A while back, I had the opportunity to learn from someone wise.
Someone who’s been through a lot in life & home business.
He built a 30 million dollar net worth before he was 30 years old.
He taught me something profound that I think I’m gonna remember for the rest of my life.
He called it The Law Of Diminishing Returns.
Here’s how he explained it.
Apparently, early on in business, he would carry around these pictures in his briefcase to remind him of the things he wanted to acquire.
Sort of like a “dream board – 70’s style”. 😉
On this list were things like…
- a Rolex watch
- fancy cars
- a new house and even,
- a private jet
Well believe it or not, he started acquiring these things one by one.
Even to the point where he bought his first jet and discovered the law of diminishing returns.
While he was busy building his business, so he could acquire things, one day he got a letter from his daughter that said,
“Dad, I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”
He said those words were like a knife in the heart.
Shortly after that, he found himself sitting in his brand new jet, looking down at the panels on the walls and saying to himself…
“This is just plastic.”
It was then he realized there was this law of life – called The Law Of Diminishing Returns.
According to Joe, the man telling the story, this law says that the more “stuff” you acquire, the less you tend to enjoy it.
As he talked about the early days of earning millions and acquiring all the stuff that people seem to think they want… there was a sort of sadness in his voice.
An emptiness, like something, had been missing during that time of his life.
Later on in the interview, he read a new letter from his daughter, one that she’d recently written him…
It said something like…
“Dad, you’re my friend and my hero.
You’re someone I look up to and deeply admire.
Thank you for being the most amazing father a girl could ever have.”
Wow.
Now, when Joe read these lines… there were tears in his eyes and a fullness and richness to his voice.
Sort of like, something was there that was worth far more than any earthly ‘thing’ you could acquire.
I know my friend Joe is so grateful he did what he had to do to readjust his priorities so that he could give his daughter what she deserved from her father.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a job or a business.
If there’s no time left for the ones we love, odds are high our success will be an empty shell compared to what it could have been.