I just returned from 18 days in Italy. My son got married. We celebrated with a Parent Moon alongside the bride’s parents. We wandered cobblestone streets, clinked glasses at sunset, and made memories that will last a lifetime.

And in all of that, I was reminded of something profound.

We often chase financial success as if it were the only kind of wealth worth having. But that narrow pursuit can leave us feeling empty, distracted, and disconnected. There’s more to wealth than what’s in your bank account.

Sahil Bloom, in his book The Five Types of Wealth, lays it out with clarity:

Time Wealth

The ability to spend your time as you choose. This might be the most elusive form of wealth for founders. We’re so often pulled into the urgent that we forget the important. However, in Italy, time seemed to stand still. Meals lasted hours. The walks had no destination. For the first time in months, I wasn’t rushing. I was savoring it. That felt like luxury.

Social Wealth

Relationships that support, celebrate, and challenge you. We spent the week leading up to the wedding with our extended families and the bride and groom’s closest friends. I witnessed a community rallying around love. The stories, the laughter, the tears—this wasn’t a surface-level connection. These are the people who will show up in the darkest moments and dance hardest in the best ones. That is a kind of safety net no dollar amount can replicate.

Mental Wealth

A calm, focused, resilient mind. Let’s be honest—my mental browser usually has 38 tabs open. But being away, immersed in beauty and presence, helped me close those tabs. I gazed. I walked without my phone in my hand. I sat in piazzas doing nothing at all, usually while my wife was shopping. And in that space, clarity returned. Ideas flowed. Gratitude bloomed. When your mind has space, your spirit stretches out, too.

Physical Wealth

Health, energy, and the ability to move and experience. Wandering the streets of Siena and Verona, climbing the Duomo in Milan, hauling luggage up too many stairs—I felt grateful that my body still says yes to these kinds of days. We walked 10+ miles most days. That level of movement isn’t just possible because we make time for fitness; it’s possible because we value it. Our bodies are the vehicles through which we experience joy, challenge, and awe. Don’t take them for granted.

Financial Wealth

Money, yes—but not in isolation. Let’s not pretend financial wealth doesn’t matter. It does. It creates freedom, access, and options. But it’s only one piece. And it’s most potent when serving the other four forms. Financial wealth enabled this trip. But it wasn’t the point. The point was what we did with it.

This trip helped me feel all five—and recognize how easily we undervalue the forms that don’t show up on a spreadsheet.

The grace and understanding of my clients, allowing me to step away and be fully present with my family, is a form of wealth I’ll never take for granted.

The irony? When you invest in those other four forms of wealth, financial wealth tends to follow not always in a straight line, but in a way that feels aligned and sustainable.

So to my fellow founders: Don’t forget what you’re really building. Yes, grow your business. But also grow your relationships. Protect your time. Tend to your health. And give your mind the grace it needs to wander and wonder.

True wealth is found in the moments most people scroll past.

And if you’re ready to build all five forms of wealth, not just one, I’m here when you need me.