I was browsing the web when I chanced upon a link that says “Are You Rich Enough? The Terrible Tragedy of Income.”

I thought to myself that that was a very profound title, describing perfectly how our society has become twisted and how people have mixed up their priorities in life, and how I would very much like to read what it says.

So I clicked the link and found out the title was incomplete. What the title really said was “Are You Rich Enough? The Terrible Tragedy of Income Inequality.”

I then laughed at myself for thinking I woke up to a different world. How typical. To see people frame the situation as a problem of inequality as opposed to a problem of systems. You know people don’t understand the problem when they think giving everyone the same amount of money fixes everything. It’s a serious misunderstanding of how the economy works. If you gave everyone the same amount of money, everyone would have the same purchasing power – leading to an equal capacity to buy anything. That’s all fine and dandy until you realize that the things you can buy are finite, and that most people probably want to buy the same things you do – which of course leads to an increase in demand – which of course leads to a supply problem – which of course leads to an increase in prices on goods that are in demand – which of course leads to inflation – which finally leads to everyone’s money being devalued. Those who saved their money in a bank now have less purchasing power than what they started out with. Those who spent their money, now don’t have any, and those smart enough to hold onto theirs and sell the goods in demand are now richer than before. And we’re back right where we started. In a world of income inequality.

Simply put, even if everyone started out with the same amount of money, the system works in such a way as to always end up in income inequalty. We will never ever have equality under this financial system. And to think otherwise is simply to be ignorant of the economic interactions at play.

While I was disappointed the article turned out to be not what I expected, I still felt my initial reading of the incomplete title as the real profound lesson that needs to be taught.

Today, when we think of wealth and the richest people in the world, we always frame it in percentages. We’ll say “Oh, they’re the 1 percent of the world.” News outlets carry the headlines “Richest 1 Percent of the World Own Half of Global Wealth.”

I shake my head sometimes at how people view wealth and value in the world. People have a serious misconception of what truly matters and their priorities are seriously messed up. How you view the world truly changes your life.

There’s a sad, sad tale for everyone who thinks wealth = money. And there’s an even sadder tale for those who equate financial wealth = success. The saddest tale meanwhile, is reserved for those who earned their wealth at the cost of losing their loved ones.

Here’s how I view the world:

Do you have someone you love who also loves you back?
You’re part of the 1%.

Are you healthy?
You’re part of the 1%.

Are you happy?
You’re part of the 1%.

Are you contented?
You’re part of the 0.01%.

Do you live a life of love and forgiveness?
You’re part of the 1%.

99% of the people in the world are unhappy, scared, lonely, and always living in fear.

So the next time you envy someone with more money than you, remember that wealth is a state of mind. And happiness is a consequence of viewing the world differently than 99% of the people in the world.

The question isn’t “Are You Rich Enough,” the question is “Are You Wise Enough to Know When You Are Rich Enough?”

Don’t sell your wealth for a couple of lousy bucks.