Taking the real wealth challenge

The dictionary says that someone can be defined as being “wealthy” when they have a large amount of money, property, or valuable possessions.

I would wholeheartedly agree.

But too many of us tend to think primarily of the first two listed above - money and property.

And if we ever get as far as the third (valuable possessions), we often tend to think of such things in the “material” sense only (things we can touch).

However, we do well to remind ourselves that we can be in possession of things which are extremely valuable - yet not material in any way.

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My son, David, is a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) in Johnson City. He owns his own company, Talley Financial. You can reach him at: david@mytalleyfinancial.com … yes, I’ll put in a plug for him - not because he’s my son, but because he is as honest and smart and capable of handling material wealth and tax problems as anyone I ever met. I have firsthand evidence because I’ve seen him help countless personal friends of mine in so many wonderful ways.

However, my son knows that such “material” wealth is not everything there is. Far from it. In fact, his Big Picture philosophy is largely to help people grow and sustain “material” wealth, so that they’ll have more time to invest in the type of wealth that matters most: real wealth - family, friends, free time, and giving.

I have taken the liberty of making my own scale to aid in measuring “real” wealth. There are no numbers on this scale. And the only measure is self-satisfaction.

Please feel free to chart yourself on this “real wealth scale”. To see how high or how low you may currently rate, please answer the following three questions honestly:

1 - Do you feel you have a lot of individual freedom of choice in your daily life?

I once knew a homeless soul who sometimes passed through Bristol. Went by the name of Pete. While here, Pete roamed around Bristol’s alleyways and side streets. He had no permanent home and was always scraping for food and money. Yet, he always appeared relatively happy. “I do exactly what I want to do, whenever I want to do it. I ain’t beholden to nobody. And if ever I find myself with a tad bit extra food or money or pretty much anything, I go bless someone else with it. I have total freedom and complete peace of mind. Some people feel sorry for me, but I consider myself a rich man.”

I also knew a Bristol millionaire who was chained to his high-paying job, all while enduring a very unhappy decades-long marriage. At face value, most of Bristol surely thought he must have “had it made”. My friend told me otherwise. “Ben, I never have a single moment of real peace of mind or freedom,” he spilled out one night over a bottle of Wild Turkey in an alleyway while we were both visiting Pete. “In fact,” as he motioned toward Pete, “if I could, I’d give every dime I had to trade places with ol’ Pete right now.”

2 - Do you have friends, family, and/or pets who love you, and whom you love?

My friend Kat was a beautiful and extremely popular cheerleader when we were in high school back in the day. Now I don’t know the whole story, but Kat never had children. I suppose one could call her a childless cat lady if it makes one feel better, but her life is what it is. The amazing thing is, she fully accepts - and even relishes - her fate. “Ben, pets became my children and my family. I have lived such a rich life because of so many pets I’ve loved and been loved by over the years. I can’t imagine having lived a richer life.”

3 - Do you find meaning and joy in giving to others?