If they are not the same, then they are different, but how! “Being Rich” and “Being Wealthy” are two separate concepts which might have confused many for a long time, and chances are that they may not even know about it yet. Have you ever asked yourself, how happiness is different from joy? Are they the same thing? If not, then what is the factor that distinguishes them.
The answer is happiness is momentary and depends on a reason, a factor. It’s driven by external factors. If the reason is taken away, happiness would go away too.
Whereas, joy is a permanent thing. In fact, it is a way of life. It is deeply internal and doesn’t change with external factors like easy or difficult situations, more comfort, and less comfort etc.
If by now you get the drift, then it may be easier for you to understand the very basic difference between being rich and being wealthy. It is quite similar but not confined to as being happy and being joyous.
Being Rich Vs Being Wealthy
The term ‘rich’ is more about money, the countable cash, or numbers. ‘Wealth’ is beyond that. A person’s richness may be defined by his/her bank balance in accounts, share markets, real estate, the property owned etc. But a person is wealthy or not, does hardly depend upon how much cash he/she has. More or less, it is a feeling of satisfaction regardless of the savings and income.
The concept of richness if quite simple, whereas that of wealth is a little complicated and can not be defined in restricted terms like money and property. A person may be rich and yet not wealthy. But how is that possible!
The Real Difference
If you are able to live your life in a relaxed way, without worrying about how you are going to survive in the next 2 years while living the current lifestyle, your wealth is those 24 months are your wealth. And if you have $2 million in your bank account, you are that rich.
So, the first difference is that richness is measurable in terms of number/money. Wealth is measured in time.
While you have those $2 millions in your savings, you may still be worried about the debts you have to repay, because of the same old problem, the expenses exceed the income. What good then is that huge bulk of money!
The second difference being, wealthy people have overcome and exited the cycle of debt.
Suppose, there are two persons, X and Y. X earns a lot and Y has a moderate income. Yet, X has to run to the office early morning every day and can hardly sleep early at night because of loads of work to do and accountability to his boss. But, Y has a self-made business, with a sufficient source of income. He is not obliged to anyone or forced to follow those specific rules in life, can easily live according to his choices, get up in a relaxed way, and still maintain his current lifestyle. Who do you think is living a better life?
Another major difference is that, in contrast to being rich, being wealthy means no accountability or obligation to others, and being your own boss instead.
In Nonmonetary Terms
Having money doesn’t mean having everything. There are many important divisions of life where wealthy people are way ahead of the so-called rich people. And honestly, those things are, if not more, equally significant as other monetary values and parameters of being rich.
Health is Wealth
A person may have millions or even billions in his name, but if in earning that he has ruined his health, then he is merely rich in figures. For being a wealthy man/woman, it is important to create money, while taking good care of your own health. Even if, it includes regular walk, great diet, investing in the gym, or having a health insurance. So that, when the right time comes, you are actually able to fully enjoy what you have made during the life.
Wealth Means Great Family Life
In making so much money, some people lose track of life, especially of their personal life. Their relationships with family and friends suffer and they hardly have time for themselves. You may see, that they would end with great money but it would be an empty success.
Wealthy people are those who understand and care about their loved ones, share and cherish precious moments with them. They don’t work at the cost of their friends and relatives either. But, maintain a great work-life balance.
Being Wealthy is A Smarter Way of Living
It’s not that wealthy folks are laid back or something. It’s just that they are more prepared and calculative of the risks hidden in the future. They plan well for any kind of contingency and know the unpredictable nature of life. They have paid their debts off and can manage a cash inflow every month without exactly doing any work ever. Being rich is more about focusing on just the earning process and forgetting the managing and securing part. A daily race, which looks tempting but actually is quite tiring.
In the end, if you have invested so intelligently that after a while, you simply are not dependent on your active sources of income and the passive or secondary sources like your shares, insurances, ventures, or real estate properties are sufficient enough to keep you relaxed and don’t require you to work, and at the same time, you are enjoying a healthy and fulfilling personal life with family and friends, then you have become wealthy in the truest sense and are way ahead of many people in the world.
In order to attain this state, prioritize your life in a meaningful way. Grow beyond the money-making mindset and focus on expanding your life to include other precious things too.
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