What's the Difference Between Being Rich and Being Wealthy? You Want to be Wealthy

What does the dream life look like to you?

Imagine sitting back on your yacht, a tropical drink at your side, Bob Marley and the Beach Boys playing in the background, and the rays of the setting sun glistening off of the Mediterranean as you enjoy your view of the Greek Isles.

Listen to the soft growl of your jet as you fly to South America for a week of exploring jungles and extreme hang gliding.

Picture yourself cruising around the country on your Harley, scouting out the distant edges of our nation.

Everyone has dreams of what the perfect life would consist of. We all have ambitions to live out great adventures, provide the best to our family and friends, and leave a positive mark in the world by saving the environment, feeding the hungry, or educating the poor.

There is just one problem...

You need money to live the lifestyle you desire. You need to be rich. Or do you?

Actually, to be content in life, to live the life of your dreams, you may not need to be as rich as you might have originally thought. In fact, your perfect life might be closer than you anticipated.

There are just two concepts that you need to understand to obtain your dream lifestyle: focus on becoming wealthy instead of rich, and join the realms of the New Rich. This article will talk about wealth.

There is a very clear distinction between being rich and being wealthy. Knowing the difference is not only important, but necessary, if you want to be able to achieve the financial freedom necessary for your dream life. After all, one of them allows you to be a slave to more money, the other gives you freedom from money all together! Which option sounds better to you?

Let's briefly define the two concepts:

Being Rich

Think of the majority of actors, athletes, and popular musicians. Chances are, they are rich, but not wealthy (although some of them have done a good job of developing wealth as well). They make a lot of money, but the moment they stop working, they stop making money. Although their pay might average $1000 an hour, they still get paid per hour of work. Therefore, if they stop working, they stop getting paid.

A rich person will drive an amazing car, living in a gigantic house, and go on lavish vacations. However, this person will also have thousands or millions of dollars of loans, always be living on the edge of their paycheck, and get themselves into trouble if they somehow lose their income (get fired). If a rich person fails to work, she fails to get paid. Yes, her house may be nicer than yours, but she is still strapped down by the need to work in order to pay her bills.

Being Wealthy

Most wealthy people do not stand out as much as the rich. While the rich flaunt their money, the wealthy tend to live quieter, but still adventurous, lives. Well known wealthy people would include the English Royalty, Donald Trump, and Warren Buffet. These people make money regardless of whether they work or not. They have discovered the secret of having their money work for them, rather than working for their money.

If you look at the lists of the people with the highest incomes, and then look at the list of the people with the most money, you will discover that they are completely different. Rich people work for a paycheck, just like everyone else (although they can buy a lot more with their paycheck). Wealthy people have their money and other people working for them - meaning that they make money whether they work or not.

Being rich takes a lot more work! It doesn't matter how much you make, you are never free from worrying about your job, because you need it to survive. You get a pay raise and you buy a bigger house, you get a bonus and you use it as a down payment for a new car - you are still continually in debt. You are still slaves to someone else.

If you take the step out to becoming wealthy, rather than trying to become rich, you reach a point where you DON'T HAVE TO WORK! Even without working, you are making enough money to live the lifestyle that you desire.

Imagine never having to work again. The possibilities are endless. You could spend more time with your family and friends, you could volunteer your time to make the world a better place, you could focus on living rather than on surviving.

The key to becoming wealthy is: "Don't work for money, make your money work for you" (Rich Dad Poor Dad). You want to invest your time and money instead of sell your time and money. The more of your resources that you invest, the more of a return you will make.

The two methods for becoming wealthy are using methods of passive income and getting people to work for you.

Make Money From Passive Income

If I have $10,000, I can spend it on a car, a nice TV and computer, or an awesome vacation. However, once that money is gone, it's gone for good. On the flip side, if I invest that $10,000 into a company or real estate, and I make a 5% interest rate from that money, I am making $500 a year WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING. The more of my money that I put aside for investing, the more money I will make off of the interest.

The same takes place when I invest my time instead of sell it. For example, if I do yard work for $20 an hour, after an hour, I have $20. However, if I spend that time and write an article on HubPages, I will not gain $20 right away, but I have the potential of making money for the rest of my life! The same concept takes place when you start your own business. You may not make any money for the first 1000 hours of work that you place into it, but, in the end, you are making money without having to work.

The key is to invest your time instead of sell your time.

Make Money When Other People Work

Another element of becoming wealthy is to make money when someone else works. Think about it, if you got paid $1 for every hour I worked, you could make $40 a week doing nothing! If you got paid $1 per hour for 10 people, you would make $400 a week without doing anything. This is how so many founders of companies become wealthy - they have an idea, pay other people to make it happen, and get paid for the work that their employees do.

The website makes this even easier. Think about website like YouTube, Facebook, and Hubpages - they create a platform for people to create content, but do not create any content at all. These website then make money any time someone else views the content created. When you and I upload videos to YouTube, we are helping YouTube (owned by Google) make money. You can even make money using your cellphone.

Of course, it is not easy creating any kind of business. It takes a lot of thinking and a lot of work. But, if you make it happen, you have a great opportunity to become wealthy.

Rich: Living a luxurious lifestyle, but having to continually work. If you stop working, you lose everything.

Wealthy: Being able to live the lifestyle you desire without having to work at all. You might not own as much, but you do not have to work to survive.

Being wealthy is beneficial because your time is fully your own - you are a slave to no one.

How do you become wealthy? make money without working:

• Invest in stocks
• Invest in real estate
• Publish work that provides you with royalties
• Start a business and make money when other people work

Being wealthy does not always equal being rich. If you only need $25,000 a year to live the life that you want to live, then that is all that you need to make without working to be wealthy. In other words, if you have $500,000 making you 5% interest, then you are wealthy. Or, if you have written enough articles on HubPages to make $2,500 a month, then you are wealthy.

Being wealthy gives you the freedom to do whatever you desire without having to work. It's a great point to reach in life, and I wish you the best as you strive to live your dream. Of course, you can always find other creative ways to survive.

I appreciate your comments and thoughts on this topic. Maybe you can come up with other ways to make money.