Invisible Wealth: 5 Principles for Redefining Personal Wealth in the New Paradigm

By Jennifer Wines

A new paradigm of value creation, driven by your personal values.

In Invisible Wealth: 5 Principles for Redefining Personal Wealth in the New Paradigm, certified wealth management advisor and entrepreneur, Jennifer Wines, delivers an insightful exploration into reimagining and redefining wealth. This book explores the technological advancements and societal shifts that have us considering everything from digital assets to digital community, all of which are organized around values. This new paradigm places a premium on intangible, or invisible, assets represented by 5 principles—money, health, knowledge, time, and relationships—each of which is attainable through your own personal, renewable resources. This paradigm shift takes on a more holistic and personalized approach to defining wealth.

In this book, you’ll discover:

• How to use the personal wealth algorithm to identify your values, and wealth goals.
• How to optimize your most valuable asset, your time.
• How technology can support your wealth and well-being.

Offering pragmatic and philosophical considerations for redefining what’s truly important to you, Invisible Wealth belongs in the hands of anyone seeking a rich life.

It’s time to reimagine and redefine what wealth means to you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: May 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9781394180547

Book preview

Invisible Wealth

5 Principles for Redefining Personal Wealth in the New Paradigm

Jennifer Wines

Logo: Wiley

Copyright © 2023 by Jennifer Wines. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data:

Names: Wines, Jennifer, author.

Title: Invisible wealth : 5 principles for the new wealth paradigm / Jennifer Wines.

Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2023] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022052837 (print) | LCCN 2022052838 (ebook) | ISBN 9781394180530 (hardback) | ISBN 9781394180554 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781394180547 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Wealth. | Interpersonal relations.

Classification: LCC HB251 .W564 2023 (print) | LCC HB251 (ebook) | DDC 330.1/6—dc23/eng/20230119

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022052837

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022052838

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © Micha Frank/Unsplash

For my granny, who always wanted to write a book.

And for my mom, who inspired me to write one.

We are forever three leaves of the same shamrock.

Preface

Conversations were shifting, with my private wealth management clients, with my friends, and within myself. These shifts in conversations were, and remain, emblematic of the paradigm shifts currently underway in our society. There's an undercurrent of change happening, which is revealing itself through conversation and constructive action. We, individually and collectively, are revisiting values (qualitative) and value (quantitative) within our (economic) ecosystems; thereby, revisiting our concept of wealth. After all, value and wealth are inextricably linked.

And as it so happens, wealth is something I'm quite familiar with, after working in the world of private wealth management for over a decade—although, in April 2022, I left a great company, a great team, and great clients in order to fully commit myself to (what I term) the new wealth paradigm. These shifts in conversations and paradigms propelled me into researching well‐established axioms and maxims of wealth, long before leaving my job. In fact, in retrospect, it feels as though my whole life was designed to place me in a position for writing Invisible Wealth. Law school included, which is where I fell in love with the written word.

Language is the oldest technology in the book. And while technological advancements have much to do with the paradigm shifts we're experiencing, it's words that enable us to communicate thoughts, ideas, and narratives relating to such advancements. What's more, these narratives—or collective conversations—help us to exchange ideas with one another, in order to flush out and define (or perhaps redefine) concepts and, by extension, applications of those concepts. Words are powerful. With this backdrop in mind, it's my hope that these architected ideas are helpful to you—for revisiting, and perhaps redefining, your concept of wealth—what's your wealth?

Part I

When I was growing up, my grandmother had a watercolor painting hanging on the bathroom wall; it was a painting of a personified frog who was relaxing in a bubble bath while holding a glass of champagne; the painting read: you can never be too rich or too thin. The message was clear: the more money, the better; the skinnier, the better. While the painting was playful and funny, there's no denying that it played back a set of values that permeate(d) society.

I'm an immigrant and the first person in my family to attend college in the United States. Like many other millennials, I started my adult life burdened with six figures of student loan debt, starting life at a financial deficit. After graduating from undergrad and law school, I entered the world of finance. And while my profession as a wealth management advisor has provided an intimate lens into the world of the super wealthy, I've also personally experienced wealth, in every sense of the word. My life has provided insight into both ends of the financial wealth spectrum. There were times when I would watch my single mom put $3.11 worth of gas into the car just to make it to and from work (ahead of the next paycheck). There was also a time when I vacationed in the South of France on a 311‐foot superyacht. Through a myriad of experiences, both personally and professionally, I've observed, learned, and researched valuable lessons regarding wealth—within the context of our rapidly evolving world.

