Dr. Steve, a colleague who also happens to be my office landlord, recently had a client subtly refuse to pay for services rendered. Apparently, this client had an initial session with Dr. Steve, paid the fee with a check, and then proceeded to stop payment on it before it could clear. To say Dr. Steve was furious is an understatement. After an initial phone call to the client, he immediately contacted Small Claims Court to set up a hearing.

Normally I don't like to see mental health professionals get screwed over by clients. Unless I'm missing part of the story, Dr. Steve provided a service and thus should be paid. If the client was not pleased with the service, she had every right to not return. Assuming she agreed to the stated fee, she is obligated to pay him.

However, this is Dr. Steve we're talking about - the wealthiest psychologist I know, and a money-hungry, mercenary sleazebag. Dr. Steve would head-butt his own mother if she were blocking his way to a quarter that a client dropped in the ladies' room. Thus, it's hard for me not to laugh at his frustration.

"I only made (insert extremely large number) dollars in 2007, Rob," Dr. Steve said, angrily looking at the spreadsheet laid across the over-sized computer screen, just one of the many niceties in his oversized office.

"Cry me a river, you rapacious douche bag," I was thinking. "That's too bad, Steve," I said. "I guess that really cuts down on the 50% your wife is going to get when she finally comes to her senses and divorces you."

"Very funny," he said. "When you get rid of that Toyota and start driving a Lexus like me, come back and we'll talk about money."

Dr. Steve epitomizes the psychological phenomenon known as greed. The Law of Effect tells us that humans do what feels good. When that good feeling stops, we either change our behavior or increase the frequency and intensity of the current behavior to achieve the desired effect.

Making a little money to put in our pockets generally leads to a good feeling for most of us, but what happens if X number of dollars doesn't feel as good anymore? What happens when you don't get the rush of endorphins that you used to get when having a nice paycheck?

You have two choices: find something else to make you feel good or make more money. Dr. Steve always chooses the latter. He feels great for a while with a large sum, but then the effect wears off and he needs more to get that same feeling again. He has a tolerance for money; it's like a drug. This explains, at least in part, the dollar-driven behaviors of athletes. While I'm sure part of the issue is ego, athletes' excessive money eventually becomes "tolerated," and therefore they need more.

Just like Dr. Steve, however, I need to make a living through my craft. While I love what I do, psychology is in fact a business. When I sat down and crunched my numbers for 2007, I realized I also didn't make as much money as I had the year prior.