Amassing immense wealth is the end-all be-all for some people. But there are 10 free things you can attain in life that can make you feel truly rich.
1. Time. Depending on how much or how little free time you have, it can actually determine how satisfied you are with your personal life. Most folks are too busy working hard doing a job they hate just to make ends meet. But sometimes, they often miss their children’s first baseball game or piano recital. You can always earn money, but time is something you can never get back once it passes you by.
2. Wisdom. This should not be confused with most of the useless stuff you learned in school. There are many valuable lessons one can learn outside of the classroom. Wisdom is something you can attain with the experiences you have, be it good or bad, and the learning you can take away from them.
3. Acceptance. There are so many things in life that are beyond our control. Learning to accept the good along with the bad can make our current predicament more bearable. Being able to live in the present and appreciating the blessings that come our way is easily one of the most important things we need to learn in life.
4. Love. Sure, having lots of money can buy you love or at least a veneer of it. But when the chips are down, your loving trophy wife will abandon you in a heartbeat when your deep pockets run dry. One thing you should consider is that real love is something that grows over time. Consider yourself lucky if you find someone who will stand by you, no matter what your circumstances are. That is something money will never be able to buy.
5. The Truth. You can use your wealth to influence people or try to distort some facts that you disagree with. You can even be successful at burying the truth for a long time. But there will always be someone who cannot be bought or intimidated to speak the truth. People with integrity will always be honest whether the truth hurts you or not.
6. Peace of mind. I’ve always kept this adage in mind that goes like this, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” You may be the one who is calling the shots at work and bossing people around. But those who are in a position of authority are often the ones who lie awake in bed at night because they have tremendous expectations and pressures to meet and live up to. I would never trade being able to sleep soundly for all the fame and money in the world.
7. Inherent talent. Either you have it or you don’t. Not everyone is lucky enough to be the next Steve Jobs or born with the sheer genius of Stephen Hawking. You can use money to join classes or workshops, sure, but it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have that unbeatable singing voice or musical talent that will launch you to greatness and superstardom. It takes a lot of hard work and determination to achieve that.
8. Health. We’re not just talking about physical health here, but overall mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness as well. There are so many advancements in the field of medicine and science that can make anyone virtually immortal, given you have sufficient resources. However, you can achieve general well-being without having a lot of money by getting enough exercise, eating the right food, and simply being happy with your personal life.
9. Class. We’re not talking about multi-million dollar mansions, designer labels or luxury sports cars here. You can be the richest person in the room but being gracious and well-mannered to other people is something money can’t easily buy. You can enroll yourself in a finishing school perhaps but sometimes, being cultured and refined is something that just can’t be taught.
10. Real Friends. No, not your Facebook friends or your followers on Twitter or Instagram who just want to gawk at your photos or put their nose in your personal affairs. Good friends are hard to come by and if the ones you have only stick around because of the money you throw away, then it’s high time for you to look for some new and genuine friends.
