What does wealth mean to you?

To make progress, you need clarity on your definition of wealth

Always think like a principal by taking more and more accountability. Always ask yourself “What would the founder do?” Think and act like the owner.

If you’re responsible and accountable long enough, it compounds. And you’ll soon be the principal.

Exposure helps you to redefine what wealth means to you.

This is also the part where I talk about the fact that as women, society teaches us to view marriage as a financial plan. That you can be careless with your money all through as you wait to get hitched to a man who will solve all your financial problems.

What does wealth mean to me?

My pal who’s turning 30 next month, told me that by the time she’s 34, she has to be financially secure. She challenged me to think about where I want to be financially by the time I turn 30 in a few years.

1. Morning alarms

Morning alarms top the list of things that I detest. It’s my biggest motivation to work hard, manage my money properly, and find new ways to increase my income streams.

Being good with money doesn’t mean hoarding it. It means using it as a tool to feel secure in your decisions to build a life you love. — The Financial Diet

2. Living alone

I’ve seen this argument on many platforms that encourage young people to live in shared accommodation in order to save money. True, that can be a good way to cut down on costs since rent is usually our biggest expenditure especially while living in big cities. It’s sadder when we factor in the fact that the cost of rent keeps rising in most cities.

3. A cozy bed, towels and bathrobes

There was this one time we were in a mall with my girlfriend. We both found ourselves moving towards the white cotton bed sheets, towels and bathrobes section. We realized that we share that dream. To have access to the best there is of the three items.

4. Not having to attend some meetings

How many times have you had to sit through meetings that add absolutely no value to you? Meetings that should have been emails? Meetings that are so long and boring that you can literally count the hours of your life that are just passing by?

A taste of freedom can make you unemployable. — Naval

5. Having enough time to read

I have lived through phases where life is so busy with work that I barely have enough time to read. In such situations, I don’t fully concentrate on my book or read in a hurry, not enjoying beautifully written lines or soaking in the wisdom therein. Sometimes I will feel guilty for reading before I finish my work. I hate this.

6. Travelling

The happiest I’ve been in my life is when travelling, hiking mountains and being with nature.

7. Just sitting, without worrying about the next meal

Growing up in poverty means that when you sit to ‘relax’, the first thing that comes to mind is the worry. Worrying about the next meal, next paycheck, debt.

“You are not going to get rich renting out your time. You must own equity — a piece of the business — to gain your financial freedom. People seem to think that you can create wealth, and make money through work. And it’s probably not going to work. There are many reasons for that.

But the most basic is just that your inputs are very closely tied to your outputs. In almost any salaried job, even at one that’s paying a lot per hour like a lawyer, or a doctor, you’re still putting in the hours, and every hour you get paid.”

So, what that means is when you’re sleeping, you’re not earning. When you’re retired, you’re not earning. When you’re on vacation, you’re not earning. And you can’t earn non-linearly.” — Naval

8. Begging

I hate being in situations where I have beg for help, especially financial. Not managing your money properly will lead you here. You beg and sometimes tell manipulative stories to get people to loan you money. And you can literally feel your dignity leaving you.

“You really don’t own anything in life. When you’re born, and you come out of your mother’s womb, and you’re kicking and screaming, and you go through your 60, 70, 80, 90 years of life, you think that you own stock and money, and this, that, and the other, but really, you don’t own anything, because it all disappears, it all goes away, and you die, and there’s nothing left. The only thing, the only thing that you own, the only thing that we can say is that you own time. You have so much time to live. … Let’s just say you have 85 years to live. That is yours … Alive time is time that’s your own. Nobody tells you what to do, nobody is commanding you how to spend it. … Taking ownership of your time means I only have this much time to live, I’d better make the most of it, I’d better make it alive time, I’d better be urgent, have a bit of an edge, be aware of each moment as it’s passing and not in a fog.” — Robert Greene

9. Building deep relationships

I want to build deep relationships based on trust with my friends and family. Truth is, this is to some extent impossible while having such busy work schedules and sitting in traffic for hours.

10. Pursue my passions

In a perfect universe, I’d be a writer who hikes and also belongs to a dance crew.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” — George Bernard Shaw

11. Choosing who to work with

We’ve all been in situations where we have to endure working with people who are cruel or have questionable integrity. People who frustrate our efforts or progress, who work extra hours to ensure we fail.

12. Saying no or not feeling like you have to say yes

This should have topped the list. Have you been in relationships where you have to say yes to hanging out or being with a person because you literally can’t afford to leave?

13. Choosing a career, a boss and curating my Job Description

I want enough money to afford the freedom to choose my job or career, to choose my boss as they’re interviewing me and to have a say in my JD. To say no to things on the JD that I feel are a waste of my time or an insult to my intelligence.

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Your voice of reason before you blow all your money this weekend! www.thewealthtribe.com

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