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What does it mean to be rich?

In your present circumstances today, would you consider yourself rich?

When most people hear the word rich, they immediately think of some type of financial asset. It might be money, stocks and bonds, or even cryptocurrency. However, besides income or assets, the definition of rich also means plentiful or abundant.

According to a survey by money management company Charles Schwab, the average American sees a net worth of $778,000 as sufficient to be financially comfortable and a net worth of $2.5 million as being wealthy.

The Federal Reserve's 2022 consumer finance survey unveils a striking picture of American prosperity. The mean net worth of the average household has increased to $1.06 million, up 23% from $868,000 in 2019.    

So far, we have been using money to define our net worth or richness. What if we looked at richness from a different aspect?   

Recently, a friend sent me a link to the song, The Richest Man In The World. Ben Rector wrote and performed the recording. My friend said the song reminded him of me. 

When I listened to it, I was almost brought to tears, and honored my friend thought so highly of me.

The song is about a man who goes to heaven and discusses his life with other souls waiting to get in the pearly gates. While the other spirits are talking about their accomplishments on earth, when his time to recount his exploits comes around, he decides not to tell the others he could play music or sing.

His accomplishments, as he intones in the refrain, are:

"Say I was
The richest man in the world
Father to a baby girl
And two boys that I know loved me
Was famous to a few good friends
And beside me til the end
Was my wife, who is so lovely
And I don't know who could ask for any more
I'm the richest man in the world." 

Those nine lines define what richness is all about.

Please leave me a comment about your thoughts on how I defined richness. Your opinions and perspectives are valuable, and I'd appreciate hearing from you.