Quote from trade4succes:
Listen carefully, I am going to say this only once ;-)
It's not the other people who have changed, it's the main character him/herself!
Because your personal situation changed, you are pretending that other people are looking at you with envy or whatever. If someone looks weird at you, he might envy you, or he might just have swallowed something very unsettling, or who knows? You are now (in your arrogant little mind!) assigning meanings to other peoples' peculiarities.
If you want to keep your current friends, take the occasional (well meant I am sure) stabs in confidence that you are still the same person, with an interesting career.
Good luck! and take it easy
Best post in thread so far. I fully agree!
Change isn't so much other people. It's more about yourself. Don't underestimate the power of body language and the tendency of people to interpret confidence as arrogance. It's easy to brag with your new sports car. But if you have the right attitude, people will love you. Take them for a ride and share your joys. It doesn't all have to be a matter or "yours or mine". You can always make people feel good and happy. Deep down, everybody just wants to be happy. If you can do that, you don't worry about little things like net worth. You won't have to give away money etc, either. Just give away some of your joy!
Myself, I've gone through lots of change. I have moved to a fine location 2-storey city-apartment with sea view. I have bought myself a very fast and shiny car with alloy wheels the price of my old car. I have a decent collection of jewellery, gem stones and precious metals, I have bought some very nice art, and I've got some nice other things. I love helicopters, so I'm planning on buying one. Why would that affect my relationships? My friends remain my friends, my relatives the same. My parents are happy for me, I see no envies. I don't normally tell friends what I have, and particularly not girls. If they find out one way or another - fine. Am I in a wonder family, with wonder friends? No! I just didn't allow change to happen just because of a number in a bank account. I suppose my attitude hasn't changed that much after all. I may be arrogant now, but I was always arrogant anyway - LOL
The people you truly love and value shouldn't be alienated by something as insignificant as wealth. If they are, then you should ask yourself first what it could be that's changed. Looking for the reason of change in yourself first is one of the greatest virtues of wise men.
To me, the most important thing is love, friendship and having fun. Enjoying life. Enjoying the moment.
Wealth is just secondary to life. Remember what Monty Python said in "The Life of Brian"?
"I mean, what you got to lose? You come from nothing, you go back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!"
Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true
You'll see it's all a show
Keep them laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you
And
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the right side of life...
