I was struck the other day by a front-page article that I read in The New York Times (August 5, 2007), entitled "The Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich." The article focused on people living in Silicon Valley who are called "working-class millionaires"--members of the digital elite who find themselves toiling in the "Silicon Valley salt mines" because, as one person interviewed described, "a few million doesn't go as far as it used to." And even though these folks obviously are among the fortunate few who don't have to worry about living from paycheck to paycheck, they still don't think of themselves as particularly fortunate. The article points out that this is partly the case because they are surrounded by people with more wealth than they have! My, my, I feel sorry for these poor (no pun intended) souls, don't you?!
One person interviewed, who estimated his "net worth" at $10 million, actually made the following observation (over a glass of pinot noir at an upscale wine bar no less!): "You're nobody here at $10 million." Indeed, if you ask me, this is a sad commentary on the state of humanity in Silicon Valley.
Is real "net worth" simply a function of money? And how much money is "enough," any way? What happens when our desire to keep up with the Jones becomes an obsession--or a kind of addictive behavior--that we seem unable or unwilling to control? Listen to how one of the people interviewed in the above-mentioned article described what looks like a marathon without a finish line: "Here, the top 1 percent chases the top one-tenth of 1 percent, and the top one-tenth of 1 percent chases the top one-one-hundredth of 1 percent. You try not to get caught up in it, but it's hard not to."
The Will to Money? Or Will to Meaning?
If anything sounds like a manifestation of the "will to money" at work, this must be it, don't you think? In my book, Prisoners of Our Thoughts, I point out that Viktor Frankl viewed the will to money as a primitive form of the will to power. I also underscore that when people are replaced by money as the primary force behind decision-making, we have no choice but to become aware of the implications and do something about it. In this regard, by refusing to be held a "prisoner of our thoughts," we can bring meaning out of the shadows of our lives and into the light. Our lives will then mean something and our "net worth" will no longer be held captive soley by a dollar figure.
Remember, our will to meaning, not our will to pleasure or our will to power (including its primitive form, the will to money), is what illuminates our lives with true freedom. Remember also the Greek hero, Sisyphus, who was ordered by the gods to push a big rock uphill only to see it slip out of his hands in the last moment. The will to money, like running a "marathon without a finish line," also becomes an endless--and joyless--undertaking if not kept in check. To keep this motivational force in check, however, requires that we go inward, not "out there" where both the will to pleasure and will to power have their genesis. No, the path to realizing your will to meaning runs in the other direction and is not easy to follow if we choose--yes, choose--to be held "prisoners of our thoughts." Listen carefully to the following lyrics of Rodney Crowell from his song, "Time to Go Inward":
It's time to go inward, take a look at myself.
Time to make the most of the time I've got left.
Prison bars imagined are no less solid steel.
I suggest that it is time for the "working-class millionaires" of Silicon Valley to go inward and discover the seeds of meaning that may help them feel truly "rich." Perhaps there is something more important to them then money, power, or pleasure per se. Perhaps, by not choosing to be held prisoners of their thoughts, they will be able to redefine their notion of net worth and begin to make life/work decisions that are based on meaning-centered principles--things that truly matter to them.
What about YOU?
Think about your own life experiences. Do you know, or have you ever known, anyone (this may even be yourself) who "felt rich" without the fortune of monetary wealth? Why do you think that this is/was so? What kinds of "things" do you have in your "portfolio" and assessment of net worth that you would consider priceless? Now, ask yourself: Do you feel "rich" as a result?
All the best,
Alex
Alex Pattakos, Ph.D.
author, Prisoners of Our Thoughts
founder, Center for Meaning
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Read the entire article:
The Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich
The New York Times (August 5, 2007) 
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New edition of Prisoners of Our Thoughts in paperback, Audiobook CD, and digital download formats! Prisoners of Our Thoughts applies Viktor Frankl's philosophy and therapeutic approach to life and work in the 21st century, detailing seven principles for increasing your capacity to deal with life-work challenges, finding meaning in your daily life and work, and achieving your highest potential. Among other changes, this new edition includes a new chapter on how readers of the hardcover edition have put the seven meaning-centered principles into action, both in their everyday lives and even in extreme situations such as in Indonesia after the tsunami (where several aid agencies adopted the book as part of their training and relief programs) and in post-Katrina New Orleans.
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