Being rich is in the heart, not the wallet
Your life reflects who you are; if you become a better person, you become better at life. Live a created life.
This is our finale to The Illusion of Time by Francois de Neuville. Below is a review of chapters 10 and 11 and the epilogue. These are just very few pages, but a nice exclamation point to the journey we have been on with Francois.
However, our journey with him is not over! We have the good fortune of being able to connect directly with Francois this coming Wednesday, December 18 at 7:00 PM ET. That’s when the Fearless Journeys community will host a live online session with him via Zoom. To get the link, be sure to register here.
This is the most fun part of Fearless Journeys, coming together with each other to discuss impactful ideas — and getting the opportunity to connect with innovators across the world. When we can’t be on group trips or in person around a dinner table, we can utilize the power of technology to bring us all together no matter where we are. I hope to see you online Wednesday!
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In Lesson 10 of this book (chapter 10), Francois tackles the issue of money. He warns us not to become obsessed with money. In fact, his book seems to be trying to retrain our mind to instead become obsessed with time. That’s the real currency we should value.
“Money is great, but it is just a tool,” writes Francois. “True wealth is when you want only what you need.”
And you know what doesn’t cost a penny? Your feelings.
“Feelings can be created out of nothing and you certainly don’t need money to create them,” he says. “Feelings are free!”
On the contrary, you can have all the money in the world and still be depressed. Or to put it the way Francois does in his book: “you can be sailing on a private yacht in the Caribbean and still feel miserable.”
I have sailed on a private yacht in the Caribbean. But I’m not rich. And man did I enjoy every moment. I felt very fortunate during the week in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands in 2016.
I was surrounded by great friends. In some ways, that week felt like a month (in a good way) because time just slowed down. In fact, in the middle of that week, my iPhone got damaged by water and went totally out of commission. I remember how terrible that moment felt, mostly because those phone are our lifelines. And, it was the best way to take photos. I also worried what data (including photos I had taken that day) may not have been saved.
But after I got over that fact, you know what? Having that phone out of commission turned out to be a really great thing. I forgot about the need for the phone. Nothing was too important to enjoy that time on the boat with my friends, surrounded by immense beauty, including beautiful sunrises and sunsets on the ocean. Losing access to my phone gave me more freedom to enjoy the present.
Money is always going to be money, but in some ways a material item like a smart phone is the currency we are all latched to these days. Why be so concerned with it? Especially when you’re on a sailboat in the middle of the Caribbean with good friends. There’s not much better TIME you can spend!
Money is a tool. I needed to save some money to go on a trip like that. But some people are so obsessed about money they will never use it for a trip like that.
Francois wrote about spending time in the remote mountains of Papua, with people who don’t have much and live almost naked and sleep in huts.
“They value time with each other, time for themselves, and time with nature.”
This is the true gold we should be after. After all, stillness is the key.
“Being rich is in the heart, not in the wallet.”
This is the true heart of the American Dream.
Money is a tool towards freedom but money is not going to change who you are.
“In the end, money makes you more of what you already are,” writes Francois.
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Lesson 11 is to live a created life. In other words: don’t be average. That’s boring. Instead, “live every day to the fullest and die without regrets.”
There are some things he says in these last few pages that can seem trite, but sometimes these are the most truth we need to hear over and over again, including:
Don’t let your past determine you future
Don’t hold yourself back
Pain is real, but suffering is a choice
Living life without regrets requires courage; it will not be easy
Don’t avoid doubts and fears; befriend them
Don’t focus only on what comes next; don’t miss the beauty of the present moment.
Francois concludes by telling us a story of how he set goals to conquer the seven highest summits in the world. During one of the highest, Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, he was getting frustrated that after three or four days, the summit still looked so far. He didn’t appear to be getting closer after all the hiking up the mountain terrain, with all the gear, and even a guide and a porter. What was all this effort for?
But then he looked back. He noticed he was above the clouds. He had indeed come a long way.
“All this time, I have been so focused on the summit that I forgot where I started from.”
While it’s good to be obsessed with where you want to go, Francois reminds us to focus on the progress and celebrate every single step you take that brings you a little bit closer to the goals.
And one of the big goals we should all have is to become a better person.
“Your life reflects who you are; if you become a better person, you become better at life.”
I hope surrounding yourself with people who are on this same journey, and how you treat them, is a rewarding part of the process and perhaps a rewarding part of being able to travel together, with Fearless Journeys.
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We’ll see you together online this Wednesday, December 18 at 7:00 PM ET. Be sure to register here so you don’t miss this great opportunity to gather together with fellow members of this community and with one of our Featured Innovators, Francois de Neuville, whose story will come alive even more for you in this live session.
We can read a book and attend a live session, but if nothing in our life changes, this activity will have just been a waste of our time. You have to start DOING.
“Look at that clock again,” says Francois. “Remember that it is not time, but your life, that is ticking away. Stop living with the illusion of time.”
The buzzer may sound before we expect it. Make the most of the present right now.