At some point in life, everybody has to wrestle with their own financial ambition, whether we call it financial independence or becoming wealthy.
I (Jim Rohn) know some people are a little uncomfortable with those kinds of phrases, and I can understand that. We’ve all heard the saying, “Money is the root of all evil.” Well, I believe that the love of money is certainly evil, but money itself is not evil.
There is an evil way to acquire money: greed. And there is a difference between greed and ambition. Contrary to the move Wall Street, greed is not good. Greed is associated with getting something for nothing. Greed means hoping for more than your share. Greed leads to getting something at the expense of others. We call that evil. Greed is not good.
Here’s what is good: ambition… legitimate ambition. Legitimate ambition says, “I only want something at the service of others. Not the expense of others, but at the service of others.”
Jesus gave us the greatest scenario for success when he explained that if you wish to be the greatest, you must find a way to serve the most. To many, service is the path that leads to greatness.
Of course, many people forget this aspect of service in their quest for greatness. The greed for absolute power drove Joseph Stalin to kill thirty million of his own countrymen. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. Stalin is one of the best examples of the pursuit of power at the expense of others, not at the service of others.
To be the greatest is a worthy ambition only if it’s pursued with the goal of serving many. Serving many leads to great wealth. Serving many leads to great recognition. Serving many leads to great satisfaction.
Zig Ziglar probably said it as well as anybody: “If you help enough people get what they want, you can have everything you want.” That’s not greed. It’s legitimate ambition at the service of others.
But even in this context, some people feel ambivalent about their ambition toward wealth. They are a little disturbed by the self-serving nature of seeking their fortune. So I try to refer to this endeavor as a quest for financial independence.
Here’s my definition of financial independence: it’s the ability to live solely from the income of your own personal resources. It’s a worthy and legitimate ambition to render good service, to develop good skills in the marketplace, to become so valuable that you can live independently off of the income of your own personal resources. You’re not placing the burden on others to support you. And you have the ability and desire to support others because you know you could never have made it alone. That’s why I think financial independence is such a worthy ambition.
* Source: Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn