Life is an amazing, multi-dimensional trip.  Master all the dimensions you encounter during this trip, and you will master the adventure of life.  If you think life is only about money: how much money you have; how much money you make; and how much money you save, then you’ll live a life that is as hollow and one-dimensional as a crumpled pile of $1 bills.  Don’t be that human being.

So what dimensions are more powerful than money in life?  In my opinion, there are many more powerful dimensions worth our time to explore, such as:  Emotional health, Spiritual Wealth, and here’s another one:  surrounding yourself with Amazing, Inspiring, and Encouraging FRIENDS.

One of my favorite thoughts on the value of friendship is this:  “As Iron Sharpens Iron, a Friend Sharpens a Friend.”  (Bible. Proverbs 27:17)

That’s an important insight into what life is all about!!!!  Money cannot sharpen and sculpt you into the person you’re meant to become.  But friends can!  That’s why I choose to attribute more value to making awesome friendships, than I do to making perfect financial decisions all the time.

Two weeks ago, I had the chance to hang out with some incredible friends.  At their core, they are seekers of truth, creative writers, and masters of money.  I met them  at a website called, Rock Star Finance.  We called ourselves the North Star Crew because we all live in the northern Midwest.

Our conversations about money started at Rock Star Finance, but then these friendships slowly started to spill into our real lives.  We became real friends because we share common views, hobbies, and dreams.  But even more so, we became friends, because as iron sharpens iron, we sharpen each other.  We help each other.  We believe in each other.  We support each other.   This is what these friends are for.  This is why I always invest my time and energy into creating the best friends I can.  We are the average of the top 5 people we spend the most time with.  I could be spending my time with much worse characters than this North Star Crew.  

After out last meet-up two weeks ago in Minneapolis, MN, I asked these friends to write a few sentences about a special life revelation/insight to them that has helped them achieve a fulfilling, awesome life.  Their responses are published below with links to their blogs, so they can become your friends too.  If you ever want to hang out with us in real life in Minnesota, say hello in the comments below.

MY BEST INVESTMENTS ARE MY AWESOME FRIENDS:

Apathy Ends:  $180K+ net worth.

“Money = Choices.  That simple thought has led my wife and I down a pretty amazing path over the last few years.  It has helped us focus our spending on things and experiences that actually make us happy.   We now realize that if we can remove the money problems in our lives, we can spend more time doing the things we love in life. It has also led the way for us to become friends with a group of like-minded people that have gone from website associates to real life friends.”

Krystel @ All She Saves:  Crushing $50k of student loan debt in under 4 years.

“For the majority of my life, I had been thinking that material goods brought me happiness. From buying new clothes, to treating myself to my favorite latte every week, I had trained my brain that spending money was what ultimately made my life happier. It didn’t hit me until earlier this year – material goods don’t add value to my life. Maybe they do in the short term – making me feel confident that I can “afford” new clothes or the jolt of caffeine that latte would give me. But then those feelings would quickly pass. Now, I find happiness in knowing where my money is spent. I find happiness in knowing that by not spending money frivolously, I am slowly buying my time back, and one day, when I have enough money saved and invested, I’ll be able to make money because I am passionate about the work I choose to do, and not just because I need the money to pay my bills. And that alone is worth every single penny I am on a mission to save.”

Erik @ Mastermind Within:  $150K+ net worth. 

“I recently had a fantastic conversation with a friend. He told me that to find our purpose in life, we should first pause and reflect on our experiences to find our passions.  Then, when we know what we are passions are, that’s when we should set our goals to accomplish the dreams in life we’re passionate about.  I responded to my friend: I love learning, building, and helping people with their lives.  I discovered my purpose is to learn myself, so I can share my knowledge and skills with others, so they can improve their lives.  After that conversation, I’ve aligned my actions, thoughts, and intentions towards living out my purpose, and I can’t remember a time I felt this productive – and this cheerful and happy.”

@ Financial Panther:  $144K+ net worth.

“I’ve learned there are a lot more ways to earn a living and be happy than I initially thought, especially if you’re someone that doesn’t always need more stuff in order to be satisfied. Growing up, I was basically told that I needed to become a lawyer or a doctor, and that’s pretty much the only way I thought anyone could live a wealthy life. I’ve since learned over the past year that there are many more ways to be happy, and live well, and that there are a lot more paths to my dreams than I initially thought.”

@Miss Mazuma:  $400K net worth.

“I have learned that I need to slow down when making decisions. I need to take those extra moments to breathe. And, most importantly for me going forward, I have learned that I need to be kind to myself. I need to forgive my stupidity just as easily as I forgive others in my life….this point I am still working on. But I know that I am strong, resilient, and completely capable of falling down and getting back up again.”

Chris @Keep Thrifty:  Currently on a mini-retirement in his mid-30’s.

“Years ago, I wanted to make a ton of money so I could afford anything I wanted and be free of money stress. But that led me to be a workaholic money-chaser. I hadn’t created a definition of what I actually wanted – I just knew it was going to take money to accomplish any dreams I might come up with. Instead, I flipped my mentality and now try to focus on defining the life I want and seeing what money it actually takes to create that life. I’ve found that I can get a lot more out of life with a lot less money and a lot less stress.”

Bible Money Matters:

“An insight that I had about money pretty early was that money should only be a tool. Use it to help you to reach your life goals, help to buy the things you need, and provide life experiences.  But it shouldn’t be a goal in and of itself.  When money becomes more than just a tool, and turns into your end goal, it transforms into an empty and unfulfilling thing that will always just leave you wanting more.

Physician On Fire, was too busy in his role as a high-income doctor; maintaining his multi-million dollar net-worth, and helping save people’s lives at the hospital to hang with us this time.  But click the link to read about the cool things he’s said when we’ve hung out in the past.

So that’s it this week.  Have a great end to your year, and I look forward to our journey’s through next year!

Be elite in everything you do, from now until the end.

STUFF WE LOVE:

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