Rich Enough

Besides owning my own company, I am also a salesperson with a lot of great customers. I really enjoy my job, however the problem with being a salesperson is that your job is never really done. No matter how many phone calls you make, emails you send out or sales calls you go on there is still more that you could do because the potential is only limited by the amount of work you are willing to do. That’s actually true in most professions, the harder you work the more success you will achieve…and the more success you achieve the more money you will make. But when is enough money…enough?

That’s a great question regarding balance and moderation. Being lazy will get you nowhere and working too much will only get you to your grave early, so how do we achieve balance in life?

There once was a very successful lighting salesman who bought hotdogs from a downtown San Diego street vendor almost every day. The hotdogs were delicious and the crusty old man who sold them was quick with a smile and a funny story. One day the salesman found the street vendor closing up at noon. He asked him, “Why are you closing so early? Is something wrong?” A smile wrinkled the old man’s leathery face as he replied, “Not at all. I am just going home so I can sit on my patio and sip ice tea with my wife.” The perplexed salesman said, “But the day is still young and you can still sell lots of hotdogs.” “No need to”, replied the street vendor, “I’ve made enough money for today.”

“That’s crazy” said the salesman, “It’s the best time of day to sell hotdogs and if you stick with it you can sell a lot more. The more hotdogs you sell, the more money you make. The more money you make the richer you become. The richer you become the more hotdog carts you can buy. With more hotdog carts, you can sell more hotdogs, and by selling more hotdogs, you become even richer. When you’re rich enough, you can sell all your hotdog carts and then go home and sip tea with your wife.” “Well, I can do that today, so I guess I am rich enough…for today!

I love my job and I enjoy the success and money that come from hard work. But I also love my wife, children, grandchildren, employees, customers and hundreds of friends, so I strive for balance every single day. In fact, my New Year’s Resolution this year is to slow down and realize that if I have the love and respect of my family and friends, then I am already truly rich enough!

 

Everything in moderation, including moderation.

~ Ancient Buddhist Saying