Wealth — when most people think of wealth, they immediately conjure up an image of some lifestyle or some amount of money needed to be considered wealthy. And yes, that is one definition, but a rather limited one. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against wealth. Let’s face it, we live in a world where the primary means of trading goods and services is based on money. And I don’t think it is wrong to have money or to accumulate money. I’m not here to say what is right or wrong for someone else. I do, however, think as it relates to money and wealth, if you don’t answer for yourself “what is enough” then you are likely to always be chasing the next thing, or as I like to say, “the goalposts are always moving.” There is podcast I listen to from time to time whereby the host has a concept known as “Know Your Number” meaning know when enough is enough. But for this post, I want to shift away from the traditional term of wealth in an economic sense and talk about other forms of wealth…wealth that has a deeper meaning. I can’t speak for everyone as to how they define non-financial wealth but I would encourage anyone reading this to ponder the question. Here are just a few of my ideas on True Wealth..
- Authentic, loving relationships — whether that is a handful or more than 10, the number isn’t as important as the quality of the relationships. Having people who love and care about you and vice versa that you can share life with — in good times and bad times — is priceless. And I’ve found in my life the authentic ones transcend time and distance. If you are lucky enough to have 2-4 people who love you and check in on you and care for you, you have true wealth!
- Time — If you have time to invest in the activities that matter to you and hopefully some of those are making a difference in the world and the people and causes you care about, you have true wealth. Time is a precious commodity and trust me, as you get older, it becomes more precious. And you start to realize you don’t want to waste it the older you get.
- Faith — for me, this is simple: I know I am created by Jesus Christ. He paid a significant price on the cross for me and my sins. That doesn’t make me perfect and it certainly doesn’t give me a license to keep sinning…it does, however, give me citizenship in His kingdom and I have a firmly rooted belief of whose I am and where I will spend eternity. To be wealthy, you have to have faith…in something…and I contend it has to be something bigger than you can create on your own. So having faith in a business you created or a bank account number is temporary. True wealth comes from a faith in something bigger than us…for me that is my Christian faith and beliefs.
I’m sure there are more concepts to True Wealth and don’t get me wrong, I do think finance is a part of the definition but what I have learned in recent research is that there are two studies I found about happiness and “life satisfaction” and money. One study, done in 2010, concluded that after an income of $75,000 per year, happiness did not improve. And the second study, looked at “life satisfaction” over happiness and found that for only 80% of the people in that study, their life satisfaction improved up to $100,000 annual income. For 20% in that study, their life satisfaction didn’t improve regardless of how much money they made in a year. So, without getting too scientific, true wealth is apparently not tied to income, or at least not past $100,000 annual income. If you have other thoughts on what and how True Wealth is defined, send me a note or comment.
Regardless of your bank account balance or assets, all of us can work to develop True Wealth by investing in relationships, using our time wisely to grow, serve others, etc, and build our faith. The fruits of those endeavors will yield incredible wealth and abundance, not only in our lives, but those whose company we enjoy as well.
