If collab: If you had all the money you would ever need…and more, what would you do with your life? What would be your motivation to get out of bed everyday?

I whine about being poor, and I whimper about never having enough. Who doesn’t? I haven’t known a single person, ever, who felt that they had enough money, and I’ve known people from all income levels. But when I think realistically about everything that I have in my own life, I have to admit that, financially, I’ve got it good. With care I was able to save up enough money over three years to take the vacation of my dreams; I’ve always been able to purchase the things that I want, whether it was a Palm Pilot or a laptop computer, or a certain videotape or book. Right now I am healthy (relatively, at least), I have regular food, a home, a wonderful fiancee, friends who are loyal, and a job which, even if it isn’t what I’m looking for now, pays me decent wages and can, with care, be a springboard to something that I do want to do.

Money has never really been a problem for me. At worst, it’s been an inconvenience to have to put off my trip, or put off the purchase of the Palm Pilot or the laptop computer. I know the value of money, and I know the power of identifying a financial goal and saving up for it and eventually achieving it. True, there have been times when I’ve seriously worried about where I was going to get the cash to pay the rent and I’ve let bills slide dangerously far, but I’ve never been evicted for lack of payment and I’ve never even considered filing for bankruptcy.

The money is there. I learned some time ago that if I really put my mind to it, the money will be there.

But there are other resources that are not so easy to come by: talent; skills; knowledge; opportunities that have come and gone and that will never come by again; and, of course, time.

So what would I do if I had access to all of the resources that I could ever want for anything I ever wanted to do? What if there were no limitations?

I would travel more. There are billions of people in the world, and I’ve only met a few thousand in my lifetime. There are places to see, there are things to study, there are ruins and mountains and forests and ways of living to explore. Perhaps I could learn from one person and carry what they’ve taught me to someone else, and gain a touch more wisdom myself. I’ve always liked the idea of exploration vacations, like those run by Earthwatch, because of the opporunities for some really unique experiences while helping to contribute to science.

There are the great minds of the world that I’d like to explore a bit further; I’d love to get to learn more about the work of Leonardo DaVinci, or the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, or the architecture of Gaudi, or the wit of James Thurber.

I would write. I think I’ve got some damn good ideas floating around in my head and I think it would be great to put them down on paper and see my name on the cover of some book at the bookstore.

I’d go back to school. That’s a popular one, I know; I don’t know if I would ever pursue another degree, since my vagabond intellectualism doesn’t work in that disciplined a manner. I’d wind up taking a few classes in one field or another — geology, paleontology, comparative religions, history, 17th century Japanese poetry — while never accumulating enough units in any one field to actually earn a degree. I know this from personal history: the only reason I ever received my degree in philosophy is because it was such a small major at my college, unit-wise, that I could pursue it and still get a degree while collecting almost enough units to make the University force me to graduate, almost but not quite enough to get minors in four or five different subjects.

I would learn at least one other language. Possibly three. I’d like to learn French, because it’s a useful language in many places of the world where English isn’t spoken. I’d like to learn Japanese because it’s good to be immersed in a culture that is very dissimilar to your own. I’d like to learn Gaelic just because I think it would be cool.

I’d find a way to act in a Shakespearean play. I love Shakespeare — my two or three regular readers known that — and I know from my own experience that true acting is really bringing forth something that already exists inside of you. It would be interesting for me to see what the words of the Bard would bring out of me. Imagine me as King John or as Laertes or as Malvolio.

I wouldn’t learn to play a musical instrument. I’ve tried that before and I know that I don’t have the patience. I’m happy enough to listen and appreciate and contribute with my semi-decent singing voice where and when I can. The world needs more good listeners anyway.

Then there’s all the standard stuff. I’d give money to charity, I’d build houses with Habitat for Humanity, I’d participate in letter writing campaigns for Amnesty International, I’d build pro bono web applications for the SPCA and the World Wildlife Fund, yada yada yada.

But I have to admit that I’m just a tad too selfish and self-centered to say that if I had unlimited resources, I would focus them all on something other than enhancing my own life.