My Junior Colleague Asked How She Can Become Rich AF [Fast]. I Was Dumbfounded.

When money motivations have nothing to do with the darn money

“Hey, Aldric, I heard you are good with compounding money. What tips do you have for me?”

Here we go again.

• An abrupt question.
• A boring question about growing money.
• And the evergreen relentless search for hot tips.

Celia, over the virtual conference, had her Doe’s Eyes on. She was eager. She was focused.

And as far as I could tell, she wanted a hot tip that works.

Should I tell her to invest in an Index fund? Haha. I won’t bother. It will fall on deaf ears.

But this young lady intrigued me.

I decided to entertain her.

And have fun myself.

You Want More Money Fast? And That is Because…?

Silly question, I know.

Many people I know are motivated by money AND~DD~ they cannot articulate their reasons. No issues with me. We don’t need a reason. Survival is a good reason.

Maybe, and maybe, Celia needs the money to feed her family. That is legit.

“You want me to tell you the real reason? Or the politically correct one?”

My, my. I am going to have a fun day at work.

For the next 60 minutes, at least.

So I went along.

“So… tell me the politically correct reason first? Let’s get the boring out of the way.”

She responded with a look of relief. I guess she needed time to warm up. I guess.

“Oh. I want to travel around the world. I want to see the Aurora at the North Pole, hug the emperor penguins at the South Pole, go desert crossing, swim with dolphins, and run marathons in the majors.”

Hmm. That is the politically correct reason?

I thought [genuinely] that the PC reasons were buying a house, settling down, and caring for aged parents. Okay, okay. I am the old one. The young ones think differently.

None of my business anyway.

But it does raise red flags.

You will notice it, too.

“Ah, you want to experience the world while taking a job on the move? Oh, you have a digital nomad dream? That is a cool idea, you know. I know many of them. I can connect you with them.”

This is my classic over-enthusiastic behavior.

I was off-pitch. Far off.

“Err… no? I don’t want to be a digital nomad. I want to travel the world without having to bring my laptop along. I mean… why? Why can’t we enjoy this one life we have?”

Oh, oh.

It has been a long while since I encountered an anti-work human specimen. I must hold myself back because I am pro-work… if there is such a description. We’ll butt heads. No point.

Celia continued while I remained silent.

“And that is why I asked you for any money-compounding hot tips. I want the money fast. I want to escape this workplace hell, see the world, and enjoy my life.”

Okay.

Makes sense.

And okay.

Makes no sense.

Then, again… I am not interested in butting heads. A contest on values does not encourage civic discussions. I held my tongue. I moved on.

“Right. So… What is Your Real Reason?”

At this point, I was no longer impressed or interested in her thoughts.

I pretended to be.

As in, I tried.

“Oh, the real reason is easy. I want money, lots of money, to work for me. I figured I no longer need to work if I have 5 million in investments with a 15% return. Not this lifetime.”

I’ll be honest.

I got confused.

Was it about money or work?

All her motivations were anti-work.

I was trying [my absolute best] to comprehend her mindset and figure out what would work for her.

• Slow and steady is irrelevant. Safe stuff yields next to nothing.
• After-hours hustle? She will roll her big eyes at me.
• Earning online money? That takes work also.

I was, in a [strange] way, bankrupt of advice.

I decided to ask her questions about investing.

“Tell me one thing, Celia. Tell me to the best that you can. Do you invest? What do you invest in?”

Her answer surprised me.

No, I take that back.

She confused me.

“Nothing. I don’t know how. That is why I am asking people for hot tips. It is too much hassle to learn about finance. I am just a software consultant. Finance don’t speak to me.”

Hmm.

I was bewildered.

Even retail speculators put in more effort?

“Why don’t you open a brokerage account first? You can shop for great investments there.”

The next thing she said made my head spin.

“Can I pass you $10,000 today, and you do the work for me? I am looking at $30,000 by year-end. That is my plan. I intend to quit by then and go live my life.”

Year end?

$30,000?

Live her life?

See the world?

And not working forever?

Hmm. Interesting thoughts. But I have no interest in managing other people’s money.

Not when they have unrealistic expectations.

The Close

I politely declined her request.

Celia did not take offense.

That’s good… for now.

It got me thinking.

Is work that bad? I know it is not a bed of roses. That said, it allows us to polish our skills, grow professionally, pay our bills, and have seed money to compound our wealth.

I don’t know.

Maybe you do?

Educate me.

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