Theoretically, this is the dream curve. You work on the right things early, make a lot of money, then implement a lifestyle that a face with many wrinkles would usually have. Your attention is freed from the burden of money, all while your vitality is preserved by the spirit of youth.

While this is undoubtedly a powerful moment, I find this reality to be deeply saddening.

Wisdom is the co-existence of contradictory truths, and money is the clearest example of this. We must internalize its importance while also recognizing its pointlessness. We must operate within the story of money while also understanding that it’s a fairy tale.

While this sounds nice, it’s no longer enough. Many people believe that the Nothingness of Money should be pushed back even further. After all, why have 3 decades of freedom when you could have 6?

The only way to resolve this tension is to remind yourself that you are already aware of the inevitable futility of a money-centered pursuit. That what you will see as ridiculous later can actually be perceived as ridiculous now.

By doing this regularly, you can punctuate the spikes of attention with moments of clarity, which helps to bring the heightened plateau down to a more reasonable level.

The Nothingness of Money is truly understood.

If you spend 15+ years logging your expenses every night, checking your portfolio twenty times a day, and making decisions based on their fiscal impact, how plausible is it that you will stop thinking about money after you’ve reached your goalpost? If you’ve been treating money like the ultimate collectors’ item for decades, can you stop identifyin... See more

The problem is that we often fail to see the illusory nature of this story, and treat it as gospel until it’s too late. But by punctuating our days with an awareness of the Nothingness of Money, we can make choices that don’t place finances at the helm.