Back when I was young and hungry for material success, I would look up to those rich people and wished to be them. But then, as I got older, I realized that everything in life has inherent sacrifices. There is usually a trade-off.
Some are on the 4th divorce. Some have debilitating health conditions. Some have traded their morals for the pot of gold. They got material success and power, but is it worth the trade? Maybe for them it is.
But for me, the majority of rich people that I used to look up to, I don’t want to trade lives with them. I am good where I am right now. I am contented. I am where I need to be.
The Tao Te Ching and the Bible have various verses referring to the downfalls of pursuing material success.
The Tao Te Ching says that true abundance lies not in material possessions, but in contentment, inner peace, and harmony with the Tao.
The Bible says that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24).
Again, there is always a trade-off to pursuing whatever the world thinks is success. If you envy somebody successful, ask “would you trade lives with them?”