the value of money...and life

I was watching something old and black and white and heard a character say something "cheesy". "The value of money lies in what you did to earn it." (in reference to $500.00)
Now I'm not going tell what it was that I was watching, so don't ask.  Some things are embarrassing just like a briefcase full of money seems pretty good.  But there are some times when money has no value.  If you are on a boat that is sinking in the ocean, or a plane that is getting ready to crash, a raft or a parachute are more valuable.
But that isn't what the quote was about.  It didn't have anything to do with where you were with the money.  It had to do with something more subtle, what you did to get the money.  You can write that off based on the spending value of money; but I'm not sure that it doesn't hold more than a grain of truth.
What if life was lived just for length.  Alexander died a young man, but if he had lived to be a million years old, he would not be remembered for anything other than outliving others.  Instead he is known for conquering the world, or his little part of it.  The value of life lies in the way it is lived, so why wouldn't the money earned have more to do with how it was earned.  Perhaps this message is lost today, but perhaps it is a more important message.  I think striving to live the right way is the message hidden in there.  It doesn't matter if you end up with the briefcase full of money, it is the message of courage and action that lies at the heart of the universe.
I've said before that I think that the universe is a reflection of time going linear.  Change is what makes an invisible universe visible.  So wouldn't the value of such a universe be how the change happens?
We are always moving-the planet spins, the entire universe is in movement, spinning, and moving.  This is why we can know that, or at least can speculate, that a change in time coordinates is what makes everything visible in the universe.  
The problem with writing down everything you think about, is that you waste the time of the readers.