FINANCIAL WEALTH FUNDS LIFE WEALTH
- Derek Hagen
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
❝Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.❞ -Henry David Thoreau
Money is a tool. Life is the point.
THE FISHERMAN AND THE BUSINESSMAN
A businessman visits a small village on vacation and every day sees the same fisherman rowing in after catching a few large fish.
Finally, the businessman asks how long it takes to catch them.
“It doesn’t take long,” the fisherman replies.
“Then why don’t you stay out longer and catch more?” the businessman asks.
“I catch enough to feed my family. That’s all I need.”
“So what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The fisherman smiles. “I play with my kids. I take a nap with my wife. In the evenings, I have drinks with my friends and play music.”
The businessman shakes his head. “You’re thinking too small. I have an advanced degree and decades of business experience. You should spend more time fishing, sell the extra fish, buy more boats, hire a team, and build a company. Eventually, you could become very rich.”
“And then what?” the fisherman asks.
“Then you could retire. Spend your days fishing, playing with your kids, taking naps with your wife, and enjoying music and drinks with your friends.”
WHEN WEALTH BECOMES THE GOAL
It’s incredibly common to assume that saving and investing are about becoming rich; building the biggest pile of money possible.
Especially if you’re reading about money.
But here’s the real question: What is all of this money for?
If the answer is “more money,” we're losing the point.
Author Bill Perkins, in Die With Zero, challenges the idea that more savings is always better. Many people who are disciplined enough to invest well end up dying with far more money than they ever needed.
His simple question: How much better could their lives have been if they had used some of it?
When we chase money at the expense of living, something is backwards.
WEALTH IS MORE THAN MONEY
Money is not the destination. It’s a tool.
It’s fuel.
Sahil Bloom, in The Five Types of Wealth, describes five forms of wealth:
Financial wealth
Time wealth
Physical wealth
Mental wealth
Social wealth
Most of us obsess over one of these.
But financial wealth is different from the other four. It’s instrumental... a tool.
The others are intrinsic... experiential.
|
 |
The Meaning in Life Questionnaire assesses two dimensions of meaning in life, the presence of and search for meaning. Presence measures how full you feel your life is of meaning. Search measures how engaged and motivated you are in efforts to find meaning in your life. |
 |
|
FINANCIAL WEALTH FUNDS LIFE WEALTH
Financial wealth has value only because it supports the other four.
You can think of it this way: There are four forms of life wealth: time, physical, mental, and social, and one form of tool wealth.
Time wealth is having margin.
Physical wealth is having health.
Mental wealth is having clarity and emotional well-being.
Social wealth is having relationships that matter.
Money fuels those.
But money is not the experience itself. It’s the gas in the car, not the destination.
THE REAL QUESTION
The fisherman already had time wealth.
He had social wealth.
He had mental wealth.
He had enough physical capacity to live his life fully.
He may not have had massive financial wealth, but he had enough.
That doesn’t mean money doesn’t matter. A safety net creates stability. Basic financial security reduces stress.
But after “enough,” the question changes.
It’s no longer: How much can I accumulate?
It becomes: What is this for?
You get one life; live intentionally.
Interested in more like this? Subscribe and get updates sent directly to you.
If you know someone else who would benefit from reading this, please share it with them. Spread the word, if you think there's a word to spread.
To share via text, social media, or email, simply copy and paste the following link:
REFERENCES AND INFLUENCES
Bloom, Sahil: The Five Types of Wealth
Burkeman, Oliver: Four Thousand Weeks
Crosby, Daniel: The Soul of Wealth
Dunn, Elizabeth & Michael Norton: Happy Money
Ellis, Linda: "The Dash"
Hagen, Derek: Money’s Purpose in Your Life
Perkins, Bill: Die With Zero
Robin, Vicki: Your Money or Your Life
