Goodbye 04-06-05

Now let's fast forward five years and take another look at those two men...

My guess is the dishwasher/thief will be broke. I'll bet he'll have spent almost all his money on drugs, prostitutes, insanely impractical expensive cars (like Lamborginies), and in general, carelessly scattered his money to the wind. And since he doesn't know any skills to make money (except washing dishes), he'll probably turn back to crime. This being Florida, the nature of that crime will probably be some type of involvement in the drug trade. And, since he was never the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with, entering the drug trade will most likely have gotten him imprisoned or even murdered.

But let's take a look at that other guy who washed ashore the same day, the brain surgeon. After the same five years have passed, he's living in Coral Gables (a luxurious suburb of Miami), has a nice wife with one or two kids, a terrific showplace house, a Lexus (the best car ever made), a thriving practice, and is a respected member of the community.

What's the difference between those two guys? The difference is the dishwasher/thief did not come ashore with "real" wealth. He only came ashore with money. The brain surgeon came ashore with the only "real" wealth there is. He came ashore with the wealth he had between his ears.

Should that brain surgeon ever run into financial troubles, he might temporarily become broke... but... because of this wealth between his ears... he will rapidly cure that situation. He WILL become prosperous again.

A lot of the money I made, I spent intelligently. For example, I spent a lot of it on sex, drugs, wild women, booze, rock and roll, insanely fast and dangerous boats, and business ventures that were so stupidly conceived, they didn't have a chance to succeed.