I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expense, and my expense is equal to my wishes.
Gibbon's definition of wealth inverts our usual arithmetic—he's not measuring riches against a bank statement but against desire itself. Most people frame poverty as *lacking money*, when Gibbon suggests it's actually the gap between what you have and what you crave, meaning a modest income feels abundant if your wants are modest too. A person earning $40,000 annually who genuinely enjoys their life is, by his measure, wealthier than a millionaire perpetually chasing the next acquisition. The insight cuts deeper than "learn to want less"; it acknowledges that the richest among us are often those who've stopped treating contentment as something to earn and started treating it as something to choose.
“Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.”
Tony Hsieh“It's not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.”
Seneca“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.”
Ayn Rand“Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want to impress people they...”
Will Rogers