September 2004

Is money evil?

by Dr. Terry A. Rondberg

Old myths about money abound. Everyone's heard the saying, "Money is the root of all evil" (although the actual Bible verse is "The love of money is the root of all evil" the interpretation is usually the same). And we all cringed when the character Gordon Gekko in the film "Wall Street" delivered the now infamous "Greed is Good" speech.

Another myth is the concept of "zero sum economics." This is the idea that there is only so much money in the world and that if you make or have more, somebody else will have less. Or, put another way, you can increase your wealth only at the expense of someone else. We all have our share, our piece of the pie, and wanting lots of money means wanting our own share plus part of another's. But it doesn't work that way. Your abundance does not deprive others of their abundance.

Given this general antipathy toward money, how do we reconcile our need ‑‑ and desire ‑‑ for it? How do we, as chiropractors, give ourselves permission to make wealth one of the primary goals of our practice?

Money as a tool

When confronted with people who say they wouldn't want to make lots of money and be focused on materialism, multi‑millionaire businessman Greg Duncan, replies: "That is so sad. You mean you can't think of anything to spend money on that's constructive other than materialistic trinkets? That's a sad state of affairs. You can't think of anyone to spend that money on other than you? ... Then I hope you stay broke because we don't need people like you of shallow character amplified in our society, particularly by a million bucks. But if you have any soul, any character whatsoever ... and you're spending your life and money enhancing other people in life, I wish you a million dollars a day."

Think about earning a million dollars a day (or a year, if you can't quite think that big). What could you do with that money? Who could you help? Take a pen and paper and jot down a few of the possibilities:

Yourself ‑‑ You could dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to your family, your business, your community or your interests, without the burden of worrying about money.

Your family and loved ones ‑‑ Imagine giving your spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings or significant other the gift of freedom from financial worry.

Your community ‑‑ The local high school could have a new gymnasium. The senior citizen center could have funds to expand its meals‑on‑wheels program. The youth center could have a computer lab.

Your spiritual home ‑‑ Wouldn't it be great to jumpstart the new building fund or buy new hymnals for everyone in the congregation?

Your patients ‑‑ You could afford to set up a "free chiropractic care clinic" for inner‑city residents, or run full page ads explaining the true purpose of chiropractic.

Your profession ‑‑ Ever wanted to fund a really important chiropractic research project? Or pay for a national public relations campaign?

Your world ‑‑ There are thousands of humanitarian, environmental, and social causes that need your help. Feed the hungry, clean up our rivers, promote equality, protect the rainforest, combat child abuse, shelter battered women, fight hatred and prejudice.

Your political party ‑‑ Whether you're a member of the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Tory, or Labor Party (or any of the countless other political parties around the world!) your money could advance your political convictions.

Obviously, money can be used for a lot more than "materialistic trinkets." So why wouldn't you want a million dollars a year ... or a day? The only other objection might be that it takes too much time and work to make that much money. If six days a week you have to put in 14 hour days, it isn't worth it.

That's absolutely true. If the only way to make a lot of money is by working longer and harder, then the result will be more money but no time or energy to do anything with it. It would be like the man who was so busy harvesting his vegetable crop that he didn't take time to eat ‑‑ and he starved to death in the middle of a field of food.

Luckily, in this age of information and technology, making money doesn't depend solely on the number of hours you put in at the office. There are ethical and reliable ways to boost your income significantly without working extra hours. In fact, there are ways to earn a great deal more while actually reducing the hours you spend at the office. That means more time and energy for your family, friends and community!

(Dr. Terry Rondberg is president of the World Chiropractic Alliance and publisher of The Chiropractic Journal He is also founder of Chiropractors for Wellness, a company promoting chiropractic's role as wellness providers and helping doctors achieve financial success through the private franchise model. For more information on Chiropractors for Wellness, call 800‑704‑4791 in the U.S. or 480‑303‑1778 outside the U.S.)

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