Careful What You Wish For

Good day peoples,

We all want to be rich, we all want to be famous, and we all want to be powerful. Most of you spend your entire lives striving to be those things. Sounds like a great life, doesn't it? Who wouldn't want to be adored, have a seven figure bank account, drive a Ferrari, and have a penthouse and a summer home in Monaco, while banging Halle Berry?


It sounds wonderful, but it isn't. Sure, being rich and powerful isn't exactly scrubbing toilets, but it doesn't come without its downside. Because when you're on top, you become a bigger target for all those who want to see you fall. More money, more problems? Absolutely. So the next time you wish to be in the other guy's shoes, don't just look at the nice leather and wish his shoes were yours, look inside his shoes to see what's making his feet stink so bad.

After all, we always want what we can't have. This is not to say you shouldn't be ambitious. Quite the opposite. What I want to warn you about is the fact that having money and power isn't all roses. People don't know what to do with large amounts of money and power (though your local Mercedes car salesman will be more than happy to tell you what to do with that disposable income of yours).

The Good Part About Being Made
So before I highlight some of the pitfalls of getting everything you wish for, let's go over the positives of being rich and powerful:

1- You can buy whatever you want.

2- You can buy whoever you want, except those with a bigger yacht than yours.

3- You can walk around with "inflated" balls . This is a great thing for most men because most men lack balls (both in the board room and in the bedroom).

4- Mistresses are easier to come by. Women love powerful men, it's like a drug for them. The women you meet will still be call girls, only you don't pay them at the beginning of the night, but rather every month when their rent is due and house payments need to be made.

5- Doors open and opportunities arise, whether you're looking for them or not. The richer you are, the more you get for free, and the more others want to make you richer.

The Pitfalls of Money & Power
Okay, that's great and dandy. Who wouldn't want these perks? We all love having the ability to do what I want, when I want, without blinking at the price. But nothing comes without a cost. In fact, like most others in positions of power, you'll always sleep with one eye open.

Here's why:

1. You Worry About Money
Those who say, "I want to make enough money never to have to think about it again," obviously have no cash flow. The more money you have, the more you worry about it because, after you've stuffed every pillow in your house, you still need to find places to stash your cash. It becomes unmanageable, you can't keep track of all your money, and you worry about which dude in your inner circle has his eyes on your children's meal ticket. Having a lot of money doesn't stop you from stressing about the bills, your bills just have a few extra zeros.

2. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
Who wouldn't enjoy having power over others' lives, to decide their destiny, their happiness, their financial future? You might feel like a king over there, having the ability to fire, hire, promote, demote, break, make, or even jail a guy, but that's not how it goes.

Sure some sick f*cks treat the ability to toy with other men's lives as an aphrodisiac, one should treat it with incredible responsibility. When you are calling the shots, the buck stops with you. When you have the power to make major decisions, decisions that not only affect your power base but affect those around you, you can't take it lightly.

When I was out on my own, when I had no one to think about but myself, I was a selfish prick looking out for my interests, I didn't give a damn what happened to the dude next to me. But as I grow more and more people depend on me, and decisions I make now must be carefully weighed to make sure I protect myself, as well as those around me.

Some people handle that kind of pressure well, others don't. Worse, some don't even realize the responsibility and act as if they have their own little kingdom, without rules. Politicians, needless to say, top that list, but I hate discussing politics so I'll stop there.

You have to make the tough (and sometimes unpopular) decisions, whether it's selling out your best friend or firing a long time employee. You want to be Boss, you are going to have to take the crap that comes with being Boss. And the stress and venom that comes your way.

3. You Are A Big, Fat, Beached Whale of A Target
People love having a target, an enemy, or even a scapegoat they can point their fingers at, to blame for their own miserable lives, for their stupidities, and for every mistake they ever made.

When you are rich and powerful, you become a target. Not just for the money seekers at every charity under the sun who bother you relentlessly, but for those around you who are jealous of your success, for your competitors, and for people who want to use you as an example.

