The difference between having money and having wealth.
Are money and wealth the same thing?
Absolutely not.
I have been reading a lot of different articles on Leo and there has been a common theme across a lot of them. Wealth accumulation and the opportunities that hive presents for people to do so.
Crypto, defi and digital wealth are creating a whole new industry without the traditional barriers to entry. If you want to come onto hive and write posts, play games or create a new business then you can do so without any permission, legislation, oversight or restriction.
There are no barriers to entry, just barriers to success. Anybody can do these things. However to do them successfully requires community support.
I can write ten posts a day but if the community doesn't support my writing then it is all for nothing. I will never be successful at it. The same goes for creating a business or a game.
The good news however is that you can earn some crypto for any of these activities it's just the amount that will vary.
I earned $100,000 on Hive. Am I now wealthy?
Again, absolutely not. (Also, this is totally hypothetical.)
Firstly it is all relative. That could buy me a nice car here but not a house. My stake is big but I can still not compete with the top holders.
It is money in my account right now but without work it will get used and no longer be part of my wealth. In some countries it would be a huge amount of money but again is only fleeting.
Money creates the opportunity to earn wealth. Money is fleeting and short term, wealth is long term access to more money.
Once you can grasp this concept, you can start using your money to gain wealth. Just like you say with hive where your time and effort can lead to wealth over the long term.
Having money is just opening the door to real wealth. Increasing and sustainable income from your assets and investments.
There is no point in having 100k if you are just going to spend it. That is far too short term and you end up back at the bottom again trying to start from scratch. A waste of time really.
The goal should be to take that 100k and put it to work. Get it to start earning returns that you can live form and let that capital keep building. Keep growing and turn it into a 100k every year. Then you have real wealth. Consistent and increasing earnings.
Hive creates opportunities.
These opportunities can come in lots of different shapes and forms. Writing, gaming, investing, savings....
The opportunities are there for anybody to get involved with. The traditional barriers and oversights do not exist in this free market.
You don't need approval, paperwork, permissions. You just need to put in the same as everybody else regardless of race, religion, location, education. That is the beauty of this new system. You are only limited by what you are willing to put into the game. Time, effort or money.
Then you can grow your long term wealth from there.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
I would say wealth is more linked to your health and happiness than money.
With money you can buy things but as you point out this is all relative. It's insane that 100k can't buy a house in one country and could buy an estate in another.
There is definitely a certain form of wealth to be had in a full and happy life. I've written about that before as well but you do have a fair point.
While money doesn't make you happy, it does make life easier. There are enough pressures on us every day without having to worry about paying the rent of for filling the fridge.
There is huge inequality across Europe and even in Ireland. I know a lot of people that are moving back home form Dublin and selling up during the pandemic. They are selling small apartments or homes in the city and coming back to huge stand alone in the countryside in small towns and villages. For a fraction of the cost, their quality of life will be much better and they can still earn a good living for Dublin companies working from home. Before this there were very few prospects of good employment in the west of Ireland.
Technology changes this and it could be the same across Europe. Systems like hive are providing wages to people in Venezuela and other poor countries while now the have prospects from working online or creating. Web3 will hopefully signal a shift in power back to the masses rather than the minority. There will always be imbalance but there can be a better balance.
For a lot of people, having enough to provide food and shelter would be enough happiness while here we have gone too far into excess for a lot of the population and equate things to happiness.
This is so important, the support from the community is what helps you acquire that wealth on Hive. This post explains everything better. Nice though
It's true. the community owns the stake and then they decide were it flows to. To become a part of this you need to become a valuable member of that community.
Well said, our monies should rather be made to work for us,,great post and thanks for expanding my horizon with this explanation
Crypto has huge potential. It can be nerve wracking with the volatility, but with a solid daily strategy, over time, one can build increased wealth. Does it lead to happiness? That's a whole other story.
I always contend that money can't buy happiness, but extreme poverty can cause misery. So, a certain amount of money is sort of a fundamental prerequisite for happiness, but I think that amount is far, far lower than most people imagine it to be.
I would definitely agree with you on this one as we need certain things to be happy. Money can be used to ge them and so we do need money.
However once we have a basic level needs covered then we ca ndo without any more money. People think that we need more and more but i know form my own life that its not money that makes me happy. It time well spent. Time doing what i love and time with friends and family. Even just hanging out together and having fun. I dont need much money to survive the month but i do need to enjoy it.
I totally agree with you. I left the "rat race" and a job that paid well in high tech because I hated it. How much of my life do I want to spend with people I do not particularly like doing work I think is both boring and unimportant? For what? So I can one day be old and have a comfortable savings account when I am no longer strong enough to enjoy life and my spirit has been broken? No.
Well said..
Our health is our wealth and cliche as it sounds, the best things in life are free.
I'd agree with @harlowjourney though that although money is not the key to happiness, a certain amount is essential to happiness.
We definitely don't need as much as we think though, and lots of our "needs" are more keeping up with the Jones kind of needs. The marketing machine trundles on and the advertisers have never been as well equipped with all our data to sell us what we don't need.