How much is enough?

Recently caught both the Wall Street films (directed by Oliver Stone) on Netflix. There was a similar scene across both movies with the young protagonist questioning the unscrupulous and greedy old bird about how much is enough for them.

Wall Street

Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen): Tell me, Gordon, when does it all end, huh? How many yachts can you water-ski behind? How much is enough?

Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) : It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a zero sum game. Somebody wins, somebody loses.

And in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf): Your number. The amount of money you would need to just walk away from it and live. See, I find that everybody has a number, and it's usually an exact number. So what is yours?

Bretton James (Josh Brolin): More.

In both cases, the old birds are never satisfied by what they have because they only set out to have "more". And chasing for more is an infinite and tiresome journey. To have more doesn't mean you will be happier. Take it from Warren Buffett, one of the richest in the world, who said, if you think that if you have $100,000 that means that you're an unhappy person and a million dollars is gonna make you happy, it is not gonna happen. Money can solve a lot of problems but it is not the answer to life itself. Jim Carrey, another guy who probably is much richer than you or I, said, I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer. So what is the answer to a living a life of happiness? If more money doesn't cut it, then what does?

I have learnt that the simple answer is to know when you have enough and no more. When you acknowledge you have enough, you stop chasing. You stop chasing after all the more expensive products that corporations are always trying to sell you. You stop listening to all the advertisements the media is trying to brainwash you into spending your money. You stop lusting after the latest iPhone, the next fiercer car, the next bigger house... You get out of this infinite cycle of chasing for MORE! To yearn for more is a never ending endeavor and in the end, only makes you unhappy. The thrill of buying a new toy like an iPhone is fleeting and lasts mainly from the purchasing to the unboxing. Even billionaires who seem to have it all will always want more if they are stuck in such a mindset. Why be content with a billion when you can go for two?

When you start living your life from a position of "enough", then you stop going for just more money and start going for fulfillment from non-monetary perspectives. You become contented with your surroundings and possessions. You nourish your soul. You become more honest to living the life you desired, not the life that's imposed on you by the rat race chasing days. You become more socially and environmentally responsible through less wastage and pollution of our planet. You become happier.

Enough = Contentment = Happiness

On a related side note, the familiar scene above in the Wall Street movies happened to me once. It was a few years back and I had the opportunity to sit right beside Steve Cohen in a company dinner. Steve may not be as rich as Warren Buffet but he's still a billionaire many times over and the hedge fund founder off whom the TV show, "Billions", is loosely based on. Despite trying his best to keep a low profile in public view, he has had more than his fair share of troubles with authorities and personal life. I wonder, why keep going so hard when you're already so rich? So I asked him what kept him so motivated despite having amassed a great fortune? He said "Passion". It was a politically correct answer after all. Well, if it is really your passion and can earn billions along the way, then why not keep at it, I guess?