The Measure of Wealth – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

Photo by Artur Rutkowski on Unsplash

When do we start living? It’s a big question I’ve been turning over these past few days. This week, on one of the most interesting and enriching calls I’ve had all year, I heard someone say, "I have to confess that until recently I didn’t believe in my purpose in life. However often I read it, I didn’t buy it. Then I noticed I kept repeating it, and it kept coming to mind in every situation I was facing." That’s when I realized I had felt exactly the same for a long time, until I finally discovered that my purpose in life is to be the best father, husband and friend… and that day I started living. I’ve seen that same feeling in companies, in teams and in my coaching clients, on the day they discover their purpose.

True wealth lies deep within us, above all in our capacity to know ourselves. The companies that stand out most are the ones that know themselves best, culturally and operationally. Our greatest skills are the ones we develop from within. The ones we pick up from outside matter less, which makes the inner ones very specific and truly unique. Hence, to paraphrase Seneca, the measure of wealth is what is necessary until it becomes enough. What is necessary is knowing ourselves. What is enough is being able to give what we have and are willing to share. What all human beings share, interestingly, is the capacity to do good and spread our goodwill.

Another great kind of wealth is spotting early everything that creates noise for us, everything that gets in our way. Noise and interference are blows aimed straight at the full development of our potential. The road often grows dark for lack of vision, values and a clear purpose. All three are ours to discover. Everything that comes from outside, to the extent we let it in, becomes part of the interference that limits our growth.

The measure of wealth lies in doing things in a way that seeks the good for ourselves and for others. The greatest wealth is whatever lets us live in harmony with the world we were given, fixing what we can and working to leave a much better legacy than the one we received in this race. Discovering that this wealth comes from within is hard. A team will rarely learn anything new from an outsider before discovering that the best thing is to get to know one another, find the ties that bind them and set one or more common goals.

Sometimes goals are meant to be reached, sometimes to give us direction, and largely they serve as the north and compass for something we want to achieve. The wealth of a goal lies in what we learn from the result, the strategy that got us there and the purpose that inspired it. The result itself involves many factors beyond our control. What is up to us is discovering the wealth in what we can do to reach it.

I dedicate this post to my family, my wife, my children… (and since I’ve dedicated many posts to my children, my wife, my parents and my siblings) this one in particular goes to my friends, my beloved friends and their families. May God bless you this Christmas and bless your homes, and may life let us enjoy our friendship for 100 more years. To my reader friends, my biggest hug and my heartfelt wish that 2022 is the best year of your lives. Thank you for your emails, your replies and for sharing these ideas I write Sunday after Sunday. Thank you to everyone who has kept a very special friendship with me through this space. All the best to you.

Warm regards,

Rodrigo Baccaro

"You ask what is the proper limit to a person’s wealth? First, to have what is necessary, and second, to have what is enough." Seneca

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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