Wealth is more than Money

Often much is written about financial wealth which is clearly important, but there are at least five other types of wealth and to be “wealthy” one needs many of these different wealths which are often intertwined with each other.

The six factors to Wealth are 1) Physical 2) Emotional 3) Mental 4) Reputation 5) Financial and 6) Spiritual.

Physical Wealth.

It is often stated that “health is wealth” and it is when we fall ill or are injured that this adage resonates.

If time is all we have than health is a key to ensuring the quality and the quantity of that time.

Everything else being equal (which it rarely is due to everything from genetics and the luck of the draw as to where and to whom one was born) everyone can maximize good health through enough sleep, some exercise, moderate eating and getting checked periodically and then following the advice of doctors trained in modern science.

Emotional Wealth.

Most long term studies have tended to co-relate happiness and contentment with human relationships and a sense of belonging.

At the time of this writing the richest person in the world clearly does not have “a failure to launch” but appears to have “a failure to connect” and amidst all the fame and fortune seems deeply impoverished on what makes one human.

A sense of empathy, erring in the direction of kindness and an ability to laugh at oneself often helps one connect.

Exposing oneself to different cultures, experiences and perspectives also enhances and builds emotional wealth.

Mental Wealth.

Mental Wealth is a combination of many complex factors including mental wellness and cognitive ability. The ability to think on ones feet. Learn and understand. Continuously upgrade oneself is a form of wealth in a changing world and the good fortune of a healthy mind is as important as a healthy body.

Allocating an hour day to hone one’s mental faculties though learning is a way to stretch and connect dots in new ways. Sometimes mental acuity can be enhanced by pharmaceuticals or alcoholic libations among other things.

Reputational Wealth.

In a connected and fast changing world many opportunities arrive due to positive word of mouth, a well established brand and a network of compatriots and colleagues. Reputation matters in a world where leadership is increasingly about the zone of influence versus the zone of control.

Reputation and reality eventually align.

While one can use social media and PR firms to architect, hone and sculpt a reputation sooner or later who and what you are comes to align with who and what people believe you are.

The three keys to reputation are 1) a constant quest for excellence because if one wants to be known as world class one has to try to be world class, 2) an ability to be open to constant feedback which is used to iterate and improve and 3) generosity and giving back and helping people particularly those who cannot help you.

Financial Wealth.

Money matters and most ( but not all ) people who say it does not matter either have too much of it or are actually besotted by money.

The key with money is that it allows people to acquire food and shelter at minimum and think of things besides money once the most urgent needs are taken care.

Self esteem and happiness are often (but not always) tend to be co-related with financial wealth because it allows one to buy better mental and physical health, is aligned with reputation in some ways and most importantly allows the freedom to spend one’s time in the ways that gives one joy.

Interestingly, if one builds physical, emotional, mental and reputational wealth one often finds well positioned for financial wealth as result of these other assets.

The challenge for most people is to resist the force field of some cultures that emit a message that a “net worth “is the same “life worth”, which tends to make one steer by only the financial star and end up in places one never meant to be by following its siren call.

The most difficult part of dealing with financial wealth is being able to say “enough” and follow unexciting habits of saving, diversifying and planning for the long run.

Spiritual Wealth.

A form of transcendental wealth that is disconnected with the physical and the scientific is spiritual wealth.

Some find it in religion, others in nature and yet others in something else bigger than themselves that seem to stand outside of time and space as we know it.

Clearly all these forms of wealth are important and connected and often it is hard to have the balance sheet in each area to be only filled with assets and no liabilities.

What is true is that an ideal is to ensure one has ones health, feels connected via relationships, be well regarded, be able to think and feel deeply and have enough money to spend time in ways that gives one joy, while also recognizing that in the grand scheme of things we are both the center of our world and absolutely nothing in the context of the greater world.

Posted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership self-publishing platform.

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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.