We are in the midst of a huge paradigm shift, rethinking what we value and therefore rethinking how we define wealth. This shift caught exponential wind during the past couple of years when our lives turned inside out (or was it outside in?), as we turned inward and reflected. The pandemic invited us to rethink, rediscover, and reinvent ourselves. We upgraded our own internal software, all the while upgrading our Zoom software. And Zoom we did, both inwards and outwards. These upgrades ushered in reinvention of self, extending to the rise of the personal brand, which now competes with the company brand. At the same time, we are seeing significant advancements in technology, thus bolstering our digital world alongside the real world. Toss in blockchain technology, the Great Resignation, and the fact that the entrepreneurial spirit animals are alive and well, and we have ourselves a dynamic environment. We're currently playing what feels like four‐dimensional chess.

Given this confluence of circumstances, we now have a ripe opportunity to reimagine and redefine wealth, because so much of what we value, both individually and collectively, is shifting. The way we make, invest, transact, and spend money is changing right before our eyes. We are witnessing the move from corporate cubicles to the creator economy, from dollar bills to digital dollars, and from the purchasing of things to the purchasing of experiences. As a society, we are becoming increasingly comfortable with pegging value to intangible assets, as we fundamentally always have. To put it neatly, we are shifting into a world that values intangibles over the tangibles: Invisible Wealth.

Chapter 1

Defining and Redefining Wealth

We are shifting into a new wealth paradigm that's inviting us to reimagine and redefine our definition and concept of wealth. The antiquated wealth narrative typically equates wealth to an abundance of money; we're wealthy when we have lots of money. We see this messaging everywhere, watercolor frog paintings included. And while there is an interconnected relationship between wealth and money, now is the time to revisit the premise that they are merely one and the same. But before we can redefine wealth, we must first define it. Additionally, by exploring the concept of wealth, we'll explore the relationship between wealth, money, and the economy. First, we'll take a look at how these three concepts are braided together; thereafter, we'll untie the braid and focus on each thread independently: What is wealth? What is money? and What is an economy?

The Relationship Between Wealth, Money, and the Economy

We're familiar with the idea that wealth equates to an abundance of money. The intertwined relationship between wealth and money has a lot to do with the advancements in our economies; the more efficient economies became, the more synonymous wealth and money became. An economy is a system where goods and services are produced, sold, and bought, within a country or region.¹ The introduction and use of money within economies allowed economies to scale, thereby increasing the potential for (financial) wealth creation. Throughout this chapter, we'll unpack how and why economies became more advanced and efficient over time, thereby influencing the intertwined relationship between wealth and money.

What Is Wealth?

Let's start with a simple question: What is wealth?

Take a moment to answer this for yourself.

What came to mind?

Odds are, your mind went to one of two places: either that wealth is having lots of money, or a forced pause and ponder. Regardless of which fork in the (mental) road you went down, each response invites a deeper look into what wealth is.

First Principles Thinking

The best way to approach the question What is wealth? is through a critical thinking model called first principles thinking. This turn of phrase has gotten a lot of attention lately thanks to the likes of Elon Musk. Despite the recent attention of this phrase, first principles thinking has been around since the days of Aristotle, around 350 BC. Therefore, it is a tried‐and‐true methodology. This critical thinking model requires the breaking down of a concept, idea, or problem into its most fundamental parts. Per Aristotle, first principles thinking is the first basis from which a thing is known.² Per Elon Musk, First principles is a physics way of looking at the world. You boil things down to the most fundamental truths and then reason up from there.³

From that, we can extrapolate that if we want to understand what wealth is, by definition, then a great place to start is with where the word came from—its etymology. Etymology is the study of the origin of a word, and how the meaning of a word changes over time. In other words, we are looking at the genesis of the word wealth. We can more fully appreciate the word wealth by understanding where the first basis (or instance) of the word was used (first principles). From there, we can explore how the meaning has changed over time, and the reasons for this evolutionary change. First principles thinking allows us to break down wealth into basic, etymological building blocks, to then reassemble it’s meaning from the bottom up, within the context of today's world.

The Etymology of Wealth

Using the Online Etymology Dictionary, let's take a look at the origins of wealth as a noun:

Mid 13‐c., happiness, also prosperity in abundance of possessions or riches, from Middle English wele well‐being (see weal (n.1)) on analogy of health.⁴

Given the definition suggests we look at weal, let's go ahead and do so here:

well‐being, Old English wela wealth, in late Old English also welfare, well‐being, from West Germanic *welon‐, from PIE root *wel‐ (2) to wish, will (see will (v)). Related to well (adv.)⁵

Next, here's what the etymology dictionary provides for the adjective wealthy.

