Just after my son was born I wrote a few things I thought he’d find helpful as an adult. One of them was:

"You might think you want an expensive car, a fancy watch, and a huge house. But I’m telling you, you don’t. What you want is respect and admiration from other people, and you think having expensive stuff will bring it. It almost never does – especially from the people you want to respect and admire you."

Eight years later I still believe this to be true, and I might even double down.