Rich people do not watch television frequently. Here is why.

“Stop ruining the movie!” my friend shouted “I haven’t seen this yet!”

“I haven’t seen it before” I said.

Confused silence came from the other end of the couch.

Over the last decade, I rated over 800 movies on IMDB. This is not an accomplishment, most people have seen just as many movies, but have not tracked it. Likely, most of them have not understood the patterns that people like us are always looking for. It requires being conscious, having a good memory, and the willingness to think. When we look for patterns and apply them else where in the world, we advance. Most importantly, once we know the pattern, we look for new patterns as opposed to stare at the old patterns. This advancement has brought me to understand that 99% of content is garbage.

Each new movie, TV show, online video, and book, follows a pattern. This is by design. Writers cannot think of a new formula for every episode of a TV show. This is inefficient. They have a bag of character arcs, plots, and jokes they pull from. I noticed this first as a child. Many children’s shows show the same plots. It is just the names and faces that change. The child skips class, they start a band, their dog eats their homework, they confront a bully, or they cheat and get caught. This has been in shows such as Leave it to Beaver, Doug, and Spongebob. Sorry, if I left your favorite show out.

Every new piece of content I watched felt like a waste. Naturally, I decided to go back in time. I asked “What are the greats?” I watched The Sopranos, A River Runs Through It, Casablanca. It was fun at first. Also, it can be a challenge a challenge with older movies where acting styles and film angles are different than today. But, now I’ve begun to exhaust the oldies as well. This is the real life form of the pandemic joke “I’ve finished Netflix, what do I do now?”

Some nights my wife and I sit down and ask if either has a show preference. Lately, I am at a loss. I do not prefer to watch anything. I still have a watch list of content I would like to see. But, I can wait until it is available for free. Also, I only like to content if I can see it in one sitting.

I used to scoff at folks that would say “I’m too busy to watch TV, I can’t even tell you what is on.” I do not feel too busy. Like the wealthy readers of this blog – I see too little value from watching a ‘new’ show. There is truly a diminishing marginal return once the pattern is mapped.

Perhaps garbage is too strong of a word, but recycling isn’t. Which is why I am spending more time creating than consuming. This is also why rich people do not watch television frequently. When I consume, I am selfish with my time. I hope you continue to find these writings a pattern that has long been missing and is deeply desired. If you missed the first post, see it here.

-Stay Wealthy