The thrill of helping others, and being helped; the understanding that we are all connected, and what happens to one, happens to everyone.

Simplicity.... conservation..... innovation..... education.... gratitude and love.... these are the ideals of new paradigm wealth, where the vibrancy of the community equals the well being of each individual. These are the principles on which the happiest and healthiest societies are founded - Nepal, who defines its wealth as "Gross Domestic Happiness" and Denmark where college students are paid to go to school, and Germany which has become the world leader in solar installation and usage.

Greed seems to be a journey that humanity needed to take in order to achieve a higher and simpler state of being. We needed to feel its burn to recognize that it is not the right path. Unfortunately the crashing of the Great American Dream is a difficult experience to bear, but it is one of those necessary life lessons that serves the purpose of elevating our state of being.

IDEABASH was created in consciousness of the new paradigm of wealth. We are about empowering the global community to earn a great income from skills and experience; we're about creating partnerships and collaborations to build ideas that design the future; we're about lending a helping hand. We hope you'll join us!


 
Meg Montgomery is the founder of the IDEABASH Entrepreneur Ecosystem, a global community of entrepreneurs supporting each other into success.