I'm no businessman
From the time that I was old enough to watch TV and movies, or read a book, the message I have consistantly received is that the bad guy is the rich guy and the protaganist is the well-liked underdog. For a person who is very much affected by what others value, this message, I think, has shaped the way I have always approached money and finances. I should probably say, not approached. I've never owned stock or invested in any money market or even had the slightest interest in wanting to do so. I associate the chase for money as a negative attribute. I know a few people who have done very nicely for themselves and are well rounded, but the significant majority of the folks I've known who have reached for the brass ring have paid a price. Their relationships were compromised, their kids are a mess, or they simply are people that I have nothing in common with. They're hearing a different drum.
None of that is to say I don't like what money brings. I love stuff! I love cars and would have an industrial garage full of them if I had the coin. But each and every time that I have chased money, things turn out bad. I'm just not on this planet for wealth. My bride and I are comfortable, live in a 30+ year old tract home and are just fine with that. Honestly, I feel blessed by how my life has unfolded. No regrets, other than someone had sat me down 30 years ago and given me a talk about spending more than you make.
When taking personality tests, the results were always the same. Stay the hell away from business! I had more in common with musicians and pastors. Fact is, I should have been a teacher. But one thing that I have learned in my life is that I'm no businessman. I'm just not built that way. So SaGud Things is exactly what the doctor ordered. It is virtuous. It pays forward. It allows people to have a positive, non virtual, real life interaction with another human. It makes people smile. It benefits the giver as much as the receiver. It creates revenue for a cause I believe strongly in, the search for a cure for Alzheimer's Disease.
Everything about SaGud Things springs from a desire to do something good and not for the purpose of making money. People who have analyzed my costs, time and effort can't understand why the margin is so low. It's more important to me that people have access to the experience. It's just that simple. And what is made is meant to be shared. With my family, with my friends, who have been there for me through thick and thin, and for causes that are important to me. Giving. That's what makes for happiness.
I was blessed to be born in a beautiful place and grow up near the water. But raising a family required moving away and it was always my goal to get back, to have an ocean view in my Golden Years. Chasing that almost broke me. Today, I realize there are way more imporatnt things. Family, relationships, life-long friendships, those are my teasures today. My material needs are less, and if I am blessed to have good fortune, I want to share that with the people I love and care about.
