I make these in my sleep.
If you know me well, you probably think I’m on my way to making a boatload of money because of my entrepreneurial ambitions. I may be, but that’s not what I truly care about. The difference lies in the definition of being rich versus being wealthy. This has been discussed many times over on the internet, but I never tire of it and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a definition that I truly agree with, so here goes.
(Note: these are my definitions, and you can take it however you want)
Being rich is having a filthy amount of money, but nothing else. You’re alone, in poor health, and far from happy. You have so much money, but nothing to spend it on and no one to share the experiences that the money can buy you. Sad, yes, but it happens all the time.
Being wealthy is having a well balanced life, which includes but is not limited to:
- A healthy relationship with your family
- Close friends you can depend on
- A healthy body that allows you to engage life to the fullest
- Enough money to buy you the experiences that you crave
- Addition: Having a purpose/passion to pursue
To dote more on the money aspect, being wealthy doesn’t necessitate you have lots of money, but often times it does only because the experiences most people yearn for take lots of money. For example, I eventually want to create an action oriented foundation that tackles real world problems, become an amateur race car driver, open my own Taiwanese beef noodle soup chain here in the US, travel the world, and pamper friends & family with gifts. These are all money intensive wishes, but it’s obvious I don’t want money just for the sake of having money.
At the same time, if you can be satisfied with what you have, money won’t matter much. This has been a constant debate with me. Part of me thinks it’d be nice to just be happy and content with what I have and not strive for more, but another part of me wants the world. Right now, I’m leaning toward the latter (I’m doubtful this will change).
Regardless, I still strongly believe it’s all about balance and so I’ve made pact with myself that on my quest for wealth, I will never lose sight of the big picture and how a balanced life is the only life worth leading. Will you?
3 Comments
Yo Jono, I was fb browsing and came across this. When I read this, I realized that I didn’t necessarily agree with everything you posted, though some parts you were on the right track then turned away at the last second. I feel like “Rich” should only define how much money a person has, it does not describe any other part of their life. Quoting from the author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, he defines wealth “in terms of the number of days one can survive without working.” but I feel like his may have been geared more financially, and I like the emotional aspect of your definition; in which we take his definition more generally. I feel like somebody doesn’t have to have money to be wealthy, but have a family, a pet, a home, the non-tangible stuff. I like to think of wealth as understanding the worth of tangible AND non-tangible outlets in life.
Though I guess some people can argue rich can be defined in other ways that don’t necessarily equate to financial well being.
Though, I believe somebody can be both rich AND wealthy in life.
Anyway, good insight, i think I’ll go off and ponder a little more on this topic.
Thanks for the comment Kevin. Yeah, it’s obviously a pretty subjective topic, but one everyone should think about.
Ultimately, I think everyone can agree that life is more than just financial success.
i would be down to open a taiwanese beef noodle joint with you haha.
but for now, there’s a great place in san gabriel area……