Keeping up with the Joneses?
Recently I was on a business trip in Florida. I feel like I'm fairly successful for a 30 year old, have a house, car, and able to pay all my bills/taxes and still have some left over to save. Still, I went to a good buddies house tonight and was blown away by just how much of a gap there was between he and I. He is currently 36, but it seems like I may not catch up to that level until I retire. He has a 500k house, super nice cars, and seems to be making money hand over fist. My house is under 100k, I drive a Ford Focus which isn't anything special but gets the job done, and I make just enough to afford a moderate lifestyle in my home state of Ohio. I mean I'm happy and all, but I feel like I'm not even near the level of success as he is and wonder if I will ever even come close to that lifestyle.
Don't mistake this for jealousy as I admire and love my friend, it's just I want to know if I'm failing or if he is just a very special outlier. Another difference is party habits seem to be purely based on business whereas I enjoy a good party just for the sake of a good party. He and I both have smoked ganja and drank together, but he does so significantly less and seems to get more of a "lift" from making a good business deal or putting his kids to bed. I'm going to try and learn from his example, but I feel that I still wouldn't be anywhere close to his level of success.