Get used to it, not everyone is going to love you. Be grateful if your enemies are known to you, there is nothing scarier than being surrounded by people who smile at you and then stab you in the back. People need inspiration, they need a Goliath for their David, and you've just earned the lead role. People will want your job, your money and your power, and even if they can't bring you down, they'll take pleasure in trying.



Among the niceties thrown at you will be lawsuits, accusations, threats, harassment, and everything else people too weak to resolve things in an alley rely on. Remember what I said about not worrying about money? Not only will your lawyer's yearly retainer keep you up at night, but wondering which hillbilly judge will award your fortune to some dude and bust you out will do wonders for your blood pressure.

Then there are the Machiavellian weasels that connive and plot your destruction with tact and discretion. I hate those bastards, they are the toughest to spot and often appear in your weakest moment (as you should do when it comes to your enemies).

4. TRA Loves You
Sure, with cash, you can hire more expensive lawyers to fight the greedy players in the system, but one thing's for sure: regardless if you're one step ahead of them or not, you'll constantly be dealing with what the infamous TRA throws at you in its never-ending pursuit of what you've earned. Think of TRA as a rabid dog who doesn't give a damn that you've beaten it on the head with a 2x4, it will keep coming after you.

The TRA isn't your only governmental Valentine, all kinds of departments with all kinds of silly abbreviations send their trainees to your doorstep looking for a piece of you or trying to put you behind bars. Nothing like a high-profile target to make some pen pusher's career.

Unless you like going away to college, these little vendettas not only cost a lot of money, they can cost you your life, and if you're lucky enough to avoid jail time, they force you to use valuable goodwill currency with your friends in high places. Once that currency is used up...

5. You Get Greedy
The more you have, the more you want, and this might force an otherwise smart, logical person to start making some very stupid mistakes. People with money and power are faced with a barrage of daily decisions they can't help but screw up sometimes. They want it all, they want to control it all, and the greed gets the best of them.

Money and power will bring a sense of entitlement you can't imagine. You want everything, you ask for everything, and you forget the value of being humble and modest, and doling out crumbs to those around you. Your friends turn into enemies as you drown in the pool of cash you've selfishly hoarded.

6. Everything Gets Expensive
Obviously, when you have money, your taste changes, you don't settle for Jack In The Box when you can get "Jacques Dans La Boite." Along with your new, expensive tastes comes the high maintenance wife, the fancy cars, the fancy homes, and the fancy trips.

Your kids go from public universities to prestigious higher learning institutions. You hook up with a hot model who's only good for making you feel like a top gun and maxing out your credit card. And you haven't even touched on the expense of the mistress, or the expense of a divorce.

People expect bigger gifts from you at Christmas. You get invited to every wedding, baptism and passage rites from here to lord know where. Even if you are a modest guy, you still have an image to maintain. You have to look the part, so you play the game of keeping up with the Joneses. Bigger watch, bigger car, bigger toys.

Add to that the cost of extra security for your big-shot a**, maintenance fees for your properties and investments, retainers, legal fees, accounting fees, payoffs, keeping your advisors and your loyal crew happy, etc., and all of a sudden, you're living a lifestyle that's far removed from when you were in the dump and your only expense was bus fare.

Your monthly expenses become so high that you feed your ambition with the fear of going bust, which only drives you to become richer and more powerful. It's a vicious circle. Like I said, it ain't all roses and crap.

7. You Become Paranoid
A nice little side effect of being in a position of privilege is the paranoia that magically appears. Suddenly, everyone is after you, your enemies are plotting your downfall, and you have to round the wagons to protect yourself.

Mind you, this paranoia isn't necessarily unjustified. To make money, and especially to obtain power, you are going to have to destroy some people. Those people will become your sworn enemies. You will fear for your kids and threats start hitting home. You become vulnerable to blackmail for every dirty deed you did in the past without covering your tracks.

You stress. You get gray hair. You live in a fish bowl. Like a celebrity, you have no freedom, you have no privacy. You're a public figure, regardless if you're a movie star or not, so people feel entitled to unload whatever garbage they feel like on you. But hey, my friends, it's the price of success.

Still think the rich and famous have it easy?

the audacious truth