Time to be Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

In today’s speech to the Italian Senate, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi opined that it is not enough to rest on the country’s rich history; their focus must be on the future. This message includes the manipulative phrase that any hardships will be for our children and their future. I lack sufficient understanding of Italian politics to render an opinion on Mr. Renzi’s commitment and honesty but his statement reminded me of a rather uncomfortable moment in my own life.

I was still in college when I met my girlfriend’s mother and stepfather. First meetings with parent’s carry a certain weight and tension. Even as adults we mutually understand that you are being judged and that it’s almost impossible to pass the test of being good enough. You can be well received, liked and tolerated, but the test is usually not completed until many years later.

There existed a difference between my economic standing and theirs. I occupied, at best, a lower-middle-class position and these people had money. In fact they had enough money that they didn’t spend time talking about it. They were interested, however, in who I was and my goals. In my community I was always well received when I discussed my plans of law school, the institutions where I wanted to attend, and the good prospects to become economically prosperous.

On this evening I saw how I was being perceived when this step-father said, “I suppose that one day you might be rich, but you will never be wealthy.” He was right. At that point I didn’t even realize that there existed a difference between rich and wealthy and even now I only conceptualize it in the theoretical realm. But I began to understand the difference several years ago while learning about real challenges to reversing poverty.

Really poor people only see money as a utility for the immediate moment. Middle class people see money as a resource to meet basic needs and plan for the future. Wealthy people see their money as part of an historical legacy to preserve.

We hope to leave a financial foundation so that our children or grandchildren can enjoy the benefits that come with wealth. By working hard and investing we set up a means so that those who come after us can enjoy opportunities that elude us. That very philosophy reinforces future planning and a mindset that is middle class. It represents the drive to accumulate money but does little to foster wealth.

The good news for Mr. Renzi, me, and you is that wealth is more than money. I accept that I will never be financially wealthy even if I become rich. Yet, I have family. I have faith. I have knowledge. These I do not await in my future, these are what I enjoy and preserve because of my past and legacy. Let us all recognize our wealth and honor it by doing good, for the wealth of our grandchildren depends on their past, which is our now.