Looking at life from ground zero.

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Some people say things like "I prefer to stay poor, than to get money and go back to being poor" this is funny because being poor is not just a money thing.

In a state of poverty one is bereft of substance, deprived of connections, association, and many things.

A person who is previously rich but no longer has their former financial substance still has their intuition, experiences, tenacity and knowledge. They understand the meaning of having much, so even if they lose their connections (which is typical of a former rich man) they're always in a better place than someone who hasn't seen or experience what it means to have plenty.

I understand the PTSD of going back to ground zero, it's not just a financial thing, it's psychological and mental. People find it difficult to adjust, they cannot seem to face thier new reality; friends, family, loved ones, and acquaintances leaving them.

The betrayal of once being in the spotlight, losing that command or cockiness that comes from a place of financial freedom, and being someone else entirely; unloved and unwanted by people that once kissed the ground they step on.

For example, for people like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, it's no longer about money, it's about substance, pride, status and power. Some of these guys will keep staying rich even till the 10th generation, but the idea of being called the 1st, 2nd or 3rd richest man in the world is such a flex, that's why they continue to fight for who stays first, second or third.

It's but about having money anymore and you can argue that these people will continue doing whatever it takes to continue staying at the top, now imagine them without the money they have?

Yes.

It sounds really terrible and cruel when you think about it, but a broke Elon Musk walking on the road will still command respect more than even people who still remains more multi-billionaires.

While they might fall to ground zero, they still have their substance and wit, their economic relevance, their branding, and this branding is white they'll probably never remain at ground zero, even if something catastrophic and cataclysmic happens to them.

Let's not even use these guys as a perfect example. Infact it might even be too easy for them to get back to the top because their money is not what makes them valuable, it's their brand and identity.

It's an intellectual property that will command value, respect and money wherever they go, this is why the reputation of this people is even more valuable than whatever money they have.

The regular rich man who rose and fell can rise again if they've kept a structure, a blueprint that they can actually follow that up, this isn't to undermine the fact that life can be hard and difficult from a place of ground zero.

###That struggling is real and legitimate.

Systems, people and patterns can actually fail anyone. While anyone can continue living the way they are, people become a different and reflected versions of themselves when they've truly experienced plenty.

This version can be good, bad or just amplified and this is life.

100% of people I know who have gone back to a place close to ground zero will never wish to have never experienced or tasted substance, it's not something you can ever regret experiencing, except you're a gambler, or something like that.

People can fall and rise, vice versa, and experience the pain or joy that comes with it, the truth is that life is even meaningful when you've tasted loyalty, betrayal and other things.

Life is meaningless without the struggles and the challenges, and these are the experiences that continues to live with us.