What is wealth? What is money? What is status?
Here is an excerpt from Naval Ravikant’s tweet storm he put out on May 31st, 2018.
“Seek wealth, not money or status. Wealth is having assets that earn while you sleep. Money is how we transfer time and wealth. Status is your place in the social hierarchy. Understand that ethical wealth creation is possible. If you secretly despise wealth, it will elude you. Ignore people playing status games. They gain status by attacking people playing wealth creation games.”
When I first read this tweet storm in its entirety and began listening to the thoughts of Naval Ravikant, I was taken by how he easily described so many of the ideas and feelings I’ve had myself. I continued to process this info and the statement “Wealth is Freedom Found” began flashing in my mind on a recurring basis.
Most of us have heard of the notion that money can afford you financial freedom. If you build upon this concept however, you’ll find there is a greater freedom found in wealth creation. While money will ease your financial concerns, it doesn’t guarantee happiness. Wealth to me represents a level of contentment and joy. We’ve all met individuals who make a lot of money, but seem deprived of a relaxed mental state. When you obtain true wealth, you are not constantly seeking that next thing you want to get your hands on. Whether it be material possessions or another leg up in the social hierarchy, that is a never ending game with dire consequences.
Zaid Dahhaj breaks wealth down into four categories: Financial, Social, Time, & Physical. In his article published at Medium.com he elaborates, stating “Be wary of jobs that lure you in with the promise of financial wealth (money) and social wealth (status), but rob you of time wealth (freedom) and physical wealth (health).” This is a critical idea and a primary driver for my own personal endeavor in founding this firm. When thinking about financial wealth, it is certainly possible to obtain it by simply stashing away money over time. If you are sabotaging your time and physical wealth however while doing this, I would argue it is a poor trade off. Ultimately the trick is to create financial wealth while still maintaining a proper balance between that of your time and physical health.
This type of wealth is found when you merge that which you are passionate about with a heightened ability to perform said thing while creating financial wealth. This is idealistic thinking for many yes, but absolutely feasible. Never let ANYONE break you from this thinking. Certainly there are pursuits people have a passion for that will create a higher level of financial wealth, but I’d rather be that individual whose created enough financial wealth while still maintaining peace of mind and a sense of contentment in their lives.
When you can build something that supplements your personal life and brings about appropriate balances, you will find a new found freedom that is incredibly exhilarating. It is a freedom felt in a variety of ways. Freedom of thought…Freedom from unnecessary pressures…Freedom from a variety of concerns…Freedom to spend your time doing what you love most. For me, this is balancing precious time with my family and participating in pursuits that bring my life contentment and joy. There is but one asset in this world that is continuously escaping us, and that asset is time. Spend it and use it wisely. Find your wealth and find your freedom.
