I was watching an episode of Pawn Stars tonight and an old man entered the shop with a silver watch. The old man and Rick started discussing the history of the watch and Rick looked up the value of it revealing that it was 120 yrs old but was only worth 100$ retail. The old man looked disappointed and made a comment about how he had thought pawning the watch would make it easier to split the heirloom between his grandsons. Ricks facial expression looked sympathetic as he offered a price of $120.00 to the old man which I thought was rather odd considering that normally when Rick tells someone a retail price he pitches a number much lower so he can make a profit. An idea started to form in my mind about Ricks sympathy and his kind gesture and I began to think about what it would be like to be rich. Now as you may or may not know Rick is a self made millionaire who started out in the pawn shop you see on the show. He became successful after making profits in the shop and using them to buy the fancy Americana items and artifacts that you often see staged on the show. Today, as Rick brings up in his published biography, Rick and his family are no longer able to work in the shop because of tourists constantly bombarding the doors to the pawnshop on a daily basis. Since the show has become popularized on TV the family now deals over the phone and follows leads to buy and sell items. Most items are found in the paper or through friends he then goes and purchases the items and sells them in auctions for great profits. What you see on television is completely fake in fact the pawn shop no longer buys or sells items rather it sells pawn stars merchandise like bobble heads and t-shirts to tourists that line up outside everyday. When its time to film the show the tourists are asked to leave and props/actors are brought into the store. The fancy items you see, the employees, the family, and everything else is all a big fake. However the people that enter the shop and the items they sell ARE REAL they just have to audition and show there item to producers before they can go in and be on the show. Dont believe me? Go to youtube and look up videos of tourists in the shop. Youll find that not only is it fake but the shop is very dirty, old, run down, and the employees are rude. It is very crowded and hot inside and often people are so oblivious to the fact the what goes on in the show couldnt possibly be real that they bring in items to sell or ask where they can find things that were bought on the show. Anyway Im getting off topic here. So I began to think about what it would be like to be Rich or in Ricks position. I can imagine that after becoming wealthy one would look at people like the old man who entered the shop and feel bad. What decent person could have so much money and look at a kind old man who is trying to get money to leave behind for his family and low ball him. Not Rick and I would imagine that if I were in his shoes I wouldnt have either. After all what makes me or Rick more special or important than that old man? Why do we deserve so much money but not others. I can imagine financial advisers advising not to give out money and saying that its bad business. But I cant help but wonder where the line is between bad business and selfishness. When are you being greedy with your wealth? The bible teaches us that a poor man giving his only penny to the church is worth more than a rich man giving a small fortune of his wealth to the church. We all know from TV and personal experience that money makes people change. But I cant see myself being able to do it. If I was rich I would want to buy myself things sure. I would love a flatscreen tv, a new imac, macbook pro, custom gaming pc, ps4, xbox one, iphones, ipads, and a lambo but I feel like if I became rich tomorrow I wouldnt be able to live with myself to just be satisfied with that. Sure take a chunk of that money and spend it on yourself but dont take the large chunk. Take the chunk that others give to charity and KEEP IT give the rest away. Whats the fun in living life if youve already won? I see rich kids on the news constantly ODing wrecking nice cars and ruining there lives and I cant help but feel that its because there lives have lost purpose because there is nothing that drives them. Believe it or not money plays a huge psychological role in our lives. It gives us motivation to work and become successful. Most of us spend our entire lives trying to reach for money and thats what satisfies our minds. But when you take that away whats left to do? You have everything you want, youve traveled the world, and your only 20 yrs old. Whats next? I say give it away! Pick something that you truly think will benefit someone who is suffering or help improve the quality of life for others and give it all away. Because while you might not have all that money anymore your life will have purpose again. I LOVE buying nice things for myself. But I love the challenge of working for them even more. That feeling when you save and save and finally get to open that brand new computer part or cell phone. Its like Christmas. But after its open and a couple weeks old what has your attention? That new phone? No! Its the NEXT new phone or NEXT new item because its the challenge that we enjoy. I guess this is a lot to stem from an episode of Pawn Stars but I my mind likes to wander. So what do you think? Where is the line between greed and bad business? If you were rich would you give it all up? Why or why not?
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 06:09:13 +0000
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