Rich vs. wealthy

In the debate of time versus money, simply ask yourself this:

Would you rather be 91 year-old Warren Buffett, whose net worth exceeds $124 billion, or yourself?

I suspect that unless you’re close to Buffett’s age, you’d choose yourself, because time is almost always far more valuable than money.

Similarly, I like this graphic a lot.

I constantly tell my students that the most valuable thing to acquire in this world is not wealth but choice. When you can choose how you spend your time, you are wealthy beyond compare. Granted, money can often help a person achieve this goal, but not always. Many people end up working  jobs that they despise for longer hours than they would like simply because they have trapped themselves in a lifestyle that demands a certain level of income, even if it means being unhappy in their career.

Others forgo careers in fields where their income would be lower but their happiness higher in favor of a job that promises money and prestige. I know people who had dreams of making and building and creating things that are now essentially selling widgets. These people turn a great profit while exchanging cash for widget, but what will they think of their life when they finally take a moment to look back and evaluate their choices and accumulations?

I know people with beautiful homes, enormous bank accounts, and unhappy lives.

I also know people with very modest homes, living modestly, whose lives are filled with joy.

When you can be both rich and wealthy, that’s obviously a great place to be. But if that’s not possible, I’d choose being wealthy every time.