Warren Buffett v Lily Allen

I want to be rich and I want lots of money / I don't care about clever / I don't care about funny I want loads of clothes..

I want to be rich and I want lots of money / I don't care about clever / I don't care about funny I want loads of clothes and (The Fear – Lily Allen) …Let’s pretend for a minute you want to become rich, seriously rich and you are absolutely driven to become a millionaire / billionaire. This has become an addiction in many people. The brain scientist used to think this was built around the reward chemical dopamine. Whether it was addiction to drugs, alcohol or the self-destructive pursuit of riches.

It’s all about the money. Addiction is a brain disease, Alan Leshner declared in Sciencein 1997. Back then it was dopamine the magical molecule that explained destructive behaviours. Dopamine drove craving, dopamine made pleasurable irresistible, dopamine made addicts chase rewards that existed only in warped neural chemistry.

But recent research highlights the importance of glutamate, the new neurotransmitter-as-cause explanation. Here’s the Wikipedia take on glutamate:

Glutamate is the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate nervous system…. Because of its role in synaptic plasticity, glutamate is involved in cognitive functions like learning and memory in the brain.

Peter Kalivas has been a leader in this area of research. Here is the bare-bones glutamate presentation in Kalivas et al. 2009:

Cortico-striatal glutamate transmission has been implicated in both the initiation and expression of addiction related behaviors, such as locomotor sensitization and drug-seeking. While glutamate transmission onto dopamine cells in the ventral tegmental area undergoes transient plasticity important for establishing addiction-related behaviors, glutamatergic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens is critical for the expression of these behaviours.

So there we go, glutamate seems to be the regulator, the new dopamine if you like. Addiction for riches is not just pleasure and craving. It is also about learning and memory. The addiction to gaining money, to being filthy rich and the obsession with wealth is controlled by these simple brain chemicals apparently acting together to drive our behaviours.

Can you be addicted to money? For entrepreneurs, it seems unlikely. The best business builders are in it to change the world or to make the most of a great idea–not to get rich. Statistically, most entrepreneurs would be financially better off if they stuck with their day jobs.

Yet new research from Stanford, along with a recent essay in The New York Times,suggests that money addiction is separate from all that. And that there are are certain situations–inside and out of work, for both employers and employees–that encourage a money addiction or at least a wildly unhealthy attitude toward money. I believe that there is a generally unhealthy attitude to getting rich (quick), earning vast sums (see also bankers bonuses) and the buying expenses things.

But maybe there is another way. One of the world's richest people Warren Buffett gives the following advice:

Once you buy the things you don't need, then maybe soon you have to sell the things you need.

Instead of saving the money that is left from spendings, spend the money that is left from savings.

Never depend only on one income – make investments for additional income.

Never, ever put all your eggs in one basket.

Control the depth of one river with one not both legs.

Honesty is precious asset – do not expect it from cheap people.

So still want to be rich? Which is it then, the Lily Allen Modality (dopamine and glutamate) or Warren’s sage words of wisdom? The first thing you need to do is understand the terminology. The word rich is an adjective. Its definition is: having wealth or great possessions; abundantly supplied with resources, means or funds; or of great value or worth. The word rich means many things to many people, but often it is misconstrued as merely having lots of money. Mahatma Gandhi got it right when he said,

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.

If you don’t have your health, you don’t have much. No matter what your religion, age, race or gender are, your life has an expiration date. I think people should get the most out of life and enjoy it.

So to become rich you start by understanding what it means and what you need to do next. Then you need to decide you are capable, worthy and smart enough to attain the financial status you desire. Believing in oneself is the first critical step toward accomplishing any goal, including achieving wealth.

Being rich is not about how much money you have or how many homes you own; it's the freedom to buy any book you want without looking at the price and wondering if you can afford it.

― John Waters, Role Models

Western society seems to propagate the dream of being rich as a primary drive. It is a simple albeit complicated desire driven by glutamate (and some dopamine) for which many wish, yet few achieve. It does seem clear though that if you think rich, you’re much more likely to become rich.

If the thought of being rich scares you or makes you feel in any way uncomfortable – you are not going to get rich. The brain’s biochemistry is changing the drives and rewards you have to become rich. Being rich also can mean being content, and being content starts in your mind with other neuro-transmitters like serotonin. Remember that there always will be someone with more than you and someone with less. A great challenge in life involves being content with what you have.

It is easy in our modern consumerist society to want to keep up with the Joneses instead of living within your means. The next time you want to purchase something new and shiny, think about the last new and shiny item you purchased and how you now feel about it.

Let’s be clear: there is no guaranteed way to become rich. But there are things you can do to increase your chances of accumulating wealth. These things aren't all sexy, ride-around-in-a-convertible fun. There is no instant dopamine (modulated by glutamate) fix.

It might not seem like this is the case when you look at extravagant displays of wealth, but many of the world's wealthiest people are also frugal. Billionaire Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffett has lived in the same five-bedroom house since 1958. The founder of Ikea takes the bus.

The lesson isn't that you have to adopt a life of extreme frugality, carefully rationing out your toilet paper. But you do need to maintain a sane relationship with money. Don't let lifestyle creep (when your spending grows to match your income) take over. Instead, use your money to do some things that make you happy, invest some of it, and for goodness sake, don't spend it all.

Rich people do not spend money on pointless things and do not make thoughtless investments. They buy things that are true and have timeless value. Rich people spend their money in a way that would produce them more money or just keep the balance above zero. The rich people spend their money on things that do not lose value. A rich person does not have to make pointless purchases to feel good about themselves – they already feel good, even without the shopping therapy. They have understood their glutamate addiction.

They view money logically and without spikes of reward chemicals and ask themself before making a purchase, whether it makes sense and is this thing worth the price. The rich people do not pay more for the things than they think its worth. It is often cast for the rich that even though they have a lot of money they are careful about their spending.

Most of the people believe that the successful future means living according to the formula – go to school, learn well, get education, get a job, invest wisely, be lucky but it is really the understanding of learning and memory modulated by glutamate. The rich person knows that education does not guarantee success. Unfortunately, the result is often disappointing. In addition to good education it's necessary to learn to think by yourself rather than live a life by what you are told.

The truth is that you can be cash poor and amazing, happy and successful. Your viewpoint on life needs to change by changing the reward chemicals within your brain.

I like Lily Allen though.

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