If You Wish To Make Pythocles Rich Do Not Add To

“If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.”

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”

“Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You've wondered why they suffer, why they seek happiness and never find it. If any man stopped and asked himself whether he's ever held a truly personal desire, he'd find the answer. He'd see that all his wishes, his efforts, his dreams, his ambitions are motivated by other men. He's not really struggling even for material wealth, but for the second-hander's delusion - prestige. A stamp of approval, not his own. He can find no joy in the struggle and no joy when he has succeeded. He can't say about a single thing: 'This is what I wanted because I wanted it, not because it made my neighbors gape at me'. Then he wonders why he's unhappy.”

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

“The intention that man should be happy is not in the plan of Creation.”

Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.