Lesson #4: Get Your Motivation from Love, Not Money

In the 1990s, sales were soaring, outlets of Domino’s were popping up all over the world, and Monaghan should have been the happiest guy on earth. But, on top of the world is the last place you would have found him. Instead, Monaghan was tormented with guilt.

He had just finished reading C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. He could not get the chapter titled “The Great Sin” out of his head. It was a chapter about pride and it was a chapter that Monaghan says “hit me right between the eyes.” Monaghan considered himself a hard worker and a virtuous one at that. After reading Mere Christianity, he says, “I realized that all I was trying to do was have more than other people…I thought, ‘If pride is the greatest sin of all, I’ve got to be the greatest sinner of all.’”

That night, Monaghan was barely able to sleep. He awoke the next morning and immediately proclaimed that he was taking what he calls a “millionaire’s vow of poverty.” It was a bold move for the man who had always been motivated by images of yachts and expensive cars. He immediately told the builders working on his new mansion to stop working and go home. He sold his ₤5.7 luxury Bugatti Royale, stopped flying first-class and even sold the Detroit Tigers, which he had purchased earlier in a bid to satisfy his dream of actually becoming a shortstop himself.

Monaghan admits that in his early days as a struggling entrepreneur, he was motivated more by money and material possessions than a love of what he was doing. He even found ways of justifying his purchases of luxury goods as good for business. “The car collection made sense because Domino's was in the delivery business,” he says. “Airplanes because my time was money.”

However, he now realizes that attitude was taking its toll on both himself and his business. “I was distracted by some of the rewards of success, which was hurting my business,” he says. “If you're successful in business it's because you've served other people; you've served your employees; you've served your customers. You're creating jobs. Don't just create an empire for yourself and an imperial life.”

Unlike the nuns who told Monaghan that money was the root of all evil, he came to believe that it was rather the love of money that was the root of all evil. “Money is neutral,” he says. “It prints Bibles and pays for priest, hospitals, orphanage and soup kitchens.” What is important to remember, he says, is not to chase that money but to chase your dreams. “I had to get rich to see being rich is not important,” says Monaghan. “I put all of these distractions aside, and focused solely on Domino’s Pizza.”

While he admits that he is not “living like a pauper”, he has turned his life around. “I decided to simplify my life,” he says. “No more airplanes, no more yachts. It's been a big relief.”



Lesson #4: Get Your Motivation from Love, Not Money

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