David Heinemeier Hansson discusses his financial journey from the son of a single mom in Denmark to millionaire. I love that he's so matter-of-fact about the role of the Danish social safety net in his development.

Yes, it's an argument for basic income that he himself did not appreciate until he didn't need it.

First, as long as your basic needs are met, the quality of your lived experience is only vaguely related to the trappings of material success. While it wasn’t all roses and butter cookies, I had a great childhood. Second, I wouldn’t learn to appreciate the truth of the first lesson until I saw the other side of the golden fence.

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We humans acclimate to our surroundings incredibly quickly. The buzz is not going to last. Until you realize the next rung of the ladder isn’t where salvation hides, the siren song will keep playing.

The best things in life are free. The second best things are very, very expensive — Coco Chanel

While the quote above rings true, I’d add that the difference between the best things and the second best things is far, far greater than the difference between the second best things and the twentieth best things. It’s not a linear scale.

Once you’ve taken care of the basics, there’s very little in this world for which your life is worth deferring. You’ve likely already found or at least seen the very best things (whether you know it or not). Make them count.