Is having money the same thing as having wealth? The truth is, not really.

There was a time when I thought that having a million dollars, or at least a few hundred thousand, would have made me rich and wealthy. What I’ve learned since then is that having money and having a luxurious lifestyle can make you rich, but it doesn't necessarily make you wealthy. In fact, having money isn’t necessarily what makes you wealthy at all.

The truest sense of wealth is having freedom with your time and how you choose to spend it. As we’ve said before, time is the most limited resource we have. We have from the beginning of our life until the end, but we don’t know when the end is going to come up. Having the flexibility and freedom to wake up everyday and do what you want to do for as long as you'd like to do it? That is the best measure of wealth, believe it or not. 

The reality is that money, even large amounts of it, can actually get in the way of experiencing life. This is because sometimes having more money can create more fear of losing it, which keeps us from spending money or enjoying what money can do for us. 

Another problem is that we don't always view money appropriately. I think one of the common ways we get sideways with money, regardless of how much you have, is to view money as what controls your life. You have to have some money to pay your bills and create financial security for tomorrow to reach your goals and objectives, that’s true. But there does come a point when the stories that we used to tell ourselves need to make way for us managing our money and not our money managing us.

Another measure of wealth that doesn’t directly relate to the amount of money you have is the ability to critically look at your job and ask why you’re there, what it does for you, and if it’s giving you the quality of life you really want to live. Having some money saved up, even if it’s not a lot, gives you the flexibility and freedom to find something you fully enjoy. 

So don't think of wealth as something you’ll just get to experience down the road, but as something that you can experience with your friends and family soon. Altogether, looking at wealth in a different way will help you be a well-rounded and joy-filled person in all stages of life.