why do people measure success with money?

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if we see someone wearing armani shirts, driving a convertible sports car, walking hand in hand with a beautiful wife who wears prada, gucci bags and rolex watches we say that he must be successful in life. and we say that he is a well-respected people.

why not measure it with something more useful like how much that person contributes to society, how much they preserve ecology, how much he help the poor and the unfortunate.

personally, i have more respect for people who spend $100,000 working on projects that help the poor children in africa than people who spend $10,000,000 on ferrari, armani, gucci, prada, etc.

It's the society we grow up in. But hey, don't trust me, I'm one of those keraaaaaayzee left wingers who knows nothing about anything. Ask a tory or a republican for a proper answer.

*awaits argument*

You may need to word your opening question/comment differently for this place.

I doubt there too many people here who measure success and respect in the way you mentioned above.
At least that's the vibe I get from folks here.

The only type of success I see people with when they have lots of money is financial success.

Having lots of money has never been a qualifier for happiness to me.
I've been dirt poor, living in a cave, searching for work and trying to keep the bank from repossessing my harley, but I was very successful in other ways.. and happy too.

Contrast that with my former wife who is a physician and makes a good living.
She's unhappy enough that I used to offer to stop being the stay-at-home dad working part time jobs, and go get fulltime work so she could stay home more, maybe work parttime herself, and do her artwork... she's a TERRIFIC artists.

Her comment... ,"Well, then we wouldn't be able to afford to live like this!".

I feel the people who clamor over expensive items just for the namesake and image they think it produces for them, are just insecure.
Gucci and Yves St Laurent design some things (or have their designers do so now-a-days I think), put their name on the item and people think that really means something?
It's all make believe.

Anyway, I tend to give money away and lose money because it does not mean that much to me.
It's like time... it's hard for me to understand why people act the way they do about those things.
I'm much happier when I have less money to worry about and fewer time constraints to deal with.

Well I really went on a roll with that last post.

I forgot you mentioned respect.

I do not give anyone more respect because of their financial status or the fact that they waste money on items solely for the name brand.

They actually lose a bit of respect from me because of that.

I don't mind people spending gobs of money on high-ticket items that are special and are used for a particular purpose... like an expensive car perhaps.

I don't go in for brand names - yuk...

Last time I had anything like a brand name it was a shirt with a crocodile/aligator on the pocket.

That was about 20 years ago... Before that it was a penguin (which in today's linux market would be cool).

anyway - I digress...

If life was a computer game, you could look up and see how many coins/stars etc one had collected by jumping around or by checking the high score. In either case, you're using a number. The easiest number for competitive individuals to use to measure success is income or assets. That's why.

It's a stupid method, but that's why they do it.

The rich are wealth creates and good for the economy, unfortunately.

Armani suits are great. They hang just right, are comfortable, and I would rather have a sports car than anything else.

I am here for the ride.

I have enough problems being me, a little protective coloration helps me get by.

Other people take pills for depression, I have a motorcycle.

I can not fix the world, but I can have a good time, and time is all I have.

Generally speaking, money is a reward for having done something for society. A person may sweep a floor - in which case one floor is cleaner than it was. A person may flip a burger - in which case someone is happy to eat it.

A person may build a house - in which case someone now has a home. A person may operate a large corporation - in which case many people receive paychecks for jobs honestly done.

Money is perverted when we force those who work to pay for those who could but won't and don't. Money is fair so long as it is either earned or freely given.

Grow up.

Money doesn't buy happiness...it just enables you to exist more comfortably and hopefully help others do the same.

Respect needs to be earned, not bought.

Things are just that...things...if they bring you happiness enjoy them, use them, and try to share them...when you are gone they will become someone else's things.

Beenthere. . .

DAMNED STRAIGHT!

Yeah it's depressing how people measure success as money. A lot of people have got their priorities wrong.