The Cost of Success

The parade through the canyon of heroes commemorating the New York Yankees twenty seventh world title is little consolation to New York Mets fans. Those damn Yankees did it again and we have nothing left but our few titles and stylish baseball hats. The Dallas Cowboys have a billion dollar stadium a city within a city for their fans. Multiple world titles to back up their prowess in the world of football we have our wonderful New York Jets to keep the interest up and the snacks flowing on Sunday.

Athletes arrive at the ball field in Bentleys and custom enhanced luxury SUVs and diamond studded platinum Rolex watches with gold by the pound. Awe inspired kids with baseballs and score cards in hand wait in the shadows for a memento or an autograph. Regardless the perception of a greedy and grasping society populated by selfish uninspired heroes the money continues to flow from the top investors through the promoters and management and the business operatives at all levels. Each cost measured and massaged to provide the greatest return. Some consider it crude to go beyond praise for the talent and drive and ambition of the successful. Spiritual substance and belief taken as givens so that when we venture to far from those principles we are often perceived as ungrateful but that belief negates many fundamentals that come from the same spiritual force. It never is a world without grace or compassion or luck. So let the desire to equivocate be removed and add another ingredient to the mix, money.

Mike Bloomberg is estimated to have spent 100 million dollars of his own money to be reelected as Mayor of New York City while receiving one dollar a year in salary to face the challenges of one of the largest cities in the United States population wise. For his version of a success the cost was worth the outcome. I spent an additional $200 for a party that I gave and didn’t think twice because the cost was worth the outcome. The difference between winning and losing often is money. But it seems so garish and lacks class to relate everything to money. We turn our noses up when somebody is shamelessly promoting or waving cash around or talking big with the bucks to back it up. For them money is an enemy for others money is a tool.

The hypocrisy when the same distaste on a personal level has justification when money could buy a fuel efficient lawn mower car and we buy a big, flashy, gas guzzling SUV to ride and impress. Had our money been bigger we would have had the Bentley instead.  Let’s be honest about it.