When 'Ice Ice Baby' was selling a million records a day, I bought

When Vanilla Ice said, “When 'Ice Ice Baby' was selling a million records a day, I bought several properties: a home next to Michael J. Fox in L.A., a palace in Miami and a mountain cabin in Utah. Then, a few years later, I took a break from touring, saw that my properties had cobwebs, so I sold them, and—to my surprise—I made a huge profit!”, he was not merely recounting a story of wealth and success. Beneath his words lies an ancient truth about fortune, impermanence, and the wisdom that time brings. His tale begins in the fire of youthful triumph, when fame’s light shines brightest, but it ends in reflection, revealing the quiet lessons that follow the storm of glory.

At first glance, his story seems one of prosperity—a man lifted to the heights of fame, who then found even greater riches through unexpected means. Yet, deeper still, this tale speaks of impermanence—the fleeting nature of both success and possession. When he says his properties had “cobwebs,” he does not speak only of neglect, but of the emptiness that often follows excess. In the frenzy of achievement, he acquired symbols of victory: mansions, palaces, mountains. But when the music faded, and the crowds dispersed, he returned to find these treasures silent, lifeless, untouched. The cobwebs are the dust of time—the reminder that wealth without presence, ownership without purpose, gathers decay.

The ancients would have understood this deeply. King Croesus of Lydia, the richest man of his age, once believed his gold would grant him eternal glory. But when he asked the oracle of Delphi if he was the happiest of men, the answer came: “Count no man happy until he dies.” For happiness, like fame, cannot be built on the shifting sands of fortune. Vanilla Ice, too, came to see that the splendor of material gain is temporary, and that true value often lies hidden beneath the surface of change. When he sold those properties, expecting loss but finding profit, life revealed its quiet irony: sometimes, by letting go, we receive far more than we imagined.

This story is not of luck, but of perspective. It teaches that time reshapes meaning—that what once seemed like vanity can become wisdom when seen through the lens of experience. When he bought those homes, he was a young man chasing the horizon; when he sold them, he was a man looking inward. The surprise of his profit was not merely financial—it was spiritual. For he learned that the treasures of the past, even those born of impulse, can become blessings when we learn to release them without regret. The hand that clings suffers; the hand that opens finds peace.

There is also in his story a parable about cycles—the rise, the pause, the renewal. Just as empires flourish and fall, just as seasons bloom and fade, so too do our personal triumphs follow the rhythm of creation and return. When he stepped away from the world of touring, he entered what the ancients called the still season, a time when the spirit gathers strength. It was in this quiet that he saw clearly the emptiness of his possessions and the fullness of his fortune. The profit he gained was not just of gold, but of clarity—the recognition that prosperity, when detached from purpose, becomes hollow, yet when released, becomes freedom.

From this reflection, we learn an eternal lesson: wealth is not in possession, but in understanding. To own without awareness is to be owned by what we possess. To release what no longer serves us is to invite growth and renewal. The wise do not cling to the glories of yesterday, nor fear the changes of tomorrow. They move with the flow of life, trusting that even endings carry the seeds of new beginnings. When one learns to see every loss as transformation, every sale as liberation, the world becomes a teacher, and fortune becomes a servant rather than a master.

So, my listener, let the story of Vanilla Ice remind you: success will come, and it will fade. Homes will gather dust, fame will pass, and time will shift all things. But do not despair—when you act with awareness and release what is no longer living in your hands, you will discover the hidden profit of life itself. Whether it comes as wisdom, peace, or renewal, it will always be worth more than gold. For the richest man is not he who owns the most, but he who knows when to let go—and in letting go, finds everything once more.