One of the greatest lessons that a person can learn is that life is not about seeking after money. While having resources, wealth, stability of finances, and means to provide for yourself all can contribute to making life easier, the accumulation of money is not to be the highest priority in life. If it becomes the highest thing that you seek after, your life will end unfulfilled and empty, despite full coffers.

American philosopher, essayist, poet, and lecturer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, was one of the men that wrote about and spoke on this reality with great enthusiasm. In addition to his contributions to the Transcendentalist movement in the mid 19th century, he is loved and remembered for his insightful, and quite accurate, explanations of destiny, self, soul, and true happiness.

In speaking on the subject of wealth and its correlation to happiness and fulfillment of life, Emerson said, “The desire of gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit.” This speaks volumes in the area of business and entrepreneurship because of the misconception that money is the “it” that is sought after. This incorrect logic then causes men to be consumed with chasing after an ever increasing pile of funds and then hoarding it away, all the while forgetting to enjoy the things that their money and hard work have earned them. While these “gold chasers” may amass a great storehouse of cash, they often live their entire lives with little else, being a slave to money in a very literal sense.

On the other hand, those individuals who truly view money as a tool will not be afraid to spend it when they see a place where it can be used effectively to change the world around them. These people will value money only to the point of what it can bring, accomplish, or give them. With this mindset, money brings freedom, not captivity.

So why is the way one views money so important for an entrepreneur? Because this view will determine whether you are a master of your money…and your destiny…or if the money is really the thing that is controlling you and your life. Entrepreneurs that allow money to dominate their thinking will make choices with little else in mind. They will ignore opportunities, reject innovations, and hinder their own growth, solely based on the cost or monetary expenditure that is required for it. This fear of being without, or even making do with less for a time, will control a person to the point that they refuse to enjoy anything in life because they are completely focused on what it is costing them.

Becoming a slave to money is literally the very opposite of what it was intended for. Money, in essence, should bring to its owner freedom, benefits, comfort, and security. It should give one a sense of independence, the luxury of choice, and not become a choking constriction or hindrance to progress. It should be traded for things of value, saved for times of celebration, or given away for reasons of moral conviction. Money was never meant to be something to cling to, as it cannot supply mankind with anything more than a resource.

So, to reiterate the words of Mr. Emerson, desire wealth and financial security for the freedom and benefit that it can bring…not for gold alone. For the reality is, without those reasons and motivations, money is really nothing more than very expensive paper…and gold not much more than a heavy piece of earth. It is what they can bring in and to this life that counts.