Dollarmakers.com BLOG

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Attachment

This is a subject of great import and very close to my heart. As my highest value is personal freedom, I continue to learn important lessons about the dangers of attachment. When I use the word “Attachment”, the context is the following: You are “attached” to any thing, person, emotion, circumstance, outcome, opinion, event, etc., that you think you need, can’t succeed without, can’t do without, can’t be happy without, can’t live without and simply must have. You consider the object of your attachment essential to your life in some way or another.

Attachment is an emotional state. It is a chosen state. It is not objective by subjective. It is based on beliefs, mysticism, perceptions, interpretations, fear, insecurity, hopes, and dreams. It often has to do with pride, a sense of scarcity, a poor self-image, desperation and a victim mentality. Any thing, person or event that you are attached to, controls you. And so there are some unscrupulous people out there who would give you a lot of false evidence to make you believe that you need what they have or control. This gives them control over you. The witch doctors, manipulators, politicians and collectivists out there have a field day with attachment.

How do you know what controls your life and choices? Whatever you are attached to, controls you. How do you know what you are attached to? Ask yourself a simple question: “What and whom do I believe I need?” The problem with attachment, to begin with, is that it is usually emotional and illogical. And it’s usually unnecessary! Your perception is your reality; however, it is not necessarily objectively true. Whatever you are attached to is your prison, your jailor, your torturer and your boss. They convince you that you’re crippled and then they sell you crutches. When you say, “I need”, you are admitting attachment, hence weakness. When you say, “I must have”, or “I can’t”, someone or something is controlling you, just like a nicotine addict that is controlled by his disgusting addiction to cigarettes. The person who controls his nicotine is his dealer and he is the junkie. Your attachment is your pimp. Others would use false guilt, shame, altruism and lies to shackle us in their putrid prisons.

You were born naked and alone and that’s how you will die. Get used to it. We go through life trading our inheritance for a bowl of soup, selling our opportunities for the acceptance and false smiles of evil mystics, buying things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people who don’t care. We compromise our values and become sycophants because we believe we “Need a job”. We trade time with our children for time with people we don’t like, because we “Need the money”. We do what our masters program us to do. We drink our Kool Aid and obey. We are slaves to our attachments. We live lives of mediocre desperation, fear and frustration because of these meaningless, illogical attachments.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Cults, group dynamics, brainwashing, politics and mystics get rich and powerful because we refuse to question, stand up, oppose, speak up and disobey. You are not responsible for or to other people. You can break free from attachments. Think about this simple article – It could change your life.
That is why my business is based on Joint Ventures; I am do not have to depend on any one person, which means I can walk away from any business relationship at any time. Nobody can control or manipulate me. I have minimal overhead, no leases, no employees, no debt, and no geographical or business boundaries. I create an increasing number of passive income sources from a variety of different businesses and locations. My income is widely spread across multiple relationships and Joint Ventures. So I don’t have to compromise, kow-tow or roll over for anyone. When someone tries to control of manipulate me, I can walk away from the relationship if I wish, with relatively little financial consequence. I don’t provide consulting services and I don’t trade time for money, either. I can live wherever I like and still run my business. I can work in any business arena I choose and I don’t get bored. That is my business freedom: no attachments. Money buys choice, time, freedom, dignity and personal growth.

The book that conveys this message of Objectivism better than I ever could is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Change your perception and philosophy and you will break free of attachments and achieve your goals. Regain your joy, dignity, self esteem, enthusiasm and optimism. Be free. Your freedom is not negotiable - insist on it. You're an Eagle - get out of the hen house.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com