Part of my family and some friends recently took a trip to Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. In total, there were 17 of us, ranging in ages from five to over 65. Despite our varying ages, we had a terrific time, and the excursion reminded me of two important life lessons. First, as ABBA would sing, “Money, money, money; it’s a rich man’s world.” And second, success is often dependent upon who you know.

You don’t have to be a genius to know that having money makes your life easier. I experience that every day I get in my car. North Texas is replete with toll roads. I read once that Collin County residents (where I live), on average, pay more in road tolls than anyone else in the nation. Over the last ten years, it seems every freeway in North Texas underwent construction to add express lanes, which you can only access if you are willing to pay the required toll. Can we still call them freeways? And the amount of the necessary toll depends on the amount of traffic. The more traffic there is, the higher the toll. So, as a driver, you are left with a choice: you can sit in heavy traffic and hope your road rage doesn’t take over, or you can pay the hefty toll, often reaching six dollars a pop. In short, if time is money, on North Texas roads, you need money to save time.

While most viewers consider the film Titanic[i] to be a love story, I see it also as a tragic example of the difference between the rich and the rest of us. The ship required the strict segregation of passengers by class, with the poorest relegated to its lowest bowels. Jack (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is a poor artist in third class. When he saves Rose (played by Kate Winslet), a young woman in first-class, from a suicide attempt, Rose invites Jack to join her for dinner in first class the next night. Here is that dinner scene: 

Of course, the story ends in tragedy, as the once-thought unsinkable ship hits an iceberg. Jack dies while rescuing Rose. But just as tragic, only the first-class passengers are allowed in the lifeboats; third-class passengers are locked in their quarters below deck.

Money has become so important that some people are willing to go to extremes—even murder—to get a piece of the wealth pie. In Knives Out,[ii] a wealthy novelist leaves his entire estate to his caretaker rather than his family. Watch the family’s reaction when they hear the news: 

What do these movie scenes have to do with a trip to Orlando? At Universal Studios, we felt like the first-class passengers on the Titanic (at least before it sank!). A regular adult ticket to the park costs $165 for a single day. And if you want an express pass, too, that costs you an extra hundred bucks. Two hundred and sixty-five dollars for a single day’s entertainment per person is a hefty amount. A family of four, then, could end up paying over a thousand dollars. And that doesn’t include food, drinks or souvenirs. But we soon realized the express pass was the only way to go. Even with the park at only 35 percent capacity, you could wait almost an hour before you reached the front of the line for some rides. But with the express pass, you got to skip the line, so your hour wait turned into only several minutes. While the express passes made our trip much more enjoyable, I felt sorry for those who couldn’t afford one. But not that sad—for the fewer holders of express passes, the sooner we got on the rides. Having more economic resources than most at Universal Studios sure made our trip more comfortable and enjoyable.

I learned at a young age the importance of who you know. As I looked for a part-time job during my first year of college, I walked across the street to talk to my neighbor. He happened to be the Sr. Vice President of the Salt Lake City branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. I asked him if there were any part-time jobs there. My timing was perfect; a place in the mailroom would become available in two weeks. He then told me to go to the bank and fill out an application. I went the next morning.

I told the HR director I was looking for a job there. He then handed me a one-page application that I completed and returned to him. He then said there were no positions available at that time, but he would keep my application on file if something became available. I replied that my neighbor—his boss—had sent me. His attitude immediately changed. He ripped up the one-page application, replaced it with a four-page application, and asked me when I could start. I was the same person with the same experience and qualifications before and after I mentioned my neighbor, but saying he sent me made all the difference.

Speaking of mailrooms, in The Secret of My Success,[iii] Brantley (played by Michael J. Fox) starts work in the mailroom for a Wall Street investment banking firm. But he has greater ambitions than that.  He then has this encounter with the wife of the head of the company:  

Although the boss’s wife is willing to use her influence to help Brantley succeed at the firm, he wants to earn it. But in the end, Brantley realizes he can’t do it without help. He uses the boss’s wife to introduce him to investors who will help Brantley takeover the investment banking firm. Sometimes, it’s all about who you know.

Disney World did not allow the use of fast passes while we were there, so we needed a different way to make it to the front of the ride lines. We took full advantage of who we knew. One of the children of the friends who came with us has a disability, which allowed them to get a disability pass that would permit them to go to the front of every line. And since my family was traveling with their group, Disney made the disability pass applicable to us, too. So, all 17 of us moved to the front of every ride every time. As I said, it’s sometimes all about who you know.

A trip to Disney World and Universal Studios are trivial examples of these two rules of life. But they apply in most situations. So, my advice to young people beginning adulthood? Find a career that will provide you a comfortable lifestyle (and permit you to drive in express lanes and buy express passes), and associate with people that will help you get ahead. That, along with hard work and a little luck, is my secret to success.

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[i] Titanic:

• Production Companies: Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and Lightstorm Entertainment
• Director: James Cameron
• Screenwriter: James Cameron
• Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, and Billy Zane
• Release date: December 19, 1997

[ii] Knives Out:

• Production Companies: Lionsgate, Media Rights Capital (MRC), and T-Street
• Director: Rian Johnson
• Screenwriter: Rian Johnson
• Starring: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas
• Release date: November 27, 2019

[iii] The Secret of My Success:

• Production Companies: Rastar Pictures and Universal Pictures
• Director: Herbert Ross
• Screenwriters: Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr.
• Starring: Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater, and Richard Jordan
• Release date: April 10, 1987