“Money has no intrinsic value, only relative value. Its worth is measured by the ability to exchange it for something of value to the owner. In this light, the man who has no money and no wants is in the same position as one who has all the money in the world but cannot buy what he wants. In both cases, money is irrelevant because it cannot accomplish its purpose.”
My profession, arguably as a result of our society, is guilty of obsessing over money. Quantifying everything. Building net worth. Investing for abundance. And we spend far too little (if any) time discussing what the money is to actually be used for.
Somewhat early in my career, after a point I really questioned if this is what I wanted to be doing (more on that here) I learned that we should start talking about goals before talking about strategies. And around the three-quarter mark realized that starting with goals is even too presumptuous, and we needed to zoom farther back out and talk about values.
And so that’s where I start now.
Values lead to goals; goals help define strategies; strategies fulfill values. It’s a beautiful circle.
I agree with Gotthardt – money itself (no, I’m not talking about fiat currencies) has no intrinsic value. Its only value is its ability to be exchanged for something else we value.
Like time, or
generosity, or
family, or
experiences.
The sooner you start ascribing your values to your dollars, the sooner you can start measuring if those dollars are being put to the best use.