You’re Allowed to Enjoy Your Money
If you have worked hard and earned your wealth, it is okay to spend it on things that bring you upliftment, and worth keeping space in your mind to put some of it into creating impact.
Dandapani describes the finer things he actually cares about, custom furniture and hand carved doors he designed in India for his home in Costa Rica, and says there is nothing wrong with enjoying what you earned. He then argues that an entrepreneur who wants to give back should drive a project themselves rather than write a check.
What this talk covers
- He is not a car or clothing person, but his doors, beds, coffee table and vanities are hand carved and custom made in India and shipped to Costa Rica.
- Be clear about what actually brings you upliftment and joy, whatever form it takes.
- If you have worked hard for decades and earned it, it is okay to spend that wealth on yourself, even if it feels trivial to you.
- Keep some space in your mind to take some of that wealth and create impact, because it does not have to be one or the other.
- Entrepreneurs can take nothing and create something, and can solve problems along the way, which most people cannot do, so their time on a project is worth more than their check, and the mission can be something in their own neighborhood.
As an entrepreneur, it's better for you to find a project and drive that project yourself rather than write a check.Dandapani
Questions
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Dandapani says yes. If you have worked hard and earned it, spending it on what brings you upliftment is fine, and he points to his own custom made furniture as his version of a McLaren.
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He says it is better for an entrepreneur to find a project and drive it themselves than to write a check. Many people can write checks, but few know how to create something from nothing and solve problems along the way.
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It does not have to be changing the whole world. It can be something in your neighborhood that you want to create an impact in.
Transcript
574 words · 3:00
Do you like the finer things in life? I do I do I very much so I live on a 33-acre estate here in Costa Rica What am I find the things are very different? I'm not a big car person, you know or things like that or clothing person But I love furniture all my doors are hand carved in India that I designed and shipped over here your doors
Are yeah the doors for my bedroom the door of my front door. You'll have to send me some pictures of your doors I sincerely I mean that I want to see yeah, no so you know I got them I designed them and I got them carved handmade in India my beds My coffee table vanities everything is custom-made in India and then shipped over here in a container
So do I like the finer things? Yeah I mean not everybody gets custom-made doors in India and shipped halfway across the world But that's my McLaren, you know and so I'm very clear what it is I want you know that brings me upliftment that brings me joy and it's okay to have that there's nothing wrong
You know, if you've worked hard and for all the entrepreneurs listening, if you've worked your butt off over decades and you've earned good money and you've exited or whatever it is you have wealth, it's okay to spend that wealth on you and And even if it in your mind feels trivial, it's fine. You you earned it But all I would say is that keep some space in your mind to potentially take some of that wealth and also
also create impact in the world. We can do both. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Do you think about that in terms of a financial contribution or more of a dedicating time
in your life to it? In other words, is it time or is it money that you... I'm so glad you asked this question because no one's ever asked me this question and so many of my EOA events in the early years, I would bring this out because no one ever
asked me this. As an entrepreneur, it's better for you to find a project and drive that project yourself rather than write a check. Because there are a lot of people that can write checks.
But because you are an entrepreneur, you have very particular skills, you know how to solve problems, which most people don't know how to solve problems. And you know how to solve problems every day. We're creators, aren't we?
Generally. I mean, I take great pride in being a creator. Yes, and you know how to create something. There's two things entrepreneurs can do.
They can take nothing and create something and they can solve problems along the way in the process of creating that something. And that's things that not everybody can do.
So the people that can't do that, it's better for them to write a check. So as an entrepreneur, find a mission and it doesn't have to be,
I'm gonna change the whole world. It could just be something in your neighborhood that you wanna create an impact in and do that because you have those two qualities
that most people don't have. So it's better for an entrepreneur to do that then to write a check.