11. Mai 2020

Time. Quality. Money

Time. Quality. Money.

Forever Now!

History, stories, pain, the past - Not real! Now is the time!

Time - What is time?

One moment can feel like forever! Time is relative! (Albert Einstein)

Thousand years are a day (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vrt0_eU7qQ)

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present (Bill Keane)

“Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” (― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings)

Every moment everything can change (Hillary Duff song)

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time (Leo Tolstoy)

The time is always right to do what is right! (Martin Luther King)

Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke (Hermann Hesse)

Time for a present?

Time is fair. Each of us is given 24 hours a day.

A friend, Dirk, told me that it's our friend Michaels 50th Birthday soon. He knows Michael way better than I do and actually lived with them for over 3 month. I asked him for a good idea, because he knows him better and mentioned in the end we could definitely give him a picture of all three of us were we are smiling and happy and Dirk could send me a printable high quality postcard of this picture with some nice words, because he knows Michael better and it's already my job to get the beer and prepare the present and to bring it to Michael. Dirk said he is happy to pay but he had no time for a friend, who had time for him for 3 month to create something. So, he sent the picture to another friend to print it in lower quality without some nice words. The friend had to print it and I had to pick it up and write some nice words myself, not half as good, because I don't know Michael good. It took me way more time to pick it up and write something on a printed paper than it would have taken Dirk to call me a couple of times and managed the communication with his friend. Anyways, in the time I prepared everything Dirk hopefully earned some more money, while I invested my time in going for a run, meeting a friend on the way, being creative, getting a kids smile, a piece of a birthday cake and a dry bag me in exchange for my time, not a bad deal neither. It depends just what Dirk is doing with the money he got for his time, but the time is gone.

Time is always a choice!

Instead of one person's time. His time. I've had to pay with my time and his other friend with his time. I think, the quality of the gift was lower than it could be and the invested time in total was higher. It's called inefficiency!

Money comes and goes! Friends stay and can actually help you, if you really need them! I learned that during my depression. I’ve had enough money but not the money but my friends saved me. There are some lonely celebrity stories

Unfortunately, this is just one little story about a present but this inefficiency is happening all around us in the world. Everytime in every company, when people or companies give up their responsibilities and time in exchange for money to make things more complicated instead of doing things themself. Being responsible for our actions and taking our time for what's important for us, is rare today.

No time, no time. How often do we hear that? No time is always a choice of no effort!

El valor de la vida (Pepe Mujica, Presidente de Uruguay, 2010.2015, The poorest president: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GX6a2WEA1Q)

"Goodness is the only investment that never fails" (Thoreau).

Success isn't about how much money you make, it's about the difference you make in people's lives (Hope, Never Fear, M. Obama)

To do good, you actually have to do something (Yvon Chouinard)

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are (Theodore Roosevelt)

The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it (Thoreau).

To do something with Quality, something unique, something that defines us takes time, effort and love. Good cooking, Art, Writing, being good in a sport, music or anything else, it all takes time.

Money

We can't buy time. No one can!

'We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.' (Dave Ramsey)

Possessions make you rich? I don't have that type of richness. My richness is life, forever (Bob Marley).

Everyone trusts money. It's almost a religion. Money is never enough. You should always try to have control about money/have money in your hand and not the other way around so money controls you. The problem is, when we depend on money. (Anselm Pahnke: Eine Reise zu sich selbst. Anderswo, Allein in Afrika: https://christianbischoff.libsyn.com/eine-reise-zu-sich-selbst-40000-kilometer-mit-dem-fahrrad-um-die-welt-interview-mit-anselm-pahnke-folge-231)

"Money isn't real (It's just paper or a credit). Never forget that George! (Blow)

Money isn't good or bad for me. It is what it is. The currency to trade at the moment. We exchange that currency for our lifetime and we have to decide how much of our lifetime we want to spend and for what kind of work! If we want a job with life quality or a job to earn more in a short time and do something in our free time. We have to decide how much money we need. How much savings do we want? It's a hard calculation but we also don't need money when we die. Money should never be the full desire to do something, otherwise we are a slave of this money thing.

Money Tree

Finally, after 6 weeks of lockdown I was allowed to work again as a ground person for some arborists. It was different, then the first time no hug, gloves all day but still a lot of fun. Seeing different gardens, see how other climbers work and being outside in the sun all day. Getting invited for a hot chocolate and a brownie and working with friends and meeting new people. Only one conversation while laying on the ground and enjoying the sun and the birds singing made me a little bit sad and thinking.

We talked about the biggest eucalyptus tree of Wanaka, which was apparently standing just in front of the hostel in Wanaka and was cut down for the powerline and everyone of us was sad about it. Jean was also trying to time her day tomorrow to drive a hour to Queenstown, hopefully while it's raining to cut down 3 "fucking trees" in 15 minutes and then drive an hour back again. She said it's a good deal. Good money for a minimum of work, just felling the trees is the job. For me it sounds awful! Two hours driving, to cut down 3 trees in a hurry and in the rain without using much of your skills and knowledge and working without a team. I rather like to work one day in the sun, with a team on a complicated tree project and learning something new. That's why I was really thankful for this working day today. A great team, we changed the whole garden and the chipping felt in flow and we have a great coffee, brownie break in the sun where I learned again what work should be like for me.

"When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money (Cree Indians)."

“Money has never made man happy, nor will it; there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.” – Benjamin Franklin

"Rich people are poor people with money. Money is not the solution. It's good to have but it's not happiness!" (Martin - Against all odds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkDLo4UedoU&list=RDCMUCcPPUszZ4-7yzZNgAAYwJjg&index=3)

When I’ve had my depression, I had enough money and a job to not be worried but what saved me were my friends and the people around me. Not the paper. There are a lot of celebrities with millions of dollars but a lonely soul and huge social problems, just looking for friends and often just finding drugs and alcohol (some films: Bohemian Rhapsody/Freddie Mercury, Rocket Man/Elton John and many more gone)

Sometimes it's way more valuable to pay someone with your time and your trust and encouragement and with instead of just paying some money. Most people don't realize that at the moment but they will hopefully realize, remember it later. Sometimes to teach someone takes more time at the beginning but it pays off later:

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

The definition of richness in the western world is still focused on material richness. Money and possessions but both can change too fast and are not stable in life. The story of Bill Gates is a modern story similar to a story in the bible and various other stories but maybe it is true ;).

The man richer than Bill Gates

"Someone asked Bill Gates ( the richest man in the world at the time), ” is there someone richer than you? ”

Gates said : ” Yes, there is. ” And he went on to tell this story:

One day I was waiting on my flight, then I went to buy a newspaper for this guy who was selling them. After I grabbed the newspaper, I looked for a change in my wallet, I couldn’t find it. Then the guy said to me, it’s okay you can take it.

Couple months later, Gates flew into that same airport and when he went to buy a newspaper, the same guy was selling them and the same thing happened. After he grabbed the newspaper, he couldn’t find any change in his wallet. Then the guy told him, it’s okay you can take it. Gates said no no, not again, you gave it to me last time for free, I can’t take it again. The guy replied, yes you can take it, I’ll deduct it from my profit, it’s not a loss to me, just take it. And Gates went on his way.

Couple years later, after Bill Gates became who he is now, with fame and all the money in the world, he remembered this newspaper guy. He tracked him down, and after a month and half, he found the guy, and he asked him:

Gates : do you know who I am?

News paper guy : yes I do, you are Bill Gates.

Gates : Do you remember me, giving me newspapers for free?

News paper guy : yes I do.

Gates: I want to repay you for what you did for me back then. Name something that you want and I’ll fulfill it.

News paper guy : no, I can't.

Gates : why?

News paper guy : it’s not the same.

