Wealth Creation Strategies | OnMoneyMaking

I worked almost all day this Christmas. And I’m unashamed.

Why? Because, to me, Christmas is no different than any other day.

If I want to buy someone a gift, I buy it and give it to them. If I want to enjoy my family, I visit or call them. If I want to celebrate Jesus, I close my eyes and pray.

I don’t need a special day. The opposite is also true.

If no one I know needs anything, I don’t buy them stupid junk. If I’m sick of my family, I stay away from them. If I don’t like your church for most of the year, don’t expect me to attend on Christmas.

Why? Because it’s my life, and I can do whatever I want with it.

To some, this might sound selfish or weird. Although if you really think about it, I think you’ll find it makes sense.

Each morning, you make a choice: are you going to seize the day or not? Are you going to take charge of your life, or are you going to let others tell you what to do?

Personally, I’ve found the first choice leads to happiness. The second leads to misery. It’s even true on Christmas.

My mother spent all morning preparing Christmas dinner. She hates to cook, and by mid-afternoon, she was highly agitated and regretted the whole thing. Another friend went to see all of her relatives, but after the initial “holiday cheer,” they spent several hours talking about their problems and she went home depressed.

As for me, I worked all day, and I’m happy as a clam.

It’s not because I’m a workaholic. It’s because my work means something to me.

Right now, researchers need somewhere around $30 million to have a good shot at finding a treatment for my disease. If I had it, I would give it to them, but I don’t. So I’ll keep working until I do.

My real estate portfolio is hurting like everyone else’s right now. If nothing changes, it may not be able to provide for me next year. So I’m working on diversifying my income.

A nurse that’s been with me for 14 years is thinking about retiring next year. He deserves a six-figure retirement bonus, but I can’t afford it right now. So I’ll work until I can.

Could I ignore all of these things for a day? Sure… but why?

Finding a treatment for my fatal disease, protecting my income, and rewarding the best nurse in the world for 14 years of service just seems more important than buying gifts for people that don’t need them, spending time with family that I have nothing in common with, and celebrating the birth of Jesus on the wrong day of the year.

To me, a day spent in the pursuit of money is infinitely more meaningful than any of the stuff that happens on Christmas.

But then again, maybe I’m just weird.

Have you ever noticed that lots of smart people have contempt for money? Not all of them, of course, but enough for the destitute genius to become a stereotype.

I used to be one of them, I suppose. Indoctrinated with four years of English Literature and Philosophy, I regarded it with a kind of smoldering resentment, not just because I was broke (and I was), but because I hated how the necessity of it could trump a life of intellectual rigor. It seemed an awful waste.

No one else seemed to understand, either. I resented that too. Talking about it now, it sounds foolish, but if you were ever labeled as the “smart kid,” you know what I’m talking about.

You’ve been told over and over again that someone of your intelligence should find it easy to make money. Silently (or not), everyone thinks you’re wasting your God-given talents by not applying them for personal gain.

But they don’t get it, do they? To you, life is not an exercise in how much money you can accumulate. There are so many things that are more interesting, more important, and more relevant to you.

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Do you ever wish that people would just shut up about money?

Yes, it’s important. Yes, you could use more of it. Yes, you’d better start saving and investing, or you’ll regret it later.

But frankly, you don’t want to hear it.

You’re tired of people pitching you “financial solutions.” You’re tired of reading boring articles about investing. You’re tired of everyone talking about it, everywhere you go, all the time.

In fact, you take that back. You’re not just tired of it. You hate it.

Why? Do you really have to count the reasons?

Actually, there’s no need. I already have. Some will apply to you and some won’t, but here are 38 perfectly valid reasons to hate money and everything requires (be sure to read to the end):

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