While I was writing responses to emails I received this week, I realized there’s an idea Ian and I talk about often in-person and find useful, but it comes up rarely on this blog. It’s this: often, the most important job of an entrepreneur isn’t to make money, but to understand value.

I was in Barcelona to attend a business conference. One evening, a small group of us found our way to a fancy bar with quiet music. We knew each other – we’ve met all around the world, from developing-world resorts to New York City cafes. Our conversations are mostly stories and laughs with like minds. But in the middle of all the jokes, I got offended.

How we choose to think about money will end up (to some degree) defining how much of it and the quality of it that we receive. One of the things that’s confusing about money is the way we bake our moral attitudes into it.

My friend is a really smart guy with a lot of varied talents and passions. He’s got his MBA. He’s got a high paying consulting job that isn’t very intense or stressful. He’s got the power to make whatever he wants with his life.