A year passed that way. And the second year passed as well… It felt as if it was raining money. Soon I found some personal traits I never felt I had before: egotism, greed, irritability. I was absolutely crazy about one and only one thought: “How do I make more money, faster, – and easier?” It was not life, but a game we played with cash instead of points. “Who got more points? Who’s a better player?” Those were the questions we asked when measuring ourselves, others, – and life in general…
Time went by. Me and my partner became wealthier. The flywheel of time moved faster. One day, we reached the limits of our greed, and the next thought that came to our minds was: “Why should we travel around the country, work by ourselves, when we can invest our money into a popular financial pyramid called MMM?”
At first, we tried with just a bit – and earned a bit. We liked it. “So, why don’t we just invest a lot of money into MMM, and earn a fortune fast and with no effort at all? It’s just important to get money on time – and that’s what we are good at.” – We thought. And we did it that way. Well, we didn’t put the cars and apartments as collateral, but we invested all the cash we had to the very last cent. And as soon as we did so – the pyramid was ruined, as if destiny had just been waiting for our money to destroy the scheme.
In just a couple of days, the pyramid was demolished. We didn’t even manage to get our money back, let alone any profit. We lost everything we had those days. I still remember that awkward feeling of emptiness: One day I was a Richie Rich, and the next – Poof! – nothing’s left. I didn’t have two pennies to rub together!
After such a negative experience for both of us, me and my partner decided to finish sharing our business and go our separate ways.
LATER ON I UNDERSTOOD: IF YOUR ONLY GOAL IS ABOUT MAKING MONEY – YOU WILL NEVER GET THERE. THIS MONEY WILL FLOOD IN FAST – AND FLOOD OUT EVEN FASTER. IN SUCH CASE LOSSES ARE SOMETHING NATURAL AND EVERYTHING GOES ACCORDINGLY.
After some time (about a dozen years) – I changed my point of view about the world, and understood another truth: whatever you do, it comes back to you. Money raised by destruction, will come back and destroy your life one day.
What did we found our business on? We sold alcohol and cigarettes to people. In other words, we poisoned and ruined their lives. And our lives as well: that was the time, when I started smoking and drinking.