I’m currently reading Beyond Wealth: The road map to a rich life by Alexander Green. I’m reading this during my lunch break at work and get a lot of snickers from passerbys. They joke about my assumed plans to become a millionaire. I don’t have anything against financial books (I just have a knack for not finishing them), but this is not one. Though Green is a notable financial analyst, this book is more about finding meaning in life. The chapters are short at two to three pages and they are his observations on what makes for a rich life. About a fifth of the way in, he has chapters dedicated to his personal interests. He even has a chapter dedicated to chocolate, titled, “What Women Want”. He introduced these mini chapters on his various interests with the following passage and I loved it.
Yet there is another essential ingredient to a rich life: a wealth of interests. The more you look outside yourself and your immediate concerns, the more you will find to love in this world. Your life becomes more interesting.
Some of my interests include chocolate, delicious foods, books that broaden my perspective, traveling, positively affecting the world around me in small and consistent ways, practicing gratitude, and collecting puns and one-liners. When I delve into these interests, I feel joy and fulfilled. What an inexpensive way to feel wealthy!