In our society, the fastest and surest way to do this is by amassing a great deal of money. So the money becomes a substitute, a symbol, for the esteem. But in the deep chemistry of the psyche, things do not work out this way. This is why a substitute experience always leaves us hungry for more. Money is only one example.
Sex is another.
The man who chases women, like the one who chases money, can never have enough, can never be satisfied, can never settle down to one possession. The compulsive Lothario is perpetually as insatiable as the compulsive driver in the market-place. For the same motives operate in this area. The libertine can never find what he thinks he is looking for, any more than the acquisitive man can never have enough money. These can be achieved only by giving, not by getting.