Defining Wealth

Everyone has their own definition of what it means to be rich. For some, it is earning a certain amount of money. For me, abundance is a mindset, not a number in a bank account. To feel rich you have to cultivate gratitude for the things you have right now. If you do that, everything you accumulate on top will feel like a bonus.

I was not born into a wealthy family. My parents constantly fought about money, always saying at the end of the month that they were in the red. We were not broke, but it was enough for my sisters and me to notice that our parents always carried stress and worry about money. When I was 5 years old, my father lost his job, and we lived for 2 years with no income. My mother fell into depression, and things changed forever. That is why I always felt that need to help. Help my sisters, my parents, and later everyone else.

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Money was not necessarily what motivated me. I was not chasing millionaire status; I wanted to be happy. Growing up I was afraid of my parents. They were always in a bad mood, the house regularly filled with shouting, and they would fight with us when one of them was not around. That is what I wanted to change. I wanted to feel happy, and I wanted the rest of my family to feel the same. It did not mean having more money. It meant accepting the situation and seeing the positive through the darkness. But they did not share that philosophy, and it was not possible to make them see the bright side of any situation. So when I had the chance to move to the United States, I decided it was time. I thought I would start earning enough money to end that unease in my family, and if I could, I would begin helping more people, friends and strangers alike. Once I found my path, I could no longer step off it.

Today I own several companies across North America, Asia, and Europe. I have helped create many businesses, develop many projects, and ignite the spark in countless entrepreneurs and people with dreams that became reality.

For many of my new clients, the question that determines how rich they feel is this: “If I lose my job or company today, how long can I keep living the same way?” You are not rich because a lot of money lands in your account every month. You are rich when you can keep more than you spend. I have had multimillionaire clients who are one step away from losing everything with any fluctuation in the economy or their industry because they spend everything they earn. They are not rich.

How do I measure my financial wealth?

You have to be able to give an honest answer to the question above. If you can live X amount of time without working, you are Y:

• Less than one month: Broke
• One to three months: On the edge of bankruptcy
• Three to six months: Satisfactory
• Six months to two years: Well-off
• Two to five years: Rich
• Five or more years: Ultra-rich

How do I measure my personal wealth?

Look at your energy level when you wake up every morning. How much…?

• motivation do you have?
• desire do you feel to go to work?
• do you enjoy your free time?
• do you enjoy your family?
• do you complain about what you have?
• do you dream of having better things?

It is hard to put a number on a person’s real wealth. But one thing is true: it does not depend on how much money you have or earn. It depends on what you do with the life you have. Your wealth becomes infinite when you start measuring it with your soul.