Quote:
Originally posted by sammyg2
Rich is being able to do what you want instead of what you have to in order to make a living.
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That's a variation on what a tennis buddy of mine said to me once.
His line was that when he awoke in the morning, his money gave him the freedom to carry out what he had planned to do the day before, or not. He always referred to money as a tool.
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A bit about him:
By the age of 40+, he had made all his money on his own...no family money.
He's wealthy, not just rich...wealthy.
Real estate, buying/selling businesses, and the stock market were his vehicles.
'Was divorced when we met, and was searching for a "genuine, personally responsible woman." 'Had concerns about how to keep the knowledge of his wealth from the women he dated. He'd share stories w/me about their line of talk and their ways, etc.
My first clue that he had money:
We met on the tennis courts 25+ yrs. ago, both looking for a hit. Swapped phone numbers afterwards, and began our regular hitting sessions, about 15 hrs./week.
One day he complained about his nylon strings, so I gave him a new set of gut strings out of my bag. 'Suggested that he'd like gut over nylon. A few meetings later, he brought me a box...a beautiful $500 Private Collection Sergio Tacchini warm-up suit...not sold in America. When he saw my stunned reaction, he said that he could afford to reward generosity. After that, we began to talk about money, critical mass, women, what to value in life, death, etc.
The last time he called, he had recently returned from taking one of his 12 bikes down and spending a weekend at Freddie Spencer's High Performance Riding School at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
When I asked about any problems w/other riders, he said that he rented Freddie Spencer, his video crew, and the entire track for his own self for the weekend.
He also said that he wanted to learn trials riding, so he bought a GasGas trials bike, contacted some European trials champion, flew him over to stay with him for a few weeks, and they rode the hills behind his house.
My favorite aspects of him is that he has Humility, but speaks fearlessly straight and w/o pretense...probably what served him well in his accumulation.
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On the "LA Traffic" thread here, Zeke spoke of having a barn in the weeds one day...just working on his cars. If I had this fellows wealth, I'd be on my 100+ acres in the woods and would live out my life putzing on my bikes, my vehicles, and my property. Using my money as a tool keep the riff-raff away...to live simply.
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So, "What's Rich..."? When I think of what is rich, I think of this fellow. I've met him, I know him.
It's not what he does, but that he can so effortlessly do it.
Speaking of being financially rich, that's it...in my book.
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BTW, of all the vehicles he had back in those tennis days, his favorite - Ford Bronco.
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Oops, sorry. It's 1:30 a.m. ... caught up in reminiscing/rambling here.