...

I had a conversation with Landon. He said he wanted to move to Alaska, and Robert said that was too far. I said "that's not even that far; it's still in America. If you really wanted to travel, you'd go to Asia or Africa." Landon started rambling about how a flight to Asia costs at least $1500. I asked him, "do you seriously not think that moving to Alaska would cost over $1500? Travelling is the least of your expenses." He started talking about how in Alaska, "you can make good money." "You can make $30k a month working in mines," he said. I joked, and said to him, "you can make good money anywhere if you're smart and lucky enough." He said, "not here." I told him, "only losers work in real life anymore. Everyone works online these days."

I remember when I was his age too, and I would look at a number like $30k a month and just lose my shit. Young people, especially young men, are obsessed with money; Americans in specific worship the almighty dollar. But I've heard too many stories of people wasting their whole lives chasing the dollar, then suddenly at 65 they retire and regret it all.

$30k a month seems appealing to the poor man because he's got something to prove. It's not real to him. It's a fantasy. If he actually made that much, and bragged about it, he would come across as terribly insecure, not successful, and the only people that would gravitate towards him would be using him for his wealth. As soon as this actually becomes your reality, you want more. If you're not comfortable making $5,000 a month or even $20,000 a month, you definitely still won't be comfortable with $30,000. The less we learn to be happy with, the happier we will be with more.