The term ‘new rich’ or ‘nouveau riche’’ is commonly used as a derogatory term towards those who have made their money in their own generation as opposed to having ‘old money’ passed down through generations.
But seeing how the world has changed in the last 50 – 100 years, it’s akin to Arthur Kinnaird saying ‘only gentlemen play football’ in the Netflix series ‘The English Game’.
In fact, I’m not even keen on the term ‘new rich’, but wanted to address it as it first became known in millennial circles when Tim Ferriss coined its new definition in his book ‘The 4 Hour Workweek’
He talks about the ‘freedom multiplier’ which he defines as control over the 3W’s;
- What you do
- When you do it
- Who you do it with
The new rich are those who have the greatest control over all 3W’s.
It may seem like a pipe dream to have complete control over what you do, when you do it, and who you do it with, but I’m here to tell you it’s completely doable.
But firstly;
Stop Running With the Crowd
In today’s world, it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of negative news and global unrest. From economic instability to social upheaval, the challenges we face can seem overwhelming.
However, the more you allow yourself to be consumed by the constant barrage of negativity, the less control you have over your own life.
While it’s important to stay informed, it’s equally crucial to recognize that focusing too heavily on external factors can lead to a sense of helplessness and confusion.
Instead of focusing on what the government are doing, what the Joneses are doing, the current state of inflation, whether there’s going to be an economic crisis, or who does or doesn’t hate Meghan & Harry, turn your attention to your own ship.
By directing your energy towards personal growth, self-improvement, and the things you can control, you empower yourself to navigate these uncertain times with greater clarity and resilience. You also put yourself in a far better position from which to help others long term.
How to Create Your Own Freedom Multiplier
In order to create your own freedom multiplier and join the new rich, you need to focus on what you can control; and that my friend is to become the captain of your own ship.
The most reliable route to wealth is, and always has been, to become a master of your own destiny and build your own business.
Until recently, however, that meant massive outlay, overheads, bank loans or VC funding, or a complete investment of all your savings.
But I’m not talking about taking big risks and yet again being a slave to someone else’s money.
I’m talking about starting a lifestyle business. A business that turns your passions into profits and requires a far bigger investment of enthusiasm, tenacity, creativity, and time, than money.
The Omnipotent New Rich
If you look around you, the new rich, or as I like to call them, lifestyle entrepreneurs, are everywhere.
- The influencer couple traveling the world in their RV,
- The solo traveling photographer, backpacking across South East Asia,
- The self-published author who spends 6 months of the year writing from a cabin in Lake Como,
- The print on demand 22-year-old flying business class,
- The podcaster celebrating the birth of their first child with a 3-month sabbatical
- The TikTok superstar being able to buy their parent’s house for them so they don’t have to pay a mortgage anymore
Becoming part of the new rich is about setting yourself apart from the general passiveness of life and becoming less preoccupied with consumerism and owning the latest ‘stuff’ and more interested in sucking the juice out of life.
Becoming part of the new rich is about investing in the experience economy, fueling our minds and bodies with that which serves us, and taking full control and responsibility for how we live our lives and spend our time.
Climbing Kilimanjaro
A British friend of mine recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (at age 62 I might add).
After spending months training from her apartment in Spain, she took a solo trip over to Tanzania and with the help of what appeared to be awesome guides and a great tour company, made a harrowing journey up the side of this 6000m mountain.
She enjoyed it so much, that she later headed back to Tanzania to work voluntarily for a women’s organization, dedicated to empowering disadvantaged and marginalized women, through activities and education, to fulfill their potential.
I’m not sure what she’s up to business-wise at the moment, but a few years ago she built an audience teaching people how to present webinars and speak on stage, monetizing via selling ebooks and video courses.
Over the last few years, I’ve watched her hike Macchu Picchu, dance her way across Spain, come to my wedding in Thailand, and travel all over the world.
I wouldn’t like to speculate but I’m pretty sure the last thing on her mind is owning a Tesla or being able to purchase a bored ape (NFT which has incidentally lost 90% of it’s value in the last couple of years ).
What she owns is far more valuable; full control over what she does, where she does it and who she does it with!
Traveling Thailand
Another good friend of mine is currently touring Thailand. As I live in Phuket right now, we’ve been able to meet up several times for dinner and to exchange business ideas.
He started by bootstrapping a business selling on Amazon. He built a strong brand which he transferred to his own ecommerce store on Shopify and now, via influencer marketing campaigns, runs extremely lucrative and profitable collaborations with popular creators in his niche. (I secretly think he’s going to be able to sell his business and brand for a lot of money in a few years).
