This month, I’ve been diving into "The 5 Types of Wealth" by Sahil Bloom, a concept centred around designing a fulfilling life. His insights were inspired by conversations with people in their 80s and 90s, reflecting on what they wished they had valued more when they were younger. Their wisdom helped shape the five types of wealth, offering a fresh perspective on what it truly means to live a rich and meaningful life.
TIME WEALTH
Time is our most valuable asset, yet we often forget how fleeting it is. Life moves forward, whether we’re intentional with our time or not. While we subconsciously understand its importance, we still fall into patterns of distraction, engaging in low-value activities that pull us away from what truly matters. Building time wealth comes down to three key pillars:
Awareness – Recognizing that time is finite and reflecting on how we’re actually spending it.
Attention – Focusing on what truly matters to us.
Control – Learning to set boundaries and intentionally structure our time.
To assess your level of time wealth, ask yourself these five questions:
Do I have a deep awareness of time’s impermanence and its value as my most precious asset?
Do I have a clear understanding of the two or three most important priorities in my personal and professional life?
Am I able to consistently direct my attention and focus toward these priorities?
Do I rarely feel too busy or scattered to dedicate time to what matters most?
Am I in control of my calendar and how I allocate my time?
"We are not given a short life, but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it." - Seneca
Social Wealth
Our relationships — whether with family, friends, partners, or colleagues—change drastically throughout our lives. The key to social wealth is nurturing the right connections and being intentional about where we invest our time and energy.
A powerful exercise is to reflect on your core relationships and assess whether they are supportive, ambivalent, or demeaning. Then, consider how frequently you engage with the people in these relationships and whether they uplift or drain you.
Here are six key lessons to help cultivate and maintain social wealth throughout life:
Family time is finite - cherish it.
Children time is precious - be present.
Friend time is limited - prioritize the real friends.
Partner time is meaningful - never settle.
Coworker time is significant - find energy.
Alone time is abundant - love yourself.
To assess your level of social wealth, ask yourself these five questions:
Do I have a core set of deep, loving, and supportive relationships?
Am I consistently showing up as the partner, parent, family member, or friend I aspire to be?
Do I have a network of connections I can learn from and grow with?
Do I feel a deep sense of connection to a community or something greater than myself?
Am I free from seeking status, respect, or admiration through material possessions?
Mental Wealth
In the busyness of life, it can be difficult to take time to pause, reflect, and truly rest. Yet, contrary to what we often believe, rest is not a break from productivity—it fuels it. Rest strengthens our mental health, brings clarity to our purpose, and creates space for new ideas to emerge.
By intentionally setting aside one day each week to step away from daily demands—to read, learn, journal, and think—you give yourself the opportunity to zoom out, open your mind, and think creatively about the bigger picture.
Here are some powerful journaling prompts to spark reflection:
If I repeated my current typical day for 100 days, would my life be better or worse?
If people observed my actions for a week, what would they say my priorities are?
If I were the main character in a movie of my life, what would the audience be screaming at me to do right now?
To assess your level of mental wealth, ask yourself these five questions:
Do I regularly embrace a childlike curiosity?
Do I have a clear purpose that provides daily meaning and aligns short- and long-term decision making?
Do I pursue growth and consistently chase my full potential?
Do I have a fundamental belief that I am able to continuously change, develop and adapt?
Do I have regular rituals that allow me to create space to think, reset, wrestle with questions, and recharge?
Physical Wealth
Too often, we let our physical health slide in search of the "perfect" routine. But perfection isn’t the goal—consistency is. When it comes to movement, anything above zero compounds positively, while zero compounds negatively. Even if you only have 15 minutes instead of the full hour you planned, that 15 minutes still matters.
Physical wealth, if left unattended, gradually declines—especially as you move into your 30s and beyond. Prioritizing your physical well-being now ensures strength, vitality, and resilience for years to come.
To assess your level of physical wealth, ask yourself these five questions:
Do I feel strong, healthy, and vital for my age?
Do I move my body regularly through a structured routine and have an active lifestyle?
Do I eat primarily whole, unprocessed foods?
Do I sleep seven or more hours per night on a regular basis and feel rested and recovered?
Do I have a clear plan in place to allow me to physically thrive in my later years?
Financial Wealth
What does enough look like for you financially? True financial wealth isn’t just about accumulating more but about defining what success and purpose mean to you and building a life that aligns with that vision.
Having enough means understanding what your ideal life looks like and making financial choices that support it. But in the pursuit of the next goal or achievement, it’s easy to overlook the fact that we may already be living our enough life. Recognizing this can bring both peace and freedom.
To assess your level of financial wealth, ask yourself these five questions:
Do I have a clear definition of what it means to have enough financially?
Do I have income that is steadily growing alongside my skills and expertise?
Do I manage my monthly expenses so that they are reliably below my income?
Do I have a clear process for investing excess monthly income for long-term compounding?
Do I use my financial wealth as a tool to build other types of wealth?
At the core of "The 5 Types of Wealth" is a simple but powerful truth—wealth isn’t just about money; it’s about how we design a life that feels truly fulfilling. Time, relationships, mental clarity, physical health, and financial freedom all contribute to a rich and meaningful life, yet it’s easy to overlook them in the pursuit of achievement. Reflecting on these different forms of wealth has given me a fresh perspective on what truly matters, and I hope it does the same for you. As you move forward, take a moment to ask yourself: Which type of wealth do I need to nurture more? What small shifts can I make today to create a life that aligns with what I truly value?
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