What Is Wealth

Term Paper Title	What Is Wealth
# of Words	832
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.33

What is Wealth

     When one asks themselves "what is wealth," people immediately think of money.  They think of nice cars and big houses.  People think of power and the ability to have control over others.  When I was in elementary school I believed this same thing.  Now that I am in highschool my outlook on what wealth is has changed dramatically.  To me wealth is contentment and knowledge.  With these two things will come the greatest wealth a person can achieve.  Money does not necessarily mean contentment although some people think that it does.  Wealth is not having money, property, and power if these things cannot make a person truly content.  These things do not necessarily bring wisdom either.
     When  I think of wealth a quotation comes to mind.  It was said by Henry David Thoreau:
     "Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance
     of generations and nations... Their authors are a natural and irresistible
     aristocracy in every society, and, more than kings or emperors, exert an
     influence on mankind."

     I believe that if one chooses to enrich their mind and strive for knowledge that they are truly wealthy.  Wealth is the ability to enrich and influence.  With knowledge  one can do these things.  Wealth is not taking things for granted.  In many ways knowledge can help you achieve success.  With knowledge one can look into the past and see the mistakes that others have made.  The person with knowledge will not repeat these mistakes.  Knowledge can help one make the right choices in life.  If one can make the right choices in life and live a good life then they can truly have wealth.
     Wealth is not the ability to take everything for granted.  Wealth is not greed and malice towards others.  People sometimes put so much stress on wealth.  What I  believe is that if one should spend their life gaining wealth  than what truly was the purpose of life.  When one dies all the wealth will not go with them.  Wealth is not the endless struggle to gain more riches than another.  If one is obsessed with this idea how can one truly be wealthy.  When one struggles for material items such as money there will always be an emptiness inside them.  This emptiness will never be filled no matter how much money they can attain.  Pretty soon the need for  money will destroy a person.  I have seen how money can corrupt individuals.  Wealth is ...

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