RULE 12

If you see money as the solution you’ll find it becomes the problem

Having money doesn’t make all your relationships flow smoothly – not by a long shot. It doesn’t protect you from disease – it may buy you better medical care after the event but it doesn’t protect you. It might buy a better diet but the rich half of the world has a pretty poor health record despite having all the money to feed itself extremely well, so wealth and health do not necessarily go hand in hand.

The more you see money as a solution, the greater the chance that you are missing the point entirely. Money doesn’t do anything.

I know, I know. You’ll be thinking, ‘If only I had X amount, I could fix this problem in my life’. I think you’ll find money would throw up a lot more problems in its wake. Money will not make you happier, thinner or more popular with decent people. Money does not deliver lasting, meaningful peace of mind. There are plenty of rich, fat, unhappy people with no real friends. I think we need to find the cure to our problems first and then find a way of funding that cure. Money isn’t, and never will be, the cure. It is the oil that smoothes the wheels. It isn’t the engine.