1: “John D. Rockefeller was one of the most successful—and ruthless—businessmen in history,”Sahil Bloom writes in his book The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.
After growing up in humble, unstable circumstances, John built Standard Oil into “a gargantuan conglomerate with immense global reach and outsize influence in all manner of world affairs,” Sahil observes.
To put his wealth into perspective, by 1937, John D. Rockefeller’s net worth was estimated at $1.4 billion. Roughly 3 percent of the U.S. GDP at the time.
John was known for his tireless work ethic and demanding schedule.
“But he also had a curious and noteworthy habit,” Sahil writes. “He could be found every afternoon milling about in his gardens, with no work, books, or notepads in sight.
John D. Rockefeller, “one of the hardest-working and most powerful men in the world,” Sahil notes, “took multiple daily breaks to simply walk and breathe.”
2: This week, we’ve been looking at the key pillars of “Mental Wealth,” which include purpose and growth.
Today, we turn to the third and final pillar: Space.
“Space is not about turning our backs on our worldly possessions, selling our metaphorical (or literal) Ferrari, and going on a quest to find ourselves in the mountains,” Sahil notes.
“Space is as simple as finding where you can slow down and breathe new air in your life.”
How often do we look up at the end of a day, feeling that not a single moment was truly ours?
Too many of us “wake up, grab our phone, get a barrage of messages and notifications, head to work, bounce from meeting to meeting, go home, eat quickly while scanning emails, and go to bed,” he observes.
Is the time we spend in the shower the only time we have to ourselves?
“No phone, no messages, no emails, nothing; just us, our thoughts, and the water,” Sahil observes.
“And, relatedly, how many times have we had an “aha moment” while in the shower?
“That new perspective,” he writes, “on a relationship struggle, a creative idea for a business, an unlock on a big work project?”
That is no accident: It speaks to the power of space.
The great Viktor Frankl once said that our power lies in the space that exists between stimulus and response.
“Stimulus and response are loud—they involve inputs, action, and outputs,” Sahil writes.
Space, on the other hand, is quiet. “It is devoid of external inputs and does not require any outputs,” he notes. “It is stillness, solitude.
“We can create space,” Sahil explains, “literally by going to a physical location to be alone and disconnected or metaphorically by going to that location in our mind.”
The important part? That we go. And go regularly.
“Space is not lazy—on the contrary, space is rocket fuel for the mind,” Sahil writes. “Space is what enables us to think, reset, wrestle with the big, unanswerable questions, manage stressors, and recharge.”
Space is where we go to hear our inner voice.
“It is where ideas connect and mingle in our minds,” he observes. “It is where we are able to think differently, approach problems in interesting new ways, connect spiritually with a higher power, or formulate insights that may change our lives.”
3: In the wired world in which we live, space is rare. We have to be intentional about seeking it out.
“Space is personal,” Sahil observes, “and can take many different forms.”
Here are some of his ideas and examples:
- A fifteen-minute technology-free walk in the morning
- Daily prayer practice or reading from a favored religious text
- Free-flow journaling in the evening before bed
- Five-minute breaks between meetings to move around
- Daily cold plunge or sauna to focus on breathing and the internal voice
- Workouts, runs, or bike rides with light music
- Active or passive meditation rituals
- A spiritual gathering
More next week!
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Reflection: Where in my daily routine can I intentionally create space to step away from constant inputs and truly hear my inner voice?
Action: Schedule one short, technology-free block in my day this week—such as a walk, quiet sit, or prayer—dedicated solely to stillness and reflection.
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