It was January 24th 1848 when John Marshall
first discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in California. Despite his attempts to
keep it a secret, it was the beginning of the California gold rush. Over the
next seven years, three hundred thousand people migrated to California to find
their fortune. Others found their fortune piggybacking on the hopes and dreams
of those with gold fever by supplying the essentials needed to survive.
Gold has been an addiction of man since
before recorded history and it remains a symbol of richness and wealth. It is
also used to back up the value of our paper money by virtue of the gold
standard. The word gold is derived from Latin “aurum” meaning “glow of
sunrise”.
Have you ever stopped to wonder how hard it
was for people of the 1800’s to leave all that they knew to go to a remote area
of California and mine for gold, all for the chance to live a more lavish
lifestyle. One could speculate that prospectors imagined themselves saddled
high on a horse, directing hired hands to manage their new sprawling ranch.
Wouldn’t this be the life for an 1800’s period cowboy?
Let’s face it, gold is gold and it is pretty and
all but if it had no value, no one would be clamoring to get it. What gives it
its value? In my opinion it is the hunger for power and prestige which is a
hangover from our earliest days of human beings where the rules were to eat or
be eaten. Gold is the currency of the survival of the fittest and those with a win
at all cost mentality.
Material wealth is not bad, until it becomes
all consuming. More than once have I performed in front of well to do people
who’s emotions go up and down with the
market. Even sadder are those who are just unhappy with how they spent their
life. The hollow feeling of asking yourself, “Is this it? Is this all I am? Is
this all I get out of life?” This line from the song “The Power of Gold” by Dan
Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg express this beautifully. …. “Balance
the cost of the soul you lost with the dreams you lightly sold….”
While gold can motivate my dreams, it is not
the thing I strive for in life. My goal is success, but not for money’s sake. I
want to be successful but a big part of that success is personal happiness and
contentment. Money is just the bi-product of success but once the focus becomes
money, you lose your way and become wrapped up in your own gold fever. One of
my favorite books of all time is “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. He
mentions the 12 steps to TRUE Wealth
1. A Positive Mental Attitude
2. Sound Physical Health
3. Harmony in Human Relationships
4. Freedom From Fear
5. The Hope of Future
6. The Capacity for Applied Faith
7. Willingness to share one's blessings with others
8. To be engaged in a labor of love
9. An open mind on all subjects toward all people
10. Complete self disicipline
11. Wisdom with which to understand people
12. Financial Security
2. Sound Physical Health
3. Harmony in Human Relationships
4. Freedom From Fear
5. The Hope of Future
6. The Capacity for Applied Faith
7. Willingness to share one's blessings with others
8. To be engaged in a labor of love
9. An open mind on all subjects toward all people
10. Complete self disicipline
11. Wisdom with which to understand people
12. Financial Security
And he points out that Financial Security is
the last on the list. How do you stack up in these areas.
Gold is the
color used to indicate the sale of 500 thousand records. When record plates
were worn out, they were gold plated and presented to the artist as a token of
their success.
Gold is also represented quite well in song. Here are my top “Golden Songs” . What are
yours?
Click the song title to listen.
