The One Thing That Will Make You TRULY Rich

 

About 11 years ago, I had a conversation with my elder brother which ended in a very bitter argument. He was angry with me because I told him I never wanted to have a degree and to even make the matter worse; I announced to him I would never be an employee. What I wanted to do was to become rich, but my definition of riches wasn’t what everyone thinks is riches.

In this article, I’ll be sharing with you the one thing that will make you truly rich.

Now take time to think about it; what does riches mean? For most people, to be rich is to drive the most expensive cars in the world. The Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Lamborghini etc. But are those the true riches?

In my own opinion, true wealth is freedom. Freedom to do whatever you love to do with whomever you like to do it with, and whenever you like to do it. Freedom is the only thing that will make you truly rich and happy and I think freedom should be your reason for desiring money.

Let me give you some examples here.

Mr. A works either for a big company or on his own business but has to work 60hrs every week. His working environment is so tough that he has to resume at a certain time (let’s say 8 or 9 am) and close at certain hours. No excuses and no absence is allowed. He earns $100,000/year, but he’s not in control of his time, what he does and who he works with.

Now think of another man we’ll call Mr. B. Mr. B either work on his own business or for a company, but he has the absolute liberty to work at any hour he chooses. He could decide to wake up by 7 am or even 11 am.

He could decide to work from 7 am to 3 pm or from 3 pm to 10 pm. Though Mr. B earns only $50,000 a year, he lives in a smaller town which is less expensive than that of Mr. A. Relatively, the purchasing power of his income is very close to that of Mr. A, plus he is in total control of his life.

Now tell me, who do you think is richer out of the two men in this illustration? Most people would think that the man who earns $100,000 is richer than the man who earns $50,000.

Most people in our society will assume that the man who rides a Ferrari is richer than the man who rides Toyota. Most people will assume that the man who lives in a mansion is richer than the man who lives in a 2-bedroom apartment.

The reason we think this way is that we measure wealth in terms of the money and luxuries an individual has but in the real sense of it, no human being can be truly happy unless he’s free to choose what he does, how he does it and when he does it.

What do I want to achieve with this article?

I want to challenge you to rethink how you define wealth. I want to challenge you to pursue money for the sake of freedom, not for the sake of luxury. This is not to speak against luxuries. It’s not a sin to use the latest iPhone, latest cars, or watches but if that’s the thing you work for, if that’s the reason you wake up every morning, you will have a terrible life because you’ll be working too hard, sacrificing too much of your freedom, just to use the latest wristwatches.

But if your goal is freedom, you’ll soon discover that you don’t need a million dollars before you can achieve freedom. You’ll also experience what it is to be in absolute control of your life, which most adults never experience.

So, how can you have this absolute freedom I am talking about?

From my experience, there are only two ways to really be in control of your life.

First, build a successful business.

Don’t be carried away by what everyone calls a successful business. For instance, most people believe that a successful company is a company that makes a billion dollars per year. Well, not necessarily. As an individual, you may not need to build a company of such magnitude. Your goal may be to have a business that can pay you 150% of your standard of living and pays everyone you employ too, while you work only on the areas of the business you like, at your own time and pace, and employ other people to handle other parts of the business.

As long as you can invest back any extra profit and keep on being on top of your game, you’ll be fine. This isn’t easy, but if you can take the time to get the right education and you’re willing to try and fail, you can achieve this and have a lot of freedom and fun doing only things you love and at your own pace.

The second way you can get a lot of freedom is by being extremely valuable to someone else’s business.

As an entrepreneur, I know that not every employee is treated the same way. This may not be fair, but it’s the truth. I can fire an employee for messing up the first time if he/she is someone I don’t think is valuable to my business, while I can give some preferential treatment to some employees if I think they are the pillars of the business.

So in a successful company, some employees can have some preferential treatment like flexible working hours, the opportunity to work from home some days, etc. Yes, not many people can reach this level just as not many people can be entrepreneurs. But it is worth it if you think you can fix your neck into any of the two categories.

In conclusion, I believe real wealth is in freedom. The freedom to do what you want to do at the time you want to do it, with whoever you want to do it with.

The reason you should desire to have money is to achieve this height. The height of freedom, because there lies the real happiness that all of us desire.

If the reason you want to work hard is to buy a new watch, you’ll soon discover that watches don’t make anybody happy.

If the reason you want to work hard is to buy an expensive car, you’ll soon see how depression can hit anyone, even inside a Rolls-Royce. Pursue money for freedom.

Set goals that will make you arrive at a point in your life when you wake up at the time you want, to do whatever you want, with whoever you want. Even though you can still work hard when you reach this level, you’ll only work hard on things you love, not on things you were forced to do by an employer.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

 

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