The greatest technological and medical breakthroughs often come from individuals maniacally obsessed with their work, frequently at the expense of their own health, relationships, and happiness. Society benefits immensely from their personal sacrifices.
People who flaunt wealth, power, or beauty are often compensating for a past feeling of being poor, powerless, or ugly. Their materialism is a form of retribution against a past self or a perceived slight, signaling that they've overcome it.
Providing children with a high standard of living inadvertently sets that lifestyle as their baseline expectation. This becomes a curse, as they may feel like a failure if they can't replicate it or be prevented from pursuing a fulfilling but less lucrative career.
The greatest utility of an inheritance is when recipients are in their late 20s or early 30s, struggling with major life expenses like a down payment or childcare. Waiting until they are in their 50s or 60s provides far less value.
Happiness is a fleeting emotion because its primary trigger is surprise—experiencing something positive you didn't expect. Once an achievement becomes the new normal, the element of surprise vanishes, and the associated happiness fades, regardless of your absolute success.
Each generation should strive to give their children a better life, which will inevitably appear "spoiled" by previous standards. The parent who struggled feels their child must also struggle, forgetting their own life seems luxurious to their grandparents. This is progress, not a moral failing.
Financial success isn't measured by one's bank account but by the degree of control over one's time. Many high-net-worth individuals lack this autonomy, spending their days on unwanted tasks, representing a unique form of poverty despite their wealth.
Much online outrage stems not from genuine grievance but from the intoxicating feeling of moral superiority that comes from judging others. By declaring someone else immoral, you implicitly elevate your own standing, making anger a pleasurable and self-affirming mindset.
The feeling of progress is a more powerful driver of happiness than one's static position. Being on an upward trajectory, like becoming rich, is more exciting than being rich. This explains why a rising star can feel better than a stagnant superstar.
Unlike seeing celebrities on TV, social media presents a curated highlight reel from the top 1% of people as if they are your peers. This normalizes exceptional outcomes, leading to widespread dissatisfaction when one's own life doesn't measure up to this impossible standard.
People are drawn not to the most overtly impressive person, but to the one who makes them feel good about themselves. The most potent form of charm, as shown by British PM Disraeli, is making others feel clever and interesting in your presence.
Arguments over money strategies like renting versus buying become heated because finance is deeply personal. When someone advocates a different approach, it's perceived not as an alternative viewpoint but as a direct threat to the validity of our own life choices, triggering a defensive response.
Men's higher tolerance for risk makes them more likely to take massive bets to accumulate wealth. Conversely, women's typically more developed risk-assessment skills make them better at preserving that wealth, suggesting a powerful dynamic for married couples.
The belief that rising home prices create wealth is a dangerous illusion. Since you must buy another inflated property after selling, you don't actually gain anything. This collective myth primarily serves to lock out first-time buyers and stifle economic mobility for the next generation.