Money Is Good But...

If you want to be a player in this world you need money -- we all agree on this. Keep in mind, however, one important fact: money itself has little intrinsic value. For money to have a value to up-and-comers such as yourself (unless you are a loser who just happened to stumble across this article), money should be used carefully to achieve certain objectives.

What do I mean? It's simple, money can be spent to acquire power in this world. Policemen being bribed, politicians and judges being bought, and gifts given to certain people (that expensive bottle of wine or that red Ferrari F355) are all ways to use money in order to acquire power.

When a businessman donates millions to his Alma Mater (for you morons out there that means the University he attended and graduated from), is it just for the fun of giving away money? Not unless the guy's lost his marbles (it happens, I know this guy Salvatore...forget it, I'll tell you about him some other time).

Usually such a donation serves many purposes: to show the world he is successful, to make high level contacts (which can be used to make more high level contacts), and to guarantee that his two kids, with a combined IQ of 47, will get into Harvard (who said life was fair?)

When you have money, you can help those people you want (or need) to help much more easily than if you don't have the necessary financial resources. The catch-22 is that people with money and power tend to hang around expensive places.

Thus if you want to make those contacts and hang with that crowd, you have to have access to enough capital to gain entrance to these places (and don't forget to dress the part). Furthermore, a modicum of respectability and recognition helps (hence the large donation to a university, local hospital, political party, etc.).

This is money used the smart way; keep reading for the downside of money. And there is a huge downside to having money, believe it or not. My mother once told me that too much of anything is never good. Eat too much linguini and you'll get fat, drink too much wine and you'll get sick, cheat on your wife too many times and eventually you'll get caught, and finally if you spend too much money in the wrong places it can lead you to outright ruin.

Money gets dangerous when we forget that it is only a means to an end, not an end in itself. If that sounds a little cryptic it is meant to sound so. Money can bring you down in many, many ways.

Money can buy a lot of things that are not very good in the long run. If you have a lot of money, people will often treat you with a certain respect. Most of the time they are just after your money.

Do you think the waiter is being so nice to you because he likes you? Of course not, he wants a nice fat tip and if the service is good, give it to him! Same thing goes for bank tellers, lawyers, accountants, maitre d's and anyone who can make a nice buck off your back. But those are usually innocuous enough.

Where it gets dangerous is when you are out of your element and most vulnerable. When that hot chick with the ample breasts and legs that never end can't stop laughing at your jokes and touching you ever so gently in those strategic spots. What does it mean? More likely than not she's after your money, not you.

So don't be fooled. I repeat, do not be fooled. Listen carefully to your friends and your right hand man for advice, they usually see things clearer from the outside looking in than you do in the middle of the storm.

And one more thing, always keep your mouth shut. The less people know about your business, the safer it is.