Late 14‐c., happy, prosperous, from wealth + ‐y (2). Meaning rich, opulent is from early 15‐c. Noun meaning wealthy persons collectively is from late 14‐c.⁶

Finally, here's a look at the etymology of commonweal, given that we just saw a nod to collective wealth:

Mid 14‐c., comen wele, a commonwealth or its people; mid‐15c., comune wele, the public good, the general welfare of a nation or community; see common (adj.) + weal (n.1).⁷

Now let's string these etymological pearls of insight together. First things first, the word wealth came into our lexicon in the mid‐thirteenth century, compliments of England; wealthy came next, followed by commonwealth. It's fascinating that wealth started out as a noun relating to the individual and then wealthy came into our lexicon as an adjective to describe an individual. Finally, the term expanded conceptual reach to that of the community in the mid‐fifteenth century. Following this logic, we can deduce that wealth related to the individual first, and then to society as a whole second. This logic supports the premise that wealth originally started as an individualistic construct: personal wealth, thereby supporting community wealth.

Furthermore, the word wealth initially took on a more expansive definition in the mid‐thirteenth century. Originally, wealth expanded into the realms of possessions, happiness, health, and well‐being. It embodied a wider array of concepts, covering both the tangible and intangible aspects of wealth—a multidimensional definition; a totality of being. What's interesting is that the fundamental roots of the word related to health and well‐being, more so than anything else. Over time, the definition and concept of wealth narrowed to our current wealth narrative, which suggests that wealth relates to money and material wealth, generally speaking.⁸ This is the antiquated wealth paradigm. This reflects the fact that over time—from the thirteenth century up through today—the relationship between wealth and money evolved, ultimately becoming tightly intertwined, nearly collapsing into one and the same.

This then begs the question: What is money?

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?

—Adam Smith

What Is Money?

Money used to be a crisp (or not) green piece of paper we'd line our wallets with. Maybe you'd fold a $10 bill into a secret compartment within your wallet as a kid—for a rainy day. I remember having a multicolored, neon wallet with Velcro compartments, which I loved. I also remember the sound and feel of peeling the Velcro panels apart, granting access to my hard‐earned money—money I earned from my after‐school, 3.5‐hour shift at Filene's department store in New Hampshire. My then‐boyfriend would drive me 30 minutes to and from work, where I made less than $10 an hour, all to line my favorite neon wallet with.

Money is a tool used to transfer value within an economy, because it is an expression of value. Money has specific attributes that enable it to work within an economy. The functional attributes of money unlock the potential for an increasingly efficient economy. So long as these attributes (listed later) are satisfied, the monetary tool of popular choice can be used to transfer value across society. Consider this historical example: there was a time when cowry shells were considered money. Some of you may be scratching your head thinking, shells, really? And yes, it turns out cowry shells do embody the attributes necessary to function as money. Here are the three primary functions of money, plus the use case for cowry shells, in parallel:

Store of Value: Money can be saved and used later because it retains its value over time—in perpetuity. Money retains its value over time because of its durable nature—meaning it doesn't rot, rust, or decay (which would otherwise diminish its value). Money also exists in finite supply (scarcity), preserving the integrity of its value.

Cowry shells retain their value over time because they are durable. In other words, cowry shells don't rot, rust, or decay. There is also a finite supply of cowry shells in the world.

Unit of Account: Money must exist in small, standardized units for less valuable exchanges and aggregated together for more valuable exchanges. The units of account must be divisible, fungible, and measurable.

Cowry shells are standardized units that are divisible, fungible, and measurable, because of their consistently small size and shape. Each cowry shell can easily represent one unit of value, and can be aggregated together for more valuable exchanges.

Medium of Exchange: Money can be used to buy and sell from one another, facilitating exchange. This is possible when money is portable (easy to transport or transmit), and when the monetary tool is widely accepted by society.

Cowry shells can be used to buy and sell from one another, facilitating exchange. This is possible because they are easy to transport, and were a widely accepted monetary tool within society.

With this backdrop in mind, we see how cowry shells used to be used as money. Initially, natural objects were the natural, go‐to option as money. Over time, the sophistication of money evolved and so did our economies.

So how did cowry shells evolve into the next form of money? Categorically, the evolutionary timeline of money looks like this: commodity money, representative money, fiat money, and electronic/digital money. We are seeing a clear shift from tangible, visible currency to intangible, invisible currency. Let's dive in.

All money is a matter of belief.

—Adam Smith

Commodity Money

First up is commodity money. Commodity money has intrinsic value independent of its value as money. Take gold, for example. Gold has intrinsic value and also satisfies all the functions and characteristics of money detailed earlier. Therefore, this esteemed metal became an attractive—pun intended—tool for economic exchange. Gold's strong yet malleable nature makes it perfect for coin creation, which is exactly what the Kingdom of Lydia (current day Turkey) decided to do around 600 BCE. Lydia was the first empire to issue regulated coins. These coins were considered regulated because the government authority issued them. You could see that the coins were issued by a government authority because the coins had certified markings on them to signify they were intended as a specific value of exchange.⁹ From 600