Stop Complaining And Do What The Rich Do

They worked for what they accomplished

“I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor, and rich is better.” — Mae West

Dictionary.com defines the word rich as having wealth or great possessions; abundantly supplied with resources, means, or funds; wealthy.

Who doesn’t want to be rich? Who doesn’t want to be wealthy, and to be abundantly supplied with resources, means, or funds?

I would say no one.

But if one listens to the constant griping about how rich the rich are, and how much richer they have become during the current pandemic, one would conclude that some think that there is something wrong with being rich.

There is nothing wrong with being rich. It is not illegal or immoral.

Jeff Bezos is attacked frequently for becoming wealthier during the pandemic. It took Bezos many years to build Amazon into what it is today. All of that work seems to be forgotten or ignored by those who attack him.

Many politicians, including Bernie Sanders, attack Bezos for being successful and for making money.

Amazon provides a service that people need and want. If it didn’t, it would go out of business, and more than a million people worldwide would be unemployed.

But the politicians, including Sanders, would still have their jobs.

That’s right. Amazon now employs more than one million people worldwide.

How many jobs has Bernie Sanders created?

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are also criticized for their great wealth. Again, it took these men years to get to where they are today. Like Bezos, they robbed no one, and as far as I know, didn’t engage in any illegal activities to gain wealth.

I find it very interesting that virtually no one criticizes multimillionaire athletes. No one criticizes Shaq, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods. Jordan and Woods are thought to be billionaires.

Shaq, Jordan, Woods, and other millionaire athletes did the work and earned their income, and invested wisely to grow their wealth. In so doing they have added value to society at large.

Do you know any rich people?

I do and did. Some have passed away.

They are not world-famous, but they are rich. The ones I have in mind worked to get their wealth. Some started from very poor circumstances. Some started businesses and worked, and worked long hours. Others were members of one of the professions and worked hard to achieve their success.

They were, and are millionaires.

What do the rich do?

1. They work. They don’t sit around in their underwear and watch TV while eating potato chips and guzzling coke, or beer.
2. They work hard and long. They work long hours. Owning a business is not a 9 to 5 job. Business owners put in long hours to become successful.
3. Professionals who become rich also work long hours.
4. They don’t complain. They find a way to do what they want and to get the job done.
5. They give. They support charities and other worthwhile causes. They give time and money.
6. They invest. They invest in themselves and their businesses.
7. They take calculated risks.
8. They never give up.

These are some of the things that the rich do. What do those who complain do? What are they doing to improve themselves? What are they doing to help others? What are their excuses?

At a time when the famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky was in the headlines for his outstanding performance, one of the executives of a company I worked for asked the President of the company for his opinion on Gretzky.

“Who is Gretzky?” the President asked. He didn’t know who the Great One was. Everyone else in the office knew who Gretzky was, but we were not millionaires; we worked for one.

While we went home to watch the Great One in action and marveled at his scoring plays, our employer was working on his business.

I have said elsewhere, more than once, that I have great admiration and respect for successful people. They worked for what they wanted and worked hard for it. Most of them never talk about the difficulties they suffered in their lives. They carried on without complaining and became successful and rich.

Instead of complaining about them, do what the rich do.

Here is the link to another piece I wrote on Bezos.

And here is the link to a piece I did on “taxing the rich”.

Reference: Amazon now employs more than one million people worldwide