Rich And Miserable? Welcome To The 7million Club
In recent years, a new kind of lifestyle has become popular. It's called the 7million club. You might have seen the ads on Facebook or Instagram, but you'll have to be content for now to hear about it from me. If you're curious about what I'm referring to, just think about how many people on social media live a privileged life that portrays itself as "rich." They post images of expensive cars, vacations in exotic destinations, and cocktails at high-end nightclubs. They brag about their huge houses and expensive wardrobes. They post about their children's sports teams, music lessons for their little angels, and stories of their latest luxurious vacations together. All the while, they try to pass themselves off as "regular folks."
But here's the catch: they're not really regular folks. And they know it.
Let me explain why I have become a supporter of this lifestyle—the 7million club lifestyle—because I'm one of those people that live it. And I'm not alone. There are actually a million of us in the US. And if you're reading this, I'd venture to guess that you might be in the club too.
You know who else is in the club? Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Kim Kardashian (among most other celebrities). In fact, if you have $7million or more in net worth, you're officially at least a level 2 celebrity—unless you're talking about sports stars.
And if you're thinking about moving into this lifestyle, I'd like to ask you one question: are you happy?
I know I never am. Life is very much about money and goods, but it's a lot less about happiness. You can buy all the things you ever wanted with money, but looking at the amount of wealth that these people have accumulated, that might not actually make them happy.
A sad reality of the 7million club lifestyle is that it has led to a lot of unhappiness among the people who live it. It's not just celebrities that are unhappy—many of my friends in this lifestyle are unhappy. They're miserable, and when you're miserable, you can't be happy.
While I don't know exactly how many people are in the 7million club , I do know that there are millions of us. And I also know that we aren't happy.
Just take a look at the statistics. A report from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) found that 40% of millionaires have high levels of financial stress, and 40% of those who had difficulty managing money said they were unhappy with their financial lives. A 2014 study by The Wealth Management Company found that 41% of 1,000 millionaires (who had all been interviewed between 2009 and 2011) cited stress as their primary reason for not being happy.
I don't know about you, but I'm not happy with my financial life, and a big part of that is because I'm constantly stressed about how I'm going to afford the lifestyle that we're both trying to live.
Money inevitably goes from being a tool of empowerment & happiness to a source of stress & misery. As we strive for more and more, we become unhappy with what we already have. We become less grateful for what our money can do, and more preoccupied with what it's going to cost us. This is a very unfortunate side-effect of money.
So if you're one of the millions in this lifestyle, I encourage you to ask yourself: are you happy? Do you feel like your life makes you happy?
A lot of people don't, and a lot of people get down to the nitty-gritty when it comes to why they're not happy. It's because they're never completely satisfied with what they have. They always have more goals in mind. I'm not trying to discount that there is value in always having goals, but I am saying that it is important to be aware of your goals and make sure they are aligned with what will make you truly happy.
For instance, if you have the goal of a beautiful house, but you're not happy with the choices you're making in your home to make it so, then perhaps it's time to re-evaluate your goals. Maybe you should be looking for something else along those lines.
It's common to set goals that are not at all aligned with our values. It's this massive discrepancy between our goals and our values that causes a lot of stress. The pursuit of money and possessions is what we're all trying to accomplish, but it's not what we want.
There is a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin that goes into great detail on the value of values. To put it simply, if you have the right values, you're automatically happier.
People who identify themselves as "rich" end up being miserable because they haven't thought about their values and goals in a long time.
Conclusion
I'll end this by saying that it is not a good idea to leave our values and goals behind in order to pursue money and materialism. I truly believe that the goal of being rich should never be at the expense of our values. We have to make sure we're setting ourselves up for true happiness first. And if you want more information on how you can make your dreams come true, reach out and let me know . . . I'm always happy to help.