Wealth and prosperity are two influential concepts that have been intertwined for centuries. However, there is a fundamental misunderstanding about the relationship between wealth and prosperity. Wealth is determined by tangible assets, and is a passive concept. Prosperity is not about passive income, but rather about the totality of life (not just money and assets) and is an active concept. Wealth can be accumulated, but prosperity must be achieved by choice.
Once I realized this major difference between wealth and prosperity, more doors began to open for me. I could achieve prosperity simply by changing my attitude. As I changed my outlook, interesting things started to happen—things that impacted my wealth. I received job opportunities, discounts on courses I wanted to take, and even financial gifts I wasn’t expecting. So, while wealth and prosperity are different concepts, because they are so linked, by changing one, you change the other. Let’s take a closer look!
What is wealth?
A lot of people think they have wealth when they have a lot of money in their bank account. But this isn’t always true, and it isn’t the only form of wealth. Wealth also includes things like health, happiness, and a healthy social life. Wealth can also be described as anything that you can take with you when you leave this earth.
Some people feel that wealth is what you have that can provide you with comfort and happiness when you find yourself in a difficult time. And what you have can provide you with respect and value in this world. Because of this, wealth is often viewed as physical or monetary. But wealth is also found in experiences, like traveling the world or learning a new skill. This is where the expression, “She has a wealth of knowledge'' comes from.
What is prosperity?
Prosperity is a word that is often used to describe a different type of success in life. Some people are very wealthy while others are struggling to make ends meet. Both types of people can have prosperity in their lives. Prosperity is more than just money. When I wrote the Prosperous Authorpreneur, I wanted to open the book with the definition of prosperous, because the book wasn’t about how to create monetary wealth.
While one of the definitions of prosperous mentions economic well-being, other definitions include “flourishing” and “favorable.” If prosperous can have non-monetary meanings then it stands to reason that prosperity can too. Prosperity is not just about being wealthy, it is also about being happy, healthy, and peaceful. I like to think of prosperity as flourishing and experiencing life as your best self. This feels like such a happy way to live life.
How do you achieve prosperity?
Many people want to experience prosperity in their lives. There are so many different ways you can achieve this, and it is up to you to find the best way for you. As with any goal, it’s important to first figure out what you want then decide on a plan of action to make that goal happen.
For example, if building wealth is important to you, then you should figure out how to make money and how to invest it. If your goal is to flourish in life and experience prosperity in that way, you need to determine what makes you feel like you are flourishing. For me, this means growing and learning every day. You need to determine how this looks for you, then you can create some goals to help you achieve this state.
I have set myself some daily goals for working towards prosperity. I love learning things, so I make sure I spend at least ten minutes every day learning something. Often this is from a book, but I also have many online courses I've purchased over the years that I can refer to as well.
My personal finances are also important to me in creating prosperity, so I spend some time every day reviewing my income and expenses and using affirmations to help me attract more prosperity and wealth. Since the two are different, yet so intertwined, working on one often improves the other.
Affirmations
Since wealth and prosperity are not the same thing, let's take a look at some affirmations for each word separately.
Wealth
- I make money in my sleep.
- Every day my bank account balance grows.
- I sell my products (or services) every day.
- I am well paid for the work I do.
Prosperity
- Every day, I learn something new.
- I am a prosperous entrepreneur.
- My business provides a good living and makes me happy.
- I am happy when I’m flourishing.
Notice how the affirmations have a slightly different spin depending on what you’re working on. You can edit the affirmations further so they feel more unique to you. The goal is to feel like these affirmations are the most natural thing ever so you use them often. One way to achieve that is to adapt them for your personality and goals (or create your own).
Journal Prompts
Journaling is one of the best ways to get clear on what it is you want in life. You can use your journal to determine what wealth and prosperity mean to you as well as start working towards your goals. To get started, turn the questions above into journal prompts. Use them to explore what wealth and prosperity mean to you and how you can achieve them in your life.
What is wealth?
This question isn’t about the definition of wealth or what I discussed above regarding wealth. Think about what wealth means to you. Take some time to write about the areas of your life where you are already wealthy. Where would you like to feel wealthier?
What is prosperity?
Similar to the journal prompt about wealth, for this prompt write about what prosperity means to you. In what areas of your life have you welcomed prosperity? Where would you like to encourage more prosperity? What does prosperity feel like to you? Are there any emotions you associate with prosperity? Write about them.
What steps can you take to achieve wealth and prosperity?
This prompt is about getting started taking action. Look at the areas in your life you wrote about where you would like to feel more wealth and prosperity. Brainstorm some specific steps you can take for achieving those levels of wealth and prosperity you’d like to achieve.
For example, if feeling more in control of your personal finances would help you feel wealthier, take one small step each day toward gaining that control. This could be checking your bank account balance, recording what you spent money on yesterday, or analyzing your expenses to see where you might be able to cut back.
Take this step even further by creating a weekly or monthly schedule of small steps you can take each day toward reaching your goals.
While prosperity and wealth are closely related, it’s possible to have one without the other. Prosperity is the state of growing and flourishing. Wealth is the state of having or possessing a lot of money (although you can have a wealth of anything). There is a strong connection between wealth and prosperity. The more you focus on what you want out of life when it comes to wealth and prosperity, the more you’ll have!
Author bio: Michelle Cornish is the author of Prosperity Planner: Manage Your Personal Finances and Get Out of Debt, an undated planner where she shares more about her personal financial journey and her TREE Method for keeping her personal finances in check.
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