Recently I have been thinking a lot about abundance and having enough.  I grew up as a first generation Chinese American.  Both my parents immigrated here from Taiwan back in the late 1960s.  We grew up in a modest home, living a middle class lifestyle.  Our main summer vacation was our annual road trip to Lake McConaughy in Nebraska where we either camped or stayed in a cabin.   One of my father’s passions was to fish, so he enjoyed catching striped bass in the lake, while we enjoyed waterskiing, and swimming.
I don’t recall a feeling of lack growing up, there was also not a feeling of extreme luxury or excess.  My parents were very practical, but believed in spending money on the things they valued.
Many of their practical spending habits got passed down to me, which is a good thing since for most of my adult life up until recently I have never made a lot of money.  For the first 10 years of owning The Wellness Center, I was typically taking out loans to survive and living as simply as possible, and pouring money into the business to keep it afloat.  I wasn’t until 2012 that I was able to pay off all of the debt associated with the business.Even through my 20s and into my 30s I never had a feeling of lack or not having enough.  I took time to do the things that I loved most, which is seeing my family and friends and traveling.  I took many international trips to Bali, the Philippines, China, Thailand, Taiwan and Canada.  To save money for traveling, I had to say “no” to consumer culture.  Typically I bought everything used at garage sales, consignment shops or Craig’s List, and I still do today.  I didn’t buy my first new car until 2012.  These habits of living “frugally” have allowed me, even during lean times to feel abundant.
So now, as The Wellness Center continues to grow and prosper, I feel it is even more important that I invest and reward those that contribute to its success.  What shocks me, is that the top Executives of our health insurance companies are paid millions each year, while health insurance premiums are sky rocketing.  It feels like these CEOs are coming more from a place of “lack” than abundance when it comes to running these health insurance companies.
“Aetna (AET) CEO Mark Bertolini received $17.3 million in 2015, the most recent year for which compensation has been reported. Cigna CEO David Cordani made the same amount. UnitedHealth (UNH) CEO Stephen Hemsley had total compensation of $14.5 million, while Anthem (ANTM) CEO Joseph Swedish received $13.6 million. Humana CEO Bruce Broussard received $10.3 million.” Source: CNNMoney (New York) First published March 7, 2017: 11:55 AM ET
Abundance is truly an inward process, but marketing and materialism make it hard for many Americans to stay the course.  It is too easy to spend money on things we truly don’t need that do not add anything to our lives, but instead give us an instant sense of gratification. For me abundance has never been about making a lot of money.  Instead it is about the abundance of time, good health, clean water, fresh air and the freedom to control your future.
Wishing you all the abundance the world has to offer.
In health,
Check out this new documentary: The Abundance Code