Would you rather spend this weekend buying a gull-wing Mercedes (I’ll take the black one) or swim for hours in your favorite body of water (how about the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River)?
Would you rather remodel your kitchen with handmade cabinets, a really cool sink and one of those awesome stoves from France, or go on a trip to your top dream place on the planet with the one you love?
People all over town are having garage sales and filling up the parking lot at their local mall right now, each the extreme end of the long arc of our love affair with stuff.
I’ve done my share of both.
The older I get, the more I realize experiences trump stuff, every time. Even the really awesome camera and bike kind of stuff. It feels good to look at my cameras, all lined up so neatly on the table. It feels even better to roam the streets of Manhattan with my daughter Lucy, or to feel the strength of my body grinding over a mountain or down a river.
Of course, stuff can equal experiences too. If I mix my camera with Manhattan or the mountain, well then, even better.
Something to think about, as we all drive away from our stuff every morning to do the work that pays for it, and the house it sits in all day while we’re gone.
I own over 10 expensive cameras and gear. If I had to choose, I would get rid of them all for a red, grainy, blurry, dark photo of me and Lucy at midnight in an elevator in NYC.
Written by Brad Black, EO’s co-CEO
