For years, Sahil Bloom pursued a conventional definition of success — the prestigious role, the lucrative paycheque, the comfortable home, and the impressive car. By age 30, he had them all.
Yet behind the outward success, his well-being was in decline. Chronic fatigue, lack of exercise, and strained relationships left him feeling unfulfilled. “My exclusive pursuit of money was slowly, methodically robbing me of a fulfilling life,” he reflects in his book The 5 Types of Wealth.
That realisation came after he stepped back, read widely, and sought conversations with people about what truly matters. Across every discussion, four recurring themes emerged: time, people, purpose, and health. These, he concluded, form the foundation of a rich and meaningful life — with money as only one part of the equation.
From this, Bloom created a broader “life scorecard” — five forms of wealth to manage over time:
- Time Wealth – The ability to decide how you spend your hours, where you spend them, who you spend them with, and when you exchange them for other priorities.
- Social Wealth – The strength and diversity of your relationships across personal and professional networks.
- Mental Wealth – A sense of purpose, growth, and ongoing learning that fuels long-term fulfilment.
- Physical Wealth – Your health, energy, and fitness — more vulnerable to decline and external factors than other wealth types.
- Financial Wealth – Assets minus liabilities, defined not only by numbers but by your personal benchmark for “enough.” Without that benchmark, rising expectations can erase any sense of financial security.
Balancing Across Life’s Stages
Bloom notes that these wealth types require constant rebalancing, depending on your stage in life. The priorities in your 20s, when you’re laying the groundwork, may not match those in your 30s, when you’re compounding gains, or in your 40s, when family may take centre stage. Later decades bring their own shifts, from purpose-seeking in your 50s to redefining priorities in retirement.
Creating Your “Life Razor”
To keep priorities clear amid complexity, Bloom suggests defining a simple guiding principle — what he calls a “life razor” — that shapes your choices.
For example, Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph made an early-career rule: he always left work at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays to have dinner with his family. If someone needed to discuss something at that time, they could join him on the walk to his car. The ritual made his values visible to both his colleagues and loved ones. Bloom’s own life razor is equally direct: “I will coach my son’s sports teams.”
He recommends starting with the phrase: “I am the type of person who…” Choose something within your control that positively affects multiple areas of your life and reflects the kind of person you want to be.
Quick Takeaways
- Knowledge paradoxes (Mark Manson): The more you learn, the more you realise how much you don’t know; and the more certain someone is they’re right, the likelier they may be wrong.
- Boost likeability (John Millen): Begin conversations with three questions about the other person. Asking a question and following it with at least two more significantly increases your chances of being liked.
- Balance thinking and building (James Clear): Education trains you to analyse; entrepreneurship trains you to create. Keep learning without losing your creative drive.
Bloom’s core message is clear: lasting success isn’t just about building financial wealth — it’s about cultivating all five forms and adjusting them as life evolves, with your life razor as the compass.