“The 5 Types of Wealth” – I feel immensely lucky to have caught sight of this gem by Sahil Bloom at Oslo airport while I was travelling to attend the last Nor-Shipping which took place in June. While reading, I was deeply moved by the wisdom of this young visionary, but what intrigued me to get a copy of this book was seeing ‘Time’ wealth in the FIRST spot on the list of the 5 types of wealth identified by him - “Time”, “Social”, “Mental”, “Physical”, and “Financial” wealth. This order of the design, in itself, speaks volumes about his wisdom!  

A story in the words of Sahil, from the book in the section “Time” wealth, dwells on the big question: "How many moments do you have remaining with your loved ones?” and the following wisdom touched me deeply:

“Always remember, everyone we love, they are on loan to us for a short period of time. They are gone in the blink of an eye.”  

The Story:   
In EARLY 2019, Alexis Lockhart was living a happy, ordinary life in Houston, Texas. The mother of three boys, ages twenty-three, nineteen, and eleven, she possessed a rare stoic that her time with her