I would like to share with you the following excerpt from the novel “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand (the excerpt gives nothing away, so if you haven’t read the novel yet have no fear):

“I work for nothing but my own profit – which I make by selling a product they need to men who are willing and able to buy it. I do not produce it for their benefit at the expense of mine, and they do not buy it for my benefit at the expense of theirs; I do not sacrifice my interests to them nor do they sacrifice to me; we deal as equals by mutual consent to mutual advantage – and I am proud of every penny that I have earned in this manner. I am rich and I am proud of every penny I own. I made my money by my own effort, in free exchange and through the voluntary consent of every man I dealt with – the voluntary consent of those who employed me, the voluntary consent of those who work for me now, the voluntary consent of those who buy my product… Do I wish to pay my workers more than their services are worth to me? I do not. Do I wish to sell my product for less than my customers are willing to pay me? I do not. Do I wish to sell it at a loss or give it away? I do not… I am earning my own living, as every honest man must. I refuse to accept as guilt the fact of my own existence and the fact that I must work in order to support it. I refuse to accept as guilt the fact that I am able to do it and do it well. I refuse to accept as guilt the fact that I am able to do it better than most people – the fact that my work is of greater value than the work of my neighbors and that more men are willing to pay me for it… I will not say that the good of others was the purpose of my work  – my own good was my purpose, and I despise the man who surrenders his.”

What are your thoughts on this passage? One of things that I have a really difficult time getting my head around is money. Why do some people make so much of it, while others make so little? I don’t believe that it is a matter of talent, because I know a number of extraordinarily talented individuals who are struggling financially… so what is it? I believe that there is a fear associated with money. Perhaps it is a fear of living up to the wealth which so many complain about not possessing.  In the above quotation Reardon speaks about being proud of his intellectual property, and feeling confident and secure in the fact that what he has created is worth something. I don’t think that I’m alone in saying that it is the achievement of this confidence where so many of us fall short. As an actor and a writer, I need to reach a place where I believe (without even a sliver of doubt) that I am deserving of success. That I have a product (myself) which is worth large sums of money. If you’re like me, you must also stop thinking of money as something that is evil, or as something which it is immoral to strive for. Money provides you with the freedom to do what you please. To go on vacations, to take the classes you’re interested in, to eat the foods you like – money is an important ingredient in living a stress-free and fulfilling life where you aren’t forced to sacrifice your happiness because of a piece of paper with a number on it.

I would now like to quote a passage from “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles

“No person is kept poor because opportunity has been taken away from him – because other people have monopolized the wealth and have put a fence around it.. Nature is an exhaustible storehouse of riches. The supply will never run short… Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich. No person can rise to his greatest possible height in talent or soul development unless he has plenty of money.”

Just something to think about.