Can I Be Enlightened and a Millionaire?

Money. We all need it, we all want more of it, and for most of us, there is no amount of it that will ever be enough. While providing for ourselves and our families is essential and noble, sometimes making money can come at the expense of ourselves, our fellow man, and the planet. So how can we earn money, get on that rat race, but maintain our ethics, continue to grow as people, and live meaningful lives filled with purpose and peace? Is it even possible?!

In today's podcast episode, I talk about how we can develop a better relationship with money and the ways we make it. I talk about how we can work mindfully, build businesses consciously, and use our careers as vehicles for going deeper into presence, instead of using them to escape into an endless pursuit of profit at any cost.

Please enjoy other episodes where I share meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.

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Transcript

0:02  
Welcome to path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. I'm your host, Todd Perelmuter our world is a projection of our collective consciousness, the more peace we bring into our lives, the more peace we bring into this world. So let the transformation begin. Today's question is, can I become a millionaire, and also enlightened? And this is such a fascinating question because it really involves all aspects of our modern capitalist society. And so let's first dive into what enlightenment is, and what our role in this system can be. Enlightenment is one of those words, that means a lot of different things to different people. Buddhists will tell you, it means 100%, all knowing wisdom. While this may be difficult to understand, from a Westerners perspective, what we can really think of it as is the wisdom to investigate with clarity, and skill, whatever situation is around them, so that they can see reality as it truly is, instead of through the veil of thoughts and emotions. Then there are the more modern contemporary takes, which suggest a continuous state of presence and mindfulness. While still other definitions may include notions of universal love and compassion, living honestly, and with integrity, living with pure thoughts, words, and actions. And all of these definitions are much better than the definition that I used to think enlightenment was. Which, when I was speaking to one of the Guru's I met during my travels. I told him, I want to be enlightened, what's the fastest, quickest way? And he just said to me, why do you want to be enlightened? And I told him, because it sounds like tripping on acid all the time. And he said, very sternly, looking at me, then you won't get enlightened. And he was 100%. Right, because the most essential gradient for enlightenment is selflessness. This is the only way we can see our reality. Beyond our limited perspective, beyond our heavy emotions, and our intense thoughts, enlightenment is about discovering that someone else's joy is my joy, in that true joy, that deep, peaceful joy that we all crave, cannot come when we are surrounded by misery, and suffering. And so the act of sharing joy, and creating love is that act that becomes received by giving. The more we focus on our own happiness, the more we become fixated and obsessed with our unhappiness, and it is only by expanding our perspective, our attention and awareness to the world around us. And it is in this expansion, that our little negative thoughts our inner critic, our perceived offenses caused by others, the smaller all of that becomes because we're not thinking, How could this happen to me? How could they do this to me? We are thinking, how can I share love and joy with others? And it is that simple switch and focus, that is what creates those ingredients and conditions for flowering of joy and love and peace within us, like a flower needs sun and rain and nutrient rich soil. So to win a human being is under the right conditions for growth, Transcendence, and enlightenment to occur. It happens. So then the question becomes, what does earning money look like to a mindful, awakened person. And first, we have to make one thing clear. Working for money is not inherently bad. In fact, it's necessary. We live in a world where survival depends on this money system. Earning, working and providing for ourselves and our families is a noble pursuit, and one that is essential to living a inner rich life. The problem only really arises when we mistake that job, and that earning and that providing for the source of our lasting happiness. When chasing money, when accumulation becomes the goal, instead of providing for ourselves and our families, and creating a good and meaningful and purposeful life for ourselves, then money becomes our master, instead of us being the master of money. We become obsessed with this concept of more, this never ending. And it keeps us locked on this roller coaster of adrenaline rush and dopamine spike, as we close a deal or get a raise or a bonus. And that crash when stocks go down or something disrupts that cash flow. And so even those highs are part of that roller coaster. And those lows are never far away. And so we live in this constant state of chaos. And we are every day moving further and further away from our source of inner peace and joy within. It's not just how we feel about making money, it's also what are we doing, that we have to look at. And the way most people fall into a line of work is they find something they're kind of drawn to, or someone shows them, they have a natural aptitude for it. They may enjoy it as well, hopefully. And so when there's skill plus joy, we tend to follow in these career paths. Now, usually, this is a great thing, because rarely is someone's passion, hurting people. And so people take up causes they care about, and they try to make the world a better place with their career. And sometimes people have a more difficult time finding out what their purpose is and what they really want to be doing for eight or so hours a day. And at times, people can really be lost and they can fall for get rich quick schemes, pyramid schemes, or they may be offered some kind of unethical opportunity to make money. And well, sometimes this is not even a choice because this is a matter of survival. But oftentimes, it comes from a mindset of fear, scarcity, and lack. And we may find with a little bit of patience, perseverance, and persistence, we may find that

