Keanu Reeves rarely talks about money, but when he does, it changes lives. I scoured the internet looking for a lot of interviews and videos trying to find his opinion on money.
Because? Reeves has given away much of his money to an unnamed Leukemia foundation and also to casts and crews of movies he worked on who don't make good money.
One of the most successful Hollywood actors of all time is not focused on money. There has to be something in that. There must be a reason.
Finally, after hours of searching, I found an interview of Keanu from 2006 where he shared his views on money:
«Money means nothing to me. “I have made a lot of money, but I want to enjoy life and not stress creating my bank account.”
«I give a lot and live simply, mainly out of a suitcase in hotels. We all know that good health is more important «
«Build your bank account»as Keanu says, is stressful.
You constantly have to haggle to make money, work at it, maximize every opportunity, be greedy at times and make it your goal to make a dollar.
All of that is stressful. The more things you have, the more time and attention it requires. Having everything is having peace of mind and that comes from having less. When you don't have things to worry about, you can use your talent to help others like Keanu has done throughout his acting career.
This is the nature of life. When you're doing well in one area of your life, like your finances, another area is suffering. In Lorraine Kelly's 2008 interview with Keanu, she says: «My private life is a boring mess, but the work is good».
Even one of the most successful actors on the planet has an area of his life that is a disaster. We all have it.
A guy I met on LinkedIn, who is a lawyer, explained to me over lunch that he makes millions of dollars from his career and that he is not happy. His wife is upset with him and his children never see him. This is another classic example of how money can be a distraction from the things that matter.
Obsession with money has its disadvantages. Learn how to limit the downsides of money like Keanu does.
Jimmy Kimmel: “His films have earned three and a half billion dollars…”
Keanu Reeves (abruptly cutting off Jimmy): “They have Entertainment.”
I have said many times in various publications and in a book I am writing right now that your job is to be useful and that is done by teaching, entertaining, inspiring, informing or simply making people laugh.
Choosing one of these goals as your focus will produce more money than you might expect. Focusing on money as your primary driver has the opposite effect.
One of today's curses is decision fatigue. There are so many decisions you can make and each one drains your energy. Money multiplies the number of decisions you must make.
The solution is to automate your decisions and you may be inspired by how Keanu has done this.
- He doesn't have social networks.
- He doesn't attend celebrity parties.
- He consciously chooses to ride the subway.
- He chooses to have an adventure when his flight makes an emergency landing rather than hailing a limo and leaving the economy class passengers on their own.
Simplicity is hugely underrated when it comes to money. If you have money or acquire money unexpectedly, use it to simply live like Keanu.
This is exactly what Reeves teaches us through his actions, not what he says. He lives generously not only using the money he earns for good, but also being generous with his time.
If you watch every interaction with Keanu and his fans on Youtube or Instagram, you will see that he is generous with his time. The best gift you can give them is your time and attention. You have the same opportunity to live generously.
My research on money comes from being financially rich and poor several times in my life. In the end, money isn't that important to me anymore, and doing more research on Reeves' financial behaviors and views on money reinforced that idea.
You can win $20 million in Bitcoins, like a friend of mine did, and lose the entire lot through one unfortunate decision. What cannot be lost or taken away, as Nelson Mandela learned when he was locked up in prison, is who you are and the person you have become.
Live generously whether you have money or not and aspire to teach, entertain, inspire, inform or make people laugh.
This is how to live the good life that money can't buy and help people in the process of adding joy, satisfaction and a level of meaning to your life that will make you feel ten times better than money.
