How to become rich

Everyone wants to become rich.

But the problem is, many people's understanding of "rich" might be wrong from the very beginning.

Most people think being rich is about what car you drive, what watch you wear, what house you live in, whether you fly first class, and whether you flaunt a luxurious lifestyle on social media.

Yet these things are often not wealth itself, but rather the traces left after wealth has been consumed.

When someone drives a $1 million luxury car, the only thing we can be sure of is not how rich they are, but that for this car, they have at least $1 million less in wealth, or $1 million more in debt.

Because true wealth is often not what you can see, but what you cannot see.

What you see is someone else's car,
what you don't see is their loan.

What you see is someone else's house,
what you don't see is their cash flow pressure.

What you see is someone else's travels, luxury watches, and designer goods,
what you don't see is their bank account, investment account, balance sheet, and sleep quality.

Therefore, many people appear to have a lot of money, but they are not actually wealthy.

Having money and being wealthy are two different things.

Having money mostly refers to having a high income and strong spending power.

If someone can buy luxury cars, live in mansions, and wear designer brands, it shows they likely have a certain earning capacity. At least at some stage, they can sustain such consumption.

But being wealthy is different.

Wealth is not about how much you spend, but about how much you don't spend.

Wealth is not about how many things you turn your money into, but about how much choice you retain.

True wealth is the luxury car you didn't buy, the bonus you didn't impulsively spend, the future income you didn't prematurely borrow against, the assets in your account that continue to compound, and the cash you have on hand to calmly buy when the market crashes.

So, the first step to becoming wealthy is not learning how to spend money, but learning how not to spend it.

This is not about becoming a miser.

People earn money, of course, to improve their lives. Money that should be spent on family should be spent, and money that can enhance quality of life can also be spent.

But the key is: don't spend for the sake of face, don't spend to prove you have money, and don't immediately upgrade your desires as soon as you earn a little.

After many people's incomes increase, their wealth doesn't grow because their lifestyle immediately inflates to match.

Salary goes up, the car needs an upgrade.
Bonus arrives, a new bag must be bought.
Stocks make a profit, immediately reward yourself.
As soon as the account shows a little improvement, you start feeling your old life is no longer worthy of your current self.

The result is that life appears upgraded on the surface, but future freedom has actually decreased.

This is very similar to losing weight.

Many people, after exercising, feel they've worked hard and reward themselves with a big meal. The calories consumed in that one meal might exceed what was burned during the workout.

Earning money is the same.

You work hard, invest diligently, and strive to increase your income—that's like exercising.
But if every time you earn money, you immediately reward yourself with consumption, the progress you've accumulated is quickly undone.

Truly becoming wealthy relies not just on the ability to earn money, but on the ability not to immediately spend the money you've earned.

This is why becoming wealthy is difficult.

Earning money itself is already hard, but what's even harder than earning is restraint.

Because the pleasure of spending is immediate.

You buy a nice car, you can drive it out today.
You buy a luxury watch, you can wear it today.
You go to a fancy restaurant, you can take photos and post them today.

But savings, investments, compounding, cash flow, and security—these things aren't visible in the short term.

They aren't exciting, conspicuous, or easy to make others envious.

But over a long enough time, the difference becomes clear.

One person consistently spends their money and ends up with more and more stuff.
Another person consistently keeps their money and ends up with more and more choice.

Ten years later, the difference between the two isn't about consumer goods, but about life freedom.

The former might always look good, but can never stop.
The latter might look very ordinary, but becomes less and less afraid of unemployment, market volatility, or unexpected events, and increasingly capable of seizing opportunities.

This is true wealth.

This principle is especially important in investing.

Many people want to cash out as soon as they make a profit, want to spend as soon as they have unrealized gains, get anxious when they see others flaunting returns, and feel they should also prove something when they see others buying luxury cars.

But truly excellent investors are often not the best at showing off, but the best at keeping assets in the system to compound.

The real value of buying a good company isn't how much it rose today, but whether it can continue to make money for you for many years to come.

The real value of holding cash isn't how good the account looks, but whether you have ammunition when the market crashes.

The real meaning of controlling spending isn't about depriving yourself, but about giving yourself more agency in the future.

Therefore, for ordinary people who want to become wealthy, the most important thing isn't suddenly making a huge sum of money, but building a long-term, resilient system:

Continuously increase income.
Control desire inflation.
Maintain a cash reserve.
Buy quality assets.
Let time and compounding work for you.
Don't sacrifice long-term freedom for short-term face.

The most important meaning of wealth is not to make others think you're doing well, but to truly give yourself the power of choice.

You can choose not to please anyone.
You can choose not to be held hostage by short-term income.
You can choose to buy when the market panics.
You can choose not to collapse when life throws a curveball.
You can choose to spend time on more important people and things.

This is what true wealth looks like.

True wealth is not what you display.

True wealth is the money you didn't spend, the future you didn't borrow against, the assets you quietly hold, and the growing confidence you have when facing the world.