9:57  
the universe is tight. Taking care of us, and that our desire to help others will be rewarded. And that we will be a value to someone who will respect the value we bring to them. But today, we're not really talking about surviving, we're talking about really thriving, you know, really making that big bucks. And what we will find is that there are many ways to make a lot of money, some may be very destructive, and some may be very constructive. So when we are looking for career opportunities, career paths, or new business ventures, we don't have to look at the entire landscape, we can focus in on what aligns with our values. The more mindful we become, the more mindful we are about every aspect of our lives. And then mindfulness extends to the products we buy, and put in our body, the products we use around the house, and the products we wear and use, we can become aware of the environmental impact, who is making these items, and how are their working conditions are they given a living wage, and living with dignity and respect, we will also become extra mindful and aware of the consequences of our business actions. And we will become hyper aware of the suffering or benefit from our business and financial activities. Now, being mindful doesn't mean that we run a business poorly, it doesn't mean we give all of our money to charity, and now the business closes or we go homeless. Because to the truly wise, we would understand that giving all our money away, prevents us from giving our maximum potential. Because if at 40, I give my company to charity, and that company could have been 20 times larger by the time I retired, then a steady stream of contributions that was not hurting the business would be the most wise use of those funds, and the most skillful action to reduce harm in the world. Like with anything else, in our lives, there is two extremes. There is the run a business very bad, you know, pay your workers more than you're bringing in and make sure your business closes in one year. Or we can be incredibly greedy and we can under pay our staff and we can dump pollutants into the streams nearby and cut all the corners we want. But to the enlightened, both of these are flawed approaches, because to not care about communities would be to create inner suffering that would need to be dealt with the way so many CEOs deal with screwing over the little guy which is drugs, alcohol, making money, buying expensive things, gambling, prostitution, and all those things that we know that rich, powerful people do to let off steam because they really have a difficult time sitting with their own thoughts and emotions, because that is a very dark place. The wise middle path between the two extremes takes into account communities takes into account profitability takes into account sustainability, both environmentally and of the company so that there is a bright future. And we can look at some of the incredible work that some very fortunate philanthropists have engaged Did and the incredible work done by companies like Patagonia, which is buying entire forests in South America, simply to make sure that they are protected forever. And this brings us to another aspect of this question, which is, many, many entrepreneurs have said to themselves a little deal, which is, they think to themselves, I will be really greedy and clever and conniving and scheming for just a little bit, just until I make this much, you know, just until I've reached a place where I can do good with that money. And very often, that little deal with themselves turns into a endless pursuit, down that path of cruelty and exploitation. Because whatever we do, create creates a habit. And the more we do it, the stronger that habit becomes. And it doesn't matter if it's workaholism, or cigarette smoking, that becomes so deep seated, that stopping and turning course, becomes incredibly difficult, and even impossible for so many people who have spent so long, avoiding their true selves, avoiding their thoughts and feelings, and being solely focused on acquisition and making money. And this is what happens when we lose ourselves to an addiction, or to a way of living a way of seeing the world. But like, anyway, we can all rediscover that mindfulness, we can all reconnect with ourselves, those around us, our surroundings. And we can reconnect with the here and now where life takes place. We live in an incredible time, where someone in Africa, on their phone can become a global superstar, making incredible music, or sell their local crafts to a global audience. There are so many professions out there, available to more people than ever. And we are not even locked into any one of them. And we can all change at any time. I read recently that the average person changes careers four or five times in their lifetime today, we can work in jobs that we feel are creating some level of suffering. And we can work to push that company in a new direction from within, we may start to meditate and feel a deeper connection to the earth. Our likes and dislikes may change our passions and desires may shift from materialism, to compassion for others. And we can use whatever power we have big or small, to try to change this system that tries to pay people as little as possible that tries to pollute as much as possible. And that tries to create endless consumption and desire in the consumers. We can't create that change overnight. We can't create that change alone. But the more mindful we become, the more we will know in each moment, what the right action is. What we can affect what we can't change. And what should we really be doing with our brief time we have here

19:52  
to create the life we truly want. Because at the end of the day that is all that matters. If we want to be a multimillionaire, just to say, I'm a multimillionaire, then that's not going to bring us the lasting happiness we want. If we want to be a multimillionaire for jet skis and private jets, that won't bring us the lasting happiness we're looking for, if we are creating value for others, if we are helping others, sharing our blessings with others, and delighting in the smiles, and joy we're giving to others, we will have lasting happiness, because it is that truest, deepest form of happiness, there is plenty of suffering in this world. And so there is no shortage of valuable work to be done. So you don't have to be the founder of Patagonia, or Mr. Rogers, or Oprah Winfrey, or any of these other kind, wealthy people we know. Wherever you are, you can do what you do with mindfulness, you can have clear intentions, which are to provide for your family, and make the world a better place than you found it. You can win little victories in changing a company or changing a system. Every day, little acts can create joy and meaning for others. When we each use our full mental capacity, to change the world for the better, in whatever way we're each able to do. Then, very quickly, he will live in a world where all jobs come with integrity, values, ethics, and dignity, self respect, and care for this beautiful planet we share. So yes, a enlightened person can become a millionaire, a billionaire, maybe more difficult. But certainly, there are wonderful people out there who are using their wealth and resources, their presence and skills to spread joy. spread love and reduce the harm and needless suffering wherever it exists. And it is actually in this way that a mindful enlightened beings can even recognize that it is more helpful and that they can reduce harm more effectively by building a conscious ethical business, for the sake of all sentient beings. And as we become mindful, as we become enlightened, this really becomes an inevitable transition. You've been listening to path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. Being here and putting in this important and noble work is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and others. If you found this podcast even a little helpful. Please make sure to leave a review so it can reach others who may be in need. And remember, the path to peace starts with a single step.