Nice trophy

Imagine inviting some friends to your home for the first time and one of them seeing an impressive trophy on the mantle. They walk over to take a closer look and see that it is a regional championship trophy. They ask you about it and you respond with:

"That is an amazing story. That year we were the underdogs from the beginning, but then we had injuries and setbacks all year. So everyone was surprised when we made it to the championship game. And the game itself was just like the season. We were behind the whole game. We didn't even score until the second half. But right before the clock wound down we made our final score to win. It was the game of a lifetime."

They congratulate you on an amazing experience. They know it means a lot to you from how you talked about the season and championship game. They also know that there was a lot of effort and teamwork behind the story that you didn't even mention.

The next week you visit your friend. Immediately as you enter their home you notice a state championship trophy (its hard to miss being so big). So you say to your friend, "Wow. Now I know that has a story behind it." They reply, "After seeing your trophy and being so impressed with it, I felt I needed to have one as well. So I went to the trophy store and chose the biggest one I could find. Boy are they expensive, but luckily they have payment plans."

How would you be feeling at that point? Why? Maybe you feel offended. You put in all that work to earn the trophy and they just went out and bought one (and couldn't even pay for it up front). Maybe you feel they are somewhat of a hollow person, having a trophy without earning it like you.

A version of this story was told to me and then it was turned on me by saying, "I paid cash for my cars and house. I worked hard to develop free cash flow so that I could earn them and they represent the lives I've blessed."

Wow. I realized that I had purchased my "trophies" and even put them on a payment plan. I realized that my friend was attempting to show me that my excuses for paying for nicer cars without earning them or a nicer house without earning it were somewhat offensive to my friend. I realized I hadn't earned them. 

One of my favorite phrases now is "Money is the receipt for the value we add to society." When I first heard that and put it in the context of trophies, I realized even more that when I bought things on credit I was even more so buying things I had not earned. I turned myself into a financial slave to creditors, selling my time because I was seduced by low down and easy monthly payments.

So is it bad to have these trophies? Is it materialistic? I don't think so. I think if you look at money as the receipt for the value you add to society, then buying these nice cars, homes, houses, and other doodads (to coin a Robert Kiyosaki phrase) are perfectly fine as long as you set them as a trophy. 

Set a goal for how much more receipts, how much more value you will add to society, and when you reach that goal you'll reward yourself with the trophy. In that way the shiny bauble becomes a representation of the hard work you put in to bless the lives of others instead of a trophy just bought on payments.