Wealth - What Is It and Why Should I Care?

Usually when people talk about wealth they mean riches. But that isn't all there is to it. As Chuck Blakeman aptly puts it, it's possible to become a prisoner of your own riches. To quote him wealth is all about freedom to choose. If riches enable you to do this, so be it. If you are rich but are too busy to actually do what you want to do, does it really matter? Even a poor person can be wealthier when you think about it this way.

Monopoly by MTSOfan (CC BY-NC-SA)

If you could choose what to do, would you be doing what you are doing right now? If yes, you are likely amongst the wealthy ones. Congratulations. For me this is what wealth is all about. And it seems Daniel Tenner thinks so too.

This also ties in together with Dan Pink's thoughts about motivation. After certain limit monetary rewards don't work and can actually impede performance. To quote Chuck Blakeman again, time is the new money.

Besides time and money, Chuck adds third dimension to the discussion, significance. Are you making a difference? Why do you do what you do?

It is very easy to answer what a business is doing. Why is the more important and consequently different question. Incidentally this is at the center of Simon Sinek's "Start With Why". And then there are techniques like the five whys that get to the root of it.

Anyone can build a business and become a hostage to it. In order to get to the next level you will have to ask the difficult question, why, and start doing things for the right reasons. Are you living a life of significance? Are you making an impact? Would you rather leave behind a legacy than a pile of money?