The 5 levels of wealth

The five levels of wealth: survival, stability, security, independence, and peace

As long as I can remember, money has been one of the most important subjects in my life.

I remember being seven or eight years old and already understanding that money was a problem in our household. It caused fights, pain, and struggle.

I didn’t understand anything about personal finance, of course. But I felt what a lack of money could do to people.

From that moment, I wanted to get to a place where I didn’t have to worry about money.

Little did I know that, even as a child, I could already feel different levels of wealth. But I had no clue what kind of challenge was ahead of me.

As the years went by, I started to understand money better.

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Stop thinking others are happier than you are

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “They figured it out”?

Maybe they have a good career, a nice house, a happy family, or a large group of friends. They always seem to be traveling, eating at nice restaurants, and doing interesting things.

You see a small part of their life. And your mind fills in the rest.

You assume they wake up happy and never ever have any problems.

In the meantime, you see everything about your own life. You feel all the ups and downs.

If you make comparisons like that, just understand it’s not fair.

You’re comparing your actual life to someone else’s portrayed life.

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The usefulness of suffering

Suffering filtered through judgment becomes either strength or imagined pain

Most of our suffering is useless.

Eckhart Tolle wrote a line in Stillness Speaks that I often think of:

“Suffering is necessary until you realize it is unnecessary.”

He is of course referring to the mental suffering that so many of us go through every day. The constant mental chatter that takes away our attention from the present to the voice that’s never satisfied.

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Your side project will never launch (and how to fix that)

A reader recently shared something with me that I think a lot of people can relate to:

“I’ve been contemplating a career change and starting my own business. Would love if you write about courage to take a risk, succeeding, pivoting when needed, financial freedom.”

Right?

It’s really overwhelming if you think about all the areas of our life that need our attention.

Career, family, finances, relationships, health, friendships, hobbies, and most importantly, your mental state.

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