Our society has moved in the direction of Material over Substance. What I mean by this is that our society is more focused on what you have, over what it actually means. And before you get upset and call me a hippie who thinks money and wealth is bad, let me explain myself.

If you have the ability to make money and create wealth for yourself, that is great. But what I am talking about is when this strive for material gain outweighs your strive for substance. In this context, substance means things that aren't just for appearance or personal pleasure; things that aren't going to leave you feeling empty.

Let me give you a very cliche example: A wealthy business man who pays no attention to anything other than his own personal gain. In the end of this mans life, most likely, he will realize that all he has left are things that he cannot take with him once he dies, and a lot of broken relationships.

It has taken me several years of struggling with society and my own internal conflicts to realize that material gain is best when it comes from doing something that actually means something to you. This is the exact reason I am choosing to pursue a career in being a professor and writing. I finally realized that I would not be happy doing a 9-5 job where my only goal was to make money and pay off my debts. Now I am by no means saying that you shouldn't be pursing financial freedom, because in the end this is a very nice thing to have, but what I am saying is this: If you have no substance in your life (good solid relationships, higher forms of pleasure, etc.) all of the material things in the world will not make you happy.

It is my opinion that money cannot buy happiness, but it can provide for a comfortable lifestyle. It is hard in this day and age to find things that aren't completely focused on lower forms of pleasure and material value. The American dream has been watered down to the point where all anyone thinks that it means is becoming rich. Being a rich person and having a rich life are two completely different things, and until our society is able to distinguish between these, we will have a very unhappy society.

What I am trying to say is this: Put thought into what it is that actually makes you happy. Disregard what everyone keeps telling you about needing to strive for wealth. Because in the end, all of the wealth in the world cannot make you happy unless you are truly happy with what it is you are doing. Thinking, and I mean actually thinking, has become a very undervalued part of being a human. Many people choose to disregard internal thought and drown it out with simple forms of entertainment. So I urge you, take the time to really think about what it is you are good at, and what will truly make you happy. Once you have found this, put everything you have into it. Unless you put your heart and soul into something, chances are you will not be successful at it.

Once you finally do this, I can almost guarantee you will have found something that really does make you happy, and the rest is history. You will find yourself on the road to true happiness and a much richer life.