"Money Is Not Special - Living Life Without Pain Is Special"
"Money Is Not Special - Living Life Without Pain Is Special"
'Happiness as a Second Language' Valerie Alexander Author
Prior to changing paths and moving to Hollywood, I had a whole other life in the Silicon Valley as a securities lawyer, a consultant, an investment banker and an Internet executive. I've spent a lot of time around a lot of money.
The one thing I learned is that money, in and of itself, is not special. It is merely an escalator. Whatever you have going on, money will escalate that. If you're naturally generous and happy, money can make you more generous and happier. If you're naturally a jack*, money will make you more of a jack*.
I was once again reminded of this yesterday when "news" broke that Amanda Bynes would be allowed supervised outings from rehab. I read the story on a popular gossip site, and of course, it was coupled with dozens of comments, almost all of which were unkind.
One comment in particular caught my eye, saying: "I am so sick of all these spoiled, rich celebrities. She has all the money in the world, so there's no reason for her to behave this way." To start with, this young woman clearly has mental health issues, so blaming her for the way she behaves is like blaming a diabetic for being unable to control her insulin levels. Second, none of these young celebrities making news with their behavior are anything close to spoiled.
Amanda Bynes started working when she was 7 years old. Miley Cyrus starting earning a paycheck at 10, and by the age of 11, Lindsey Lohan, who went to work at 3, was the primary breadwinner in her family.
How many of us can say that? And whether it seems glamorous or not, acting and modeling is work. It is not an extended trip to Chuck-E-Cheese, it's learning lines and being ready to perform at a moment's notice and spending hours getting your hair and makeup done, which is not nearly as much fun as it sounds.
How many things did you take up as a child, then decide you didn't like anymore and quit? Karate? Ballet? Guitar? Dungeons & Dragons? Did your parents let you quit, or was that activity supporting your entire family?
Money is not special -- getting to walk away from something you might not want to do anymore is special, especially if it's something you never chose to do in the first place. There is so much more to enjoying life than having millions of dollars, and what we would trade off for money can tell us so much about ourselves.
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