Redefine Success

I ate lunch at Aplos in Highland Village this week, and I noticed something I thought was kind of funny, and it got me thinking.

First, a little bit of context: I love watches. So much. It's a dumb little hobby, but it's something that I think about all. the. time. That means, whether I want to or not, I'm checking out people's wrists to see what they're wearing. Not for judgment, but it's because I love seeing what's out in the wild. It doesn't matter if it's a $20 Casio or a $15,000 Rolex. I just get excited seeing people with real watches on their wrists, and it's fun when the opportunity presents itself to talk with people about their watch.

Okay, with that context, here's what I saw: a guy at the table across from where I was sitting was wearing a watch, and he kept moving his hand and arm in a way that it was just easy to tell that he was really wanting the people around him to see it. I was far enough away and at an angle that I couldn't tell what kind of watch it was, but it looked like a nicer piece, and it really looked like he just wanted one of the other guys at his table to notice it and ask him about it.

I'm no psychic, so I have no idea whether he was doing this intentionally or subconsciously, but it made me wonder: would he still want to own that watch if no one else ever saw it?

It's difficult to know, but I do know this: we won't get any real joy from the things we own if we buy them just because we want other people to notice them.

Having clarity about this will do a lot of work for each of us when we're working to build our rich life. Everyone's version of a rich life is going to look a bit different. Part of my rich life is my watch enthusiasm. That's likely not yours, but there's something that matters a lot to you that doesn't matter a lot to me, and it's part of your rich life.

The question for us when we're thinking about how we invest our money into those things (or honestly any purchase) is this: would I still buy this if no one ever saw it?

I would never presume to tell someone how to spend their money. I do think this question is a good filter, though. It's a litmus test to see what really brings us joy and pleasure in the way we spend our money. A little bit of awareness in this area of life is part of what it looks like to build your rich life. We're not seeking someone else's approval for our rich life. We're living it and enjoying it.

One thought I had as I was wrapping this up: the inverse of this is true as well; we shouldn't judge others for what they spend their money on because we don't know what their rich life looks like to them. Instead, be glad for them and focus on building your rich life. Don't be the "it must be nice" person. It robs you of joy, and you become the petty and jealous version of yourself. That's the opposite of a rich life.

If questions like this are your kind of thing, this is exactly what The Green Room is built around: one idea a week to help you build a life that's actually rich. [Subscribe to The Green Room →]