Compensation Versus Greed
I was watching a movie this weekend about a lady named Molly Bloom, who used to operate poker games for high rollers in Hollywood and New York City. The players were all millionaires or even billionaires. Some were actors, some were athletes, some were even professional gamblers. All the players had more money than they knew what to do with, so they gambled. To get into such a game, you had to produce $250,000 just to play. That’s 4 years of earning $62,500 a year for many of my clients.
The point of today’s post is to get you to think about compensation that you are earning. Is it fair? Could you be earning more? How much of your life would you have to devote to your job to earn an extra $2,000, $3,000, or even $5,000? Would the trade off be worth it?
When I was in my 20s, compensation was critical, so much that I let it influence my decisions when it came to choosing jobs. News flash: just because one company pays more than another company does not automatically make for a better place to work. All companies, organizations, even non-profits depend on revenue to survive and grow. But what is at the heart of their philosophy? I do not begrudge any company or individual earning all that they can (especially if they have a philanthropic heart). But at some point, I do ask myself how much is enough?
I hear a lot about work life balance. Now that I am older, work life balance means WAY more to me than the $. People and relationships mean infinitely more to me than the $.
Which brings me back to the high rollers. Some would lose up to a million dollars a night. Others would win big. But they gambled because they did not know what else to do with their money. They made so much money that somehow, their thinking became warped. By gambling, they are taking money that they earned and trying to get more, even though they don’t really know what to do with what they have earned.
Some of the high rollers had several houses, multiple cars, tons of clothes, jewelry, and most got caught up in drugs at some point. However, you can only live in one house at time, drive one car at a time, wear one set of clothes, etc. Eventually, they become prisoners of their own possessions.
The point is to not let greed infect your choices. Greed makes you want more, to the point that it drives insecurity and deceives you into to placing your trust in money. That’s why so many people committed suicide in the Great Depression, because everything they had worked and saved for eventually disappeared.
Arlen R. Crawford
arlenarcresumes@gmail.com
www.arcresumes.com
678-296-0909
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:19-20
