Wealth is often thought of as massive riches. Yachts, fast cars, and big houses. A lot of this is due to the media portrayal of wealth. The person with the helicopter and mansion is certainly more eye popping and attention grabbing than a middle class American living in the suburbs.
What is Wealth?
Wealth isn’t just money–there’s a lot more to it than portrayed. There are many layers to wealth–only one of which involves money. In general, wealth is about leading a great life and living according to your values. Being in control of your time and energy on your own terms.
To best answer the wealth question is in this post, we’ll explore several different types of wealth–including those not traditionally thought of or talked about.
Physical and Mental Health
You can have all the money in the world, but without our health, it really doesn’t matter. A couple years ago I woke up with excruciating lower back pain. I could barely move an inch, much less get out of bed. I remember laying there for several hours wondering how I was going to get up. Finally, I was able to move enough call for help and get out of bed.
That moment was also an epiphany for me. It didn’t matter how my investments were doing that day or how much I had in the bank–all that mattered at that point and time was my physical health. I have since placed my health as a major priority and have been fortunate enough to have drastic improvements.
The same can be said for mental health. No amount of money in the world matters if your mental health is suffering. Over the past couple years there has been a much greater recognition of mental health and the need to take care of ourselves.
Relationships and Interactions
There is abundant wealth in our relationships and interactions. What good is money if we don’t have positive relationships and interactions with those around us that matter? Take something as simple as our relationships with coworkers and customers.
Work is much more satisfying having positive relationships with others. Most Americans spend a lot of time at work. Even if you’re working at home, there is a lot of time spent interacting with others on Zoom, over email, via text, social media, and other ways. The quality of those interactions is often directly proportional to our quality of work experience.
Our relationships impact the quality of our lives in more than just the work environment of course. Arguably, our most important relationships are with family and friends, two areas important enough to have their own heading.
Family
A good number of people I’ve talked to rank family right up there with health. There is great wealth in having extraordinary relationships with family, especially very close family. Life is good when things are good at home.
Ask most people if they would rather take an inexpensive and simple vacation with family members they have great relationships with or an extravagant vacation with family members they don’t get along with. I’d be willing to bet most people would take the first option.
Friends
Similar to family, there is great wealth in our relationships with friends. A few good friends make the world a much better place. Think about people you’ve been friends with since college, high school, or even elementary school. Or a friend you haven’t known as long, but have spent a lot of quality time with and maybe overcome a few obstacles with.
Those relationships are rich and are part of living a wealthy life. Life is about experiences and how we treat people–friends are a big part of this.
Social Capital
You’ve got a family emergency and need someone to take you to the airport and watch your dog for a few days. How many people could you call on to help you? How many people would call on you if they were in that type of situation? If you got into a bind, who could you call on for wise advice?
This is called social capital. It’s not about how many people you have ready at your beckon call. It’s really about how many quality relationships you have, and the trust you have built up with those people. Conversely, we all like to feel valued and having others trust us enough to call on us is a good feeling.
Time
Everything in life is abundant but one thing. Our time on this planet will come to an end. It doesn’t matter what country you live in, how much money you have, or how in shape you are–nobody makes it out alive. We can do things to live longer, but nobody makes it out alive.
As a result, our time becomes a precious resource. The more quality time we create for ourselves, the wealthier we become. More time allows us to experience more, establish richer relationships, and do the things we want to do. Time is wealth–use it wisely.
On a related note, think about how you utilize your time. Are you using your time to perform tasks you can hire someone else to do? For example, if you run a successful business, are you still spending time on yardwork or are you hiring it out so you have more time with your kids?
Think about what time-consuming activities you can outsource so that you have more time with family or to participate in meaningful experiences. For more, see my section on highest and best use of time in my book Cash Uncomplicated.
Optimal Stress
Many people want to eliminate stress altogether. I might be in the minority, but I believe that some stress is healthy and helps us to reach maximum performance. I also believe that too much stress is not good, especially stressors in the wrong areas.
That’s why I listed optimal stress as a component of wealth. Just enough stress to create some tension to help us perform at our best, but not so much that it’s causing health problems and daily worry. Finding this balance is wealth and helps us to be at our best. And when we’re at our best we accomplish more, have better relationships, and gain more satisfaction from life.
Peace of Mind
There’s great wealth in having peace of mind. Sounds simple, but peace of mind means we’re relaxed, able to sleep at night, secure in our beliefs, and so much more. Peace of mind is a gift that no amount of money can buy.
There are millionaires and billionaires that don’t have peace of mind. Conversely, there are many less financially successful people that do have peace of mind–a true form of wealth that can be hard to quantify, but extremely valuable.
Safety and Security
Safety and security are very underrated aspects of wealth. Without safety and security, there really is no wealth. Someone who is constantly wondering where the next meal is coming from and afraid to take a walk in the neighborhood is not wealthy.
The idea of safety and security go back to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. At the very base of the pyramid is basic needs like food, shelter, safety, and security. If those needs aren’t taken care of, there is no opportunity for wealth.
Life Options
Someone making a lot of money but who is working late every night and weekends is missing a lot of life. The person in this situation is missing out on wealth because they don’t have the time to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
The person with multiple life options is inherently wealthier. They can choose to do what they want to do when they want to do it. That’s true freedom and wealth.
Attitude of Abundance
Is it possible to have a lot of money but still worry about financial security? Yes, and it’s more common that we think. Think about the multi-millionaire who is going to work “just one more year” to make sure everything is okay financially. Or the person with plenty of money who won’t go out to dinner because it costs too much.
These are scarcity mindsets which results in the fear of not having enough. The abundance mindset on the other hand is the belief that there will be enough and there is plenty to go around. This person is truly wealthy because they understand that they can always find a way to have enough. That lingering fear of self-doubt and scarcity isn’t there.
Purpose
Shortly before my grandfather passed away a couple years ago, I asked him what the secret was to living a long and prosperous life (he lived past 90). He said it was purpose. “You have to wake up everyday with a purpose” I distinctly remembering him telling me. Purpose is wealth for many reasons:
- A deep understanding of what this day is for
- It’s more than about you
- You know your impact is far reaching to many other people
- You have goals
Values
If your life choices are aligned with your values, you have wealth. Not everyone can say their choices and actions are aligned with their values–it’s something that takes time, effort and work. A few examples:
- Someone who doesn’t believe in debt who currently has no debt, or is working to pay off debt
- A person who values fitness and works out five times a week is in alignment
- A parent who values time with their children and attends their extracurricular events
Impact on Others
Last, but not least, our impact on others. We all want to feel like we matter and our efforts are going to something worthwhile and helping others. Whether our impact on others is through a job, volunteering, donating, or anything else–positively impacting others is a form of wealth.
Eventually the cars, the house, and possessions go away. Your car will at some point go to a junkyard and be turned into scrap metal. Someone else will eventually move into your home or turn it into an Airbnb.
But your impact on others doesn’t go away. The person you positively impact will be impacted, and they will positively impact someone else, who will impact someone else. Endless impact.
Conclusion
Wealth is more than money. There are many forms of wealth, some of which are difficult to quantify. For me, wealth has many layers.
Another way to look at it is by asking what is important to you. I’ve asked myself this question many times and it always helps me direct my efforts to what is most important–or what I want to obtain wealth in.
What does wealth mean to you?
