Written by: Sebastien Assohou, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
« One who has wealth, substantial possessions. » According to the French dictionary, this is the definition that would qualify the word « wealth. »
Wealth would thus be, in the eyes of society, the result of a set of material goods that a person would possess.
But what is the notion of wealth?
Rich vs. wealthy, I wanted to draw a parallel between two notions of wealth that I believe are fundamental.
Attributing the meaning of wealth to one or more material goods would then reduce us to a primitive, temporary, and utterly superficial happiness.
Wouldn’t it be a bit absurd to limit our intellect to that?
What about knowledge, the information that we acquire daily through our brain.
Know that when we give a material good to a person, we are impoverished by the good that we made. But when you share an immaterial interest, such as knowledge, it multiplies. We do not become less rich in knowledge by sharing our knowledge, but we become less wealthy when we offer an object, a physical good.
If I come to this analysis, it is to make you aware that real wealth does not necessarily exist where we think it does. Wealth is the capacity to learn, communicate and educate yourself. Feed your brain with knowledge, exchange with the outside world, and be interested in others.
Wealth is also about challenging ourselves and learning from our mistakes. It is the wisdom to put our ego aside, to remain silent. To not escalate a situation when the communication is unproductive, even if we know we are right. It knows how to keep a low profile.
Wealth is also about passing on knowledge, sharing what we have learned either through our mistakes or through the time we have given to ourselves to learn and understand the actual value of things. Wealth is teaching others without the fear of being overwhelmed by those we lead.
Pierre Jaquet Droz, as a reminder, revolutionized the world of watchmaking during the Enlightenment.
He preferred the subjunctive tense, a grammatical modality expressing a thought or imagined fact, in contrast to the indicative. The indicative is what we are accustomed to doing daily, especially in our professional and personal lives, which finally prevents us from allowing the use of the subjunctive.
The subjunctive, in turn, emphasizes the cognitive capacity to imagine, dream, to stimulate our intellect, which is our true treasure.
In the end, we cannot know if what we wish, hope or even doubt will come true in life.
We all have this dreaming side inside us, this desire to give way to our creativity with a feeling of uncertainty that is illusory at first before potentially becoming a reality.
Since we do not know if what we wish will come true, people often fail. They give up what they want most for what they want now. And if the process takes a while to work, they get discouraged and often give up.
Wealth is the ability to let our imagination run free. To stimulate our neurons and thus allow us to become richer in knowledge, memory, competence, and experience.
Aristotle said that « happiness does not lie in wealth but peace of mind. »
What makes sense is not to focus on what you have but more on what you are.
You can be rich in possessions and poor in the heart and mind.
BE ASSERTIVE
Being assertive is a mark of wisdom. We can have our opinions, convictions, or even the freedom to defend our rights without interfering and disturbing others. And nowadays, having this behavior is also a sign of wealth linked to our education, our life lessons, and, of course, our values. So many qualities that, once again, money cannot buy.
Wealth has no monetary value and is not attainable by obtaining it without having fought intellectually or our life struggles.
As a life coach, I approach my sessions pragmatically and straightforwardly. I remain transparent about the reality and the interpretation of your body and mind…
My experience, education, assertive behavior, and empathy drives me to do things for those around me, family, friends, and clients. I teach them something that money cannot buy:
Loyalty, respect, compassion, and caring.
I will also be the right person to tell you what your body would like to say to you and not what your brain would like to hear.
I will put you at the psychological and physical level you would like to reach without filters, without any tricks, and without sparing you for your good and only yours, not mine or even your family’s.
So be authentic, wealthy in your heart, and preserve your physical and intellectual integrity and that of others.
As you have understood, true wealth is an intellectual value that money cannot buy.
