Kairos Moment Wedding Films

On occasion, I get a chance to practice my speaking skills and share the things that are on my heart and mind. This is a speech I gave a few weeks ago that got a lot of positive feedback so I thought I’d share it here in hopes that it might benefit others. It has helped me to refocus and re-evaluate my priorities.

Who Wants to be a Lifeonaire?

By Peter Chung

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Who wants to be a millionaire?” And every one of us has probably raised their hand to that question in one way or another. The millionaire culture that has become such an influence in our society today has caused us to lose sight of the things that are truly important. The question that I’d like you to consider today is, “Who wants to be a Lifeonaire?”

We all know what a millionaire is, but “What’s a Lifeonaire?” you ask. As you may have gathered already, a millionaire is a person who has an abundance of money. Likewise, a lifeonaire is a person who is full of life!

Steve Cook, a friend and teacher who coined this phrase defines it: “A Lifeonaire is someone who desires a full life and is free to seek it, pursue it, share it, and attain it. They have the joy and peace of knowing that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing.”

Now before I go on, let me make a distinction here. Being a lifeonaire doesn’t exclude being a millionaire, but it doesn’t have to necessarily include it. Lifeonaires focus on their deepest desire: to have abundant life. The millionaire culture focuses on money as a means to an end. Oftentimes, it’s because they believe that money will bring happiness. Lifeonaires, on the other hand, experience the joys of life, with or without the millions. Their happiness is not dependent on the size of their bank accounts.

To demonstrate this, take out a dollar bill and look at it. What does it mean to you? How does it make you feel?… For some, it reminds them of the rat race they’re currently in to make ends meet. That if they only had enough of these dollar bills, all their problems would go away. For others, it’s their nest egg, their security, their means to retire comfortably and in style. Still others draw their own feelings and conclusions towards this dollar bill. Yet I dare say that none of you were eyeing this dollar bill with desire. But do you remember the day when even a dollar was a lot of money to you and you were happy to receive it? Maybe not a dollar bill, but maybe your first paycheck or your first commission. Those were exciting times, weren’t they? Yet now, if you were to receive that same amount of money, you probably wouldn’t be as excited about it, would you? It would have to be a significantly larger amount for you to get excited about it. And I can almost guarantee that once you reach that number, you won’t be satisfied until you get more.

Money may be a means to happiness, but having it certainly doesn’t equate to happiness.

Now that you have an idea of what a lifeonaire is, let me share with you the key to an abundant life. The key to attaining the lifeonaire lifestyle is to have a clear vision for your life. Sadly, most people don’t know how to set and carry out their goals.

How many of you have ever planned a party or a vacation?

Now, how many of you have sat down and made a plan for your life?

As you can probably imagine, most people spend more time planning a party or vacation than they do planning their lives. Most people can’t even tell you what they really want out of life because they have never taken the time to really think it through. They have no vision and are wandering aimlessly through life. We can oftentimes relate to Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz who came to a fork in the road and asked which way she should go. When asked where she was headed, she said she didn’t know. To which she was answered, “If you don’t know where you are going, it doesn’t matter which road you take.”

OR in my own words, “If you’re headed nowhere, no matter what road you take, you’ll get there.” ;)

If you don’t have your own vision for your life, you’ll end up living what someone else wants for you, and you probably won’t like it. And just like becoming a millionaire takes a lot of work, effort, and planning, no one becomes a lifeonaire overnight. You must take action.

But I have good news for you. Being a lifeonaire is not limited to the few. You can be on your way to becoming a lifeonaire starting today. The fallacy of the millionaire mindset is that not everyone can become a millionaire… think about that. So what happens if you never make your millions? What if you spend your whole life, all your energy, and your spare time towards attaining riches and you never get it?

Let me close with this last story. When I was a young boy (which to many people I still am ;), I never asked my parents how much money they made. I never wished that they would go and work more to make more money. What I really wanted was for my parents to pay attention to me and get to know me for who I was. Now, maybe I was too naïve to know how the world really works but the thought never crossed my mind that having more money would make our family happier.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine brought up a question asking what’s the best thing he can do for his son.

My answer would be to be the best father you can be TODAY. Not tomorrow. Not once you get that promotion. Not after you’ve moved into a bigger house. You can be a good father today. You can spend time with him, listen to him, teach him, and just love on him starting now. And 30 years from now, you may not be the richest man in the world. You may not have even reached all of your financial goals by then. But in the eyes of your son, you will be the best father in the world.

So the question I ask you once again is, “Who wants to be a Lifeonaire?”

Email This Post To A Friend