He travels when he wants to, where he wants to, with who he wants to, and works his own hours when most convenient to him.
Given the choice of buying a Ferrari or taking a 12-month road trip around Australia, I’m pretty sure I know which one he’d choose. (To be fair he’d probably choose both, but that’s the point – the choice is yours!)
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Principles of the New Rich
These are not hard and fast rules you need to follow. The whole point of the freedom multiplier is that you live life according to your own rules, however, there are some general principles worth considering;
- Lifestyle Design First – The point of investing in yourself and becoming a master of your own destiny is so that you can design your life how you want it. This means prioritizing your ideal lifestyle over and above money simply as a vanity metric. Rather than hustling 24/7 to become a millionaire, work only the hours you need to, to fund your ideal lifestyle.
- Health First – By focusing less on building the biggest bonfire and more on spending time with loved ones or engaging in passion projects, the goal is to create less stress and more fun in your life. This will certainly have a positive effect on your health and well-being, and ironically will probably lead to building a bigger bonfire!
- Relationships First – By building your own lifestyle business, you’ll free up time from working 9 – 5, or spending hours on the daily commute and working overtime to pay the bills. Instead, you’ll be able to grow your communities and be around people who energize and fulfill you, leading to more opportunities and growth.
- Social accountability – As your lifestyle business grows you will naturally start to generate more than your ideal lifestyle requires. Rather than heading back down the consumerism route and buying things for the sake of it, invest in businesses that are changing the world, donate to causes you feel strongly about and help those who can’t help themselves.
- Remember – For the new rich money is simply a route to creating more freedom, not something to create a noose around our necks!
Thankfully for all of us, and even since Tim wrote and published his book which popularized the term lifestyle design, starting a lifestyle business and designing your life how you want to has become infinitely easier with the advancement of technology.
How to Join the New Rich and Start a Lifestyle Business
1. Start by Focusing on the Experience Economy
The experience economy is exactly what it says. It’s about spending your hard-earned cash on experiences rather than stuff.
Experiences such as spending time with loved ones or exploring the world or your home country. Having the time and money to learn a new sport, language, or hobby, or spending time engaging in activities you enjoy, rather than having the latest Air Jordans.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for flying business class or staying in a nice hotel, but the point is to use money for the experience it can give you, rather than getting caught up in the hype of the latest and greatest ‘thing’ and just buying stuff for the sake of it.
The first step in joining the new rich is by ignoring the incredibly clever corporate marketing campaigns aimed to keep you passive and distracted (and poor by the way), and to change your mindset, so your priorities are less about owning things and more about experiencing things.
2. Know What Makes You Happy & How You Want to Live Your Life (for you, no one else)
When I went backpacking across India with my sister, we met a lovely lady called Geetika at the Jaipur Cooking School.
All she wanted was to be closer to her children who lived in another part of India. However, she felt tied to the house and the school, etc.
When I asked her what it would take to move closer to her children, she wasn’t sure. She just knew it was what she wanted but was sure it would be too hard to make happen.
Often the things we think might be hard are far easier to execute if we have a clear plan.
If you’re not happy, identify what it is you want specifically and change your circumstances.
I understand it takes some work, but surely it’s worth it to create a happier life? Why stay somewhere or keep doing something you’re unhappy with?
You may not be able to change everything you want all at once but as long as you can start to move in the right direction, it’s amazing how doors will begin to open to support your journey.
The first step is in identifying what you want (rather than what you don’t). So often we stay stuck because we know what we don’t want, but we haven’t clarified what our ideal situation is.
If I ever find myself stuck in this place I take myself away for an afternoon & start daydreaming.
If time, money, family, commitments, etc weren’t a barrier, what would my life look like?
Where would I be, who would I be with, how would I be living?
I try to visualize in as much detail as possible.
The clearer my outcome, the more of a plan I can put in place.
3. Know How Much You Need to Live Your Ideal Lifestyle
Once you’ve identified the life you’d ideally love to live, you need to calculate how much you need to live it.
The chances are it costs far less than you think it will.
When we first started traveling around South East Asia 14 years ago we were financially free at $3k a month. Some friends of mine were house-sitting around the world having a whale of a time for only $2k a month.
We often think of financial freedom as being seven figures or above, but for many of us, if we’re happy to shed the societal norms of a mortgage, car, and the latest plasma screen TV, we can be financially free on substantially less.