Short personal reflection by Chad Silverstein distinguishing being "rich" (a state of life that values non-material, irreplaceable gifts like health and family) from being "wealthy" (having financial assets). He warns against lifestyle inflation and the endless chase for more money, advises filtering and investing income to build wealth, and emphasizes teaching children to prioritize non-monetary richness.
Chapters
I've always taught my kids that to be rich is very different than to have wealth. In my worldview, being rich means you're rich in life. It means that you don't put too much of an emphasis on things that have a price tag because everything with a price tag is replaceable and you can lose everything and rebuild. But the things we get in life for free, those typically are not replaceable. Your eyes, you know, the ability to walk, the love you get from your kids, these things all come and they're free, they don't cost us a thing, and sadly, they're the things that we usually take for granted. And when you're putting more emphasis on anything with a price tag, you've got your priorities mixed up. And it's really important to get clear on what your priorities are and to know that being rich has nothing to do with what's in your bank account. Building wealth is extremely important. It allows you to do some amazing things in life if you're a giver and you build this generosity into your, into your being and. But I think at the end of the day, because you can always rebuild and you can always make money. It's paper. It's paper. And it's also something that we can become a slave to. And if that's your aim, have fun. And chasing money is like a rat race. As soon as you make 100,000, you're going to spend more money and you're going to have to make 200,000. And as soon as you make 250, you're going to up your lifestyle again. And now you're going to have to make 500. And that never ends. I look back at my tax returns early on in my career and I see the progression. I started off making 10 bucks an hour and it's, it's incredible. It's incredible how as you make more money, you end up spending more money, which means you need to make more money. And there's this cycle that happens. And the only way to really build wealth is to filter some of the money that's coming through your hands throughout your lifetime and either saving it and putting it away or doing in something smart, investing wise and not increasing your expenses. That's the way to really build some wealth up. And if you're going to aim at just becoming rich and fattening your check account, think about how sad it is to think that when you leave this world, you don't get to take it with you. And the worst part is someone else is probably going to get it. So it's an ironic thing that you work your whole life to try to build yourself up to get rich, and your financial planners are telling you how much you're going to have when you're 60, 70, 80, like, so what? Then you die one day, or, heaven forbid, sooner, and you don't even get to enjoy the money, and you don't get to take it with you. Being rich in life and recognizing those things you get for free and taking advantage of the fact that you have them, you don't want to wait until you don't. And having regret that you wasted time not taking advantage of all the things that you've been given for free. So think about that and get clear on what you define as rich and what you define as wealth and teach your kids that, and you'll be a little bit better off, hopefully, when you're 80 years old. Sa.
