My Life. Here for Your Enjoyment.

People like Warren Buffett for example.

Warren Buffett is the third richest man in the world as of 2011, despite his humble beginnings in Omaha, Nebraska. He bought his first stocks at age 11 and by the time he graduated from college in 1951 he had around $90,000 in the bank. By the early 1960s, he was a millionaire. By 1990, he was a billionaire. His HUGE company, Berkshire Hathaway, is worth over ONE HUNDRED BILLION dollars. That’s A LOT of money. He has the resources necessary to live an extravagant lifestyle, complete with a megamansion (staff included), 20 or so cars, and a private jet. 

But Warren Buffett isn’t like that. 

He, as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, decides his own salary. He makes $100,000 annually and it’s been that way for 25 years. No lush vacations or lavish “corporate getaways”. He’s been living in the same house in Omaha, Nebraska since 1958, a house he bought for $31,500. His wedding was a simple family affair, taking place at his daughter’s house. The ceremony lasted 15 minutes.

But that’s not all. 

Warren Buffett has pledged to give away NINETY-NINE PERCENT of his wealth. He’s been involved in COUNTLESS philanthropic ventures. He’s signed what’s known as the “Gates-Buffet Giving Pledge” with Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg in which they all pledge to donate at least half their wealth to charity over time. He encourages others among the wealthy to do the same. 

And that’s why I love people. A man who could have everything, like Warren Buffet, lives a modest life, in a modest home, and gives so much to those in need. He’s widely regarded as one of the most successful people in the world: not only for making billions, but for giving it away. 

Sure there are people out there who only care about that corner office, and getting the company car, and padding their wallets and bank accounts with as much cash as possible, but why should we even worry about them? While they’re in their offices counting beans, Warren Buffett and others like him are out there making a difference. Even people who aren’t billionaires are working for the betterment of our society as a whole, FOR FREE. Dr. Roseanna Means, for example, has been bringing quality medical care to homeless women in Boston absolutely free of charge since 1999. Holly Hirshberg, an American whose husband lost his job in 2008 like many others in our country, started The Dinner Garden, an organization that helps provide needy families (over 65,000) with free seeds to create their own homegrown vegetable gardens. Despite the economic pressure placed on her household during the recession, Mrs. Hirshberg still found a way to help others. In Roseland, Chicago, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city, Diane Latiker opens her doors to at-risk youth. Starting in 2003, she has helped keep over 1500 kids off the streets, thus reducing gang violence and starting to mend the battered community. Since then her organization, Kids Off the Block, has attracted numerous donors and spread to several cities. 

Some people are happy being unhappy. They spread this evil around them like an infectious disease, attempting to draw everyone they know into their sick little power plays. Sometimes, when looking at the state of the world today, it’s difficult to see past these “Debbie Downers” who point out everything that’s wrong. It’s people like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Dr. Roseanna Means, Holly Hirshberg, Diane Latiker, and so many more unsung heroes that keep the light shining on this beautiful little planet of ours. They show us what’s RIGHT with the world. They spread their love around until the earth is bursting at the seams, just like Ms. Latiker’s 3-bedroom house was with 75 former gang members in it. Instead of being content with what they’ve already done, these amazing humans, these discontents if you may, strive to help more and more people every year. Plants will wither and die if you just sit and watch them grow. You have to cultivate them, fertilize them, plant new flowers every year. It’s a shame that many members of our society have become complacent, content with what they have, content being what they’ve always been. One needs to be dissatisfied with what’s happening in order to realize that one can change the whole world to make it better. Everyone should always be searching for a new way to help someone, to preserve our planet, or even just contribute their bit of beauty to the massive human culture existing today.  

Roberto Clemente once said, “If you have the opportunity to make things better and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on this earth.” I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. What’s the point of standing by, watching the grass grow, when you could be out there, fighting for the betterment of human society? Something is missing from the world today, and something will always be missing.

Things can always get better, but only if we make them that way.