Gates : how do you mean?

News paper guy : when I helped you, I didn’t have anything. Yet I did. You want to repay me now, when you have everything! It’s not the same.

That’s when Bill Gates knew it’s far more great to have a rich heart than a lot of money.

Here is to that!"

Time/Money for Happiness:

No money, no honey!

Can we buy happiness?

Everyone is saying no, but money helps to not worry. If we see money as an exchange of time to make other people or us happy. We can buy happiness at least for a short time. But even a moment is happiness. Buying some good food and cooking it and then eating it, that’s happiness. Saving money for something you really want. Maybe think back, when you were a kid and saved for your first bike. Remember all the time you worked for this money to finally buy the bike and ride it the first time, before it became normal and you left it in the corner of your garage.

An easy way of happiness I learned is to give some money to a homeless person or buy him some food. I got this tip from a friend and if a few $ are not super important for you, try it. Give a homeless stranger some money or some food and if you are really good maybe even talk to him. Ask him about his story. If he smiles and is thankful about this money, which was before just unnoticed in your wallet, it's hard to not smile too. A super easy way to happiness shared for two people and it doesn't hurt normally and makes a stranger to a friend for a second. Just try it the next time and see if it works. Might not work if alcohol is involved somehow.

Asking for money is one of the most vulnerable, hardest, frustrating but also bravest things humans can ask for. So, a homeless person can be the bravest man, a hero and an inspiration for me and maybe should be for all of us. Don't see a poor person. Normally, his heart is big but maybe his mind or life is fucked at the moment.

Banker to the Poor

In 2006, Professor Muhammad Yunus got the Nobel Peace Price for the simple idea of creating a bank a village bank/microcredits for the poorest in Bangladesch. Just giving money to the people, who need it for help, a vision and a dream and definitely don’t have it instead of a bank giving it to big companies just playing with the money for some projects. What a brilliant idea of giving a credit or just basically what credit means. Def. credit: the ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future.

“Traditional banks refused to loan money to the poor, because of the risk of default. But Professor Yunus trusted the recipients. He lent US$27 of his own money to 42 women. They each paid back the loan. Microcredit was born.”

(https://sustainable.org.nz/sustainable-business-news/leadership-inspiration-from-muhammad-yunus-microfinance-pioneer/)

A history of microfinance Ted Talk, Muhammad Yunus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UCuWxWiMaQ

Some quotes of M. Yunus:

“The fact that the poor are alive is a clear proof of their ability.

Poor people are like bonsai trees. There is nothing wrong with their seeds. Only society never gave them a base to grow on.

Making money is happiness. Making other people money is super happiness.

You have to define your destination, and then use your imagination to find the path to reach it.”

Capitalism

Capitalism is another dualism with a mostly negative association nowadays accompanied by the world Globalization.

Capitalism is derived from capital, which evolved from capitale, a late Latin word based on caput, meaning "head"—which is also the origin of "chattel" and "cattle" in the sense of movable property (only much later to refer only to livestock) (Wikipedia).”

Globalization is an historical process that began with the first movement of people out of Africa into other parts of the world. Traveling short or long distances, migrants, merchants and others have delivered their ideas, customs and products to new lands.

Both definitions sound positive for me in their origin. Somehow, the meaning in society became negative over time. Capitalism is now, if big companies/few people have a lot of money and globalization is travelling by airplane and being depending on other countries' trade. Maybe it’s time to go back a step of time.

Capitalism a Love Story by Michael More: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeROnVUADj0

"Death over life, Money over people. This world is crazy!" Alborosie Money (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq9gUo6ykqc)

Money, Money, Money (ABBA)

Wake up you need to make money - Stressed out, Twenty one pilots

G€ld, Seed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxAP6ieuDgI)

Book: Burning Daylight/Lockruf des Goldes, Jack London

10 Things Money can't buy

(https://www.powerofpositivity.com/10-things-money-cant-buy/)