Question from a Wealth Club member: Wealth is not just about money. How much time does one spend on other areas of life to truly become wealthy?
Answer: Totally agree. There are many forms of wealth, and interestingly enough, most people don’t focus on acquiring ANY kinds of wealth. Instead, they focus on watching Netflix and acquiring things that depreciate.
So I would argue that most people do not spend enough time on wealth – and that’s why most people will HAVE to work until they die, whether they like what they’re doing or not.
Here’s on thing we do know though, being financially wealthy gives you the ability to stop at any point; so that you can focus on all the other priorities in your life.
But, sadly many people are not in this situation. Just look at single parents. Many of them spend every dime they make on childcare, so even though they are doing their best to get ahead and be good parents; their net progress is zilch.
This is very sad, because under those circumstances, they’ll never be able to be fully present for their children’s adolescence nor have the freedom that comes with wealth. Under than re-marrying someone of means, the only other thing they can do is hustle for a while to get ahead.
Now to your question, instead of looking at it as how much time to spend on other areas of life, I would prefer to invest the minimum amount of time necessary to accomplish the financial goal; by working smarter not harder.
For example, I know a guy in Europe who is a really good husband to his wife, and a really good father to his children. However, wealth is still a priority to him. So what does he do? He found a way to make a great living, but by working 20 hours per week.
He’s a broker for concrete trucks. He literally calls up construction projects and offers them trucks, and when they say yes, he goes and finds one to give them. He’s in the affluent group.
Our minds tend to think in terms of “this or that”, but the key is to think with synergy, “How can I get X while Y.”
But to answer your question more directly, I would say the best thing someone could do is find a way to re-allocate the time they are spent working towards progressively higher paying activities.
For example, most people that wok 40 hours /week don’t realize that there are companies that will pay them up to 2X what they’re making now, to do the same (or similar) job.
Blessings,
J. Patrick Nichols