I. Scenario A:
A thought often crosses my mind when I read about children of the richest people in the world — the Gates, the Musks, the Bezos, the Adanis and the Ambanis.

What if I was a heir to a Billion dollar empire? How different would then life be?

How they wake up in mansions on the top of a hill with a hundred room, have an army of butler and workers at their service, study in the most expensive universities, heir to one of the biggest corporate houses of the world, and do not have to worry about paying the home loan EMIs?

I often feel jealous of their lifestyle, and wonder how things would have panned out if I had been born as a Billionaire’s heir. I could do whatever I want, enjoy the priceless luxuries, would not have to worry a dime about money. All the things that bother me today would not have mattered anymore.

However, as I continue to muse on this, another extreme thought crosses my mind.

II. Scenario B:
What if I had grown up as an orphan child, lived on the streets of the darkest locality in the city, among people addicted to drug overdose, and everyday restored to theft/flesh trade to satisfy my hunger?

I paused for a minute to let this digest. While the earlier thought made me sad, this one made me shiver.

As I gather myself from this psychological shock, I continue to think of how life would have panned out in each of these two circumstances. My thoughts dive deep, only to soon realize that picture is neither too rosy in the first case, and nor too grim in the second.

I. Life may not have distributed the money equally, but it has equally distributed opportunities for happiness.

I have a friend who was raised in an orphanage and foster care. He had his own share of hardships growing up. However, today he is happily married and has a family of his own. He is very happy with his life and always filled with gratitude towards it.

Maybe life did not give him money equally, but it has surely not taken away any opportunity from him to be happy.

On the contrary, if we scroll through the personal lives of all the rich and famous personalities on social media, we would immediately understand that they have more than their fair shares of troubles.

Just being born with a diamond spoon does not mean that one would not have any trouble in life. Neither does being born in a poor household will deprive us of any success and happiness in the world.

II. Different situations lead to different expectations.

For me personally, being a writer on Medium, to have a loyal readership, and to be appreciated by them, is a very big thing. This might not have been the case if I am expected to manage a multi billionaire empire. Then my ambition would mean further expansion of the billion dollar empire, and even more profits and valuation.

In either case, we have a chance to build a legacy of your own. Our success shall always be measured from where we start, how high we rise or how deep we fall.

III. Monetary well being is not equal to happiness.

We often use money as a synonym for happiness, but that is not the case. Every individual needs to find what happiness means for him/her. Having financial freedom is important, but this is not what life is all about. If you are born with a multi dollar bank account, you would not be able to enjoy the happiness of your first hard earned income, and all the things you can buy from it.

There are cases where children from well to do families often end up under severe depression. If money was everything, this would not have been the case.

IV. Hardships always teach us something.

Whatever hardships we endure, it does not go unrewarded — and has a learning of its own.

Just explore the list of the greatest leaders and sportstars of the past. All of them have endured some form of hardships in their life. They have lived through them, overcome them and learnt from them.

The road to greatness always goes through hardships. Unfortunately, there is no other way.

V. Financial freedom is important but we do not need to be a billionaire to have that.

One definitely needs to have financial freedom, as it is an important factor for peace of mind. But it does not require billions of dollars in your investment portfolio. Anyone who has planned his/her financials well, is sure to achieve this with right planning and hard work.

Besides, as is often the case, the more financial hardships one has faced, more cautious is one regarding responsible use of money.

Beyond a certain amount, money would just increase your bank account balance, and nothing else. Whether Warren Buffet has 1 billion dollar or 100 billion dollar, I do not see it would make any difference to his lifestyle — the food he eats, the clothes he wears or the house he lives in.

V. In either case, sanity should prevail.

Whatever may be the situation, if one has a sane mind, the right attitude and determined to work hard, one is sure to succeed. On the contrary, if one is careless, does not have the right knowledge/attitude, even billions of dollars worth would do no good. If we look around ourselves, we can find numerous stories for each case.

As I continue to think about it, I realize Life always balances in what it gives to us. At any given point in our life, our circumstances are somewhere between the best and worst the life can offer. And hence, we must positively endure our hardships and make the best use of our opportunities.

As I conclude my thoughts, I do not think I would be happier being a billionaire’s heir. Infact, being a silent monk here on Medium is giving me more happiness 😃.

And hence I am very grateful to my parents, my family and whatever life has offered to me.

Please share your feedback/reflections in the comments. I read them all.
👏are optional, but they sure make us happy. If you liked reading this article, please also read “Economics of Happiness”.
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