Section IV: The Wealth of Reciprocation
Create Your Influence
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
– Mark Twain
You can say that the three Principles of Wealth have all led to this point. While they’re all important as stand alone Principles, and should be focused on in turn, they build on each other to create something great: a life worth living.
Earlier I noted that we’re all going to die. No arguing there. The quicker we understand our own mortality, the quicker we’re able to shake ourselves from the mindset of groupthink and pursue true Wealth with confidence.
If no one makes it out of this alive, however, then what does it mean to live a fulfilling life? When you look at life through the lens of a short lifetime, it’s not uncommon to think that everything’s pointless.
What can we possibly do that will stand the test of time? What will we leave behind that outlives ourselves? What is our legacy?
Deep questions, I know. At the end of the day, all the Emotional Wealth, Time Wealth, and Location Wealth in the world only matter if you use it to create a lasting legacy.
This is the ultimate meaning of Wealth: giving back in a way that makes the world a better place. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind of life. Where’s my next paycheck, what’s my next life move, and how will this situation benefit me, are all valid thoughts we have.
But there’s a theme with this frame of thought: it’s egocentric. When you approach life this way, with only yourself in mind, it works against the Wealth you’ve accumulated, and actually cheapens the riches you’ve gained.
Taking all your positive emotions, confident direction, life-changing experiences, and newfound freedom, and giving back, is the greatest form of Wealth you can accumulate.
Build your legacy through the Wealth of Reciprocation. Help others find their own path to true Wealth. There’s no natural high greater than the experience of helping someone change his or her life for the better. And when the common theme connecting each Principle of Wealth is feeling alive, achieving the highest natural high maxes out the value of your life.
The Wealth you’ve gained up to this point has set the stage. It’s given you the skills and experiences necessary to make a lasting impact on the world. Now, it’s time to turn that learning into actions that will change the lives of those around you and those still to come.
And, as always, the Wealth of Reciprocation, although strengthened through each principle of Wealth, can be pursued early and often. Start today!
With a focus on reciprocation, and through acts of helping others and adding value, your Emotional Wealth will skyrocket, which will build your emotional framework and understanding of the world, which helps you maximize the value of your time through Time Wealth. With the ownership of time gained through Time Wealth, you’re able to confidently pursue Location Wealth in the way you want to live.
Then, you’re even more equipped to maximize the Wealth of Reciprocation.
It’s not that each Principle of Wealth is needed to reciprocate, it’s that each Principle of Wealth expands your sphere of influence, so you reciprocate with greater impact.
There’s no reason why you can’t start volunteering at a soup kitchen once a month. There’s nothing stopping you from tutoring high school kids at an after school program. You don’t need any other Principle of Wealth to give back this way. In fact, it’s through this reciprocation that you can increase the enrichment of each Principle of Wealth.
Once you’ve obtained – and are consistently maintaining – your true Principles of Wealth, you’ll have a greater ability to give back, and the chance to do it with more impact.
For example, if you’ve built a successful group of location independent work projects that let you live wherever you want, you have the ability to give back by helping others maximize the value of their time through their own collection of projects.
If you’ve constructed a strong emotional framework that’s helped you discover your passion and purpose, you have the chance to show others how to uncover their unique passion and purpose.
All of which will continuously spark newer and increasingly more exciting ideas for how you want to live your own life, which will increasingly expand your sphere of influence.
In this way, the Wealth of Reciprocation is the ultimate, and, although it’s strengthened through the riches gained from each Principle of Wealth, is nothing more than a mindset. It’s the belief that you matter, and by consistently adding value, you can make the world just a little bit better.