When we hear the word wealth, most of us immediately think about
money. How much do we earn? How much do we own? How big is the house? What car
do we drive? How much have we accumulated?
Living on Long Island, it
is especially easy to fall into this way of thinking. We see beautiful homes,
renovations, new cars, expensive vacations, and without realizing it, we begin
comparing. Someone gets a new kitchen and suddenly ours feels outdated. Someone
buys a bigger house and we start wondering whether we need one too.
But this September, as we
focus on money and mindset, I want to challenge the way we define wealth.
I recently read two books
that approach this idea from different perspectives: The Wealth Money Can’t Buy by
Robin Sharma and The 5 Types of Wealth by
Sahil Bloom. Both reminded me of something very simple: Money is important. But money alone does not make us
wealthy.
Sahil Bloom describes five
types of wealth: Time, Social, Mental, Physical, and Financial. Think about
that for a moment. You can have Financial Wealth but no Time Wealth because you
are constantly working. You can have a beautiful home but very little Social
Wealth because your relationships have been neglected. You can have money in the
bank but poor Physical Wealth because you sacrificed your health while earning
it. And you can have all the things that make you look successful while still feeling
stressed, disconnected, or unfulfilled.
Robin Sharma expands this
idea even further. In The Wealth Money Can’t Buy, he talks about
eight forms of wealth, including growth, wellness, family, community,
adventure, service—and money. Notice that money is still there. The lesson
isn't that we shouldn't want financial success. We should. Financial security
gives us freedom, choices, and opportunities.
The question is: What is the money helping us build? That
question has stayed with me. Because sometimes we spend so much time building
what other people can see that we neglect what they cannot. We upgrade the
house but postpone retirement savings. We work longer hours to earn more but
have less time with the people we love. We spend money maintaining an image
while quietly worrying about our financial future.
Sahil Bloom writes, “Never let the quest for more distract you from the beauty
of enough.” Maybe one of the most important financial skills we can
develop is knowing what enough means
for us. Not for our neighbors. Not for our friends. Not for social media. For
us.
Before your next major
financial decision, ask yourself: Am I buying
this because I truly want it—or because I am comparing? Am I investing enough in my future before spending on my
present? If I looked at my
health, relationships, time, personal growth, and finances together, where am I
truly wealthy—and where am I running a deficit? And perhaps the
most important question: What does “enough”
actually look like in my life?
There is nothing wrong with wanting a beautiful home, a nice car, or a wonderful vacation. Enjoy the money you work hard to earn. Just don't forget to invest in the things that don't come with a price tag. Your health. Your relationships. Your time. Your growth. Your peace. Because true wealth isn't about how rich your life looks to everyone else. It's about how rich your life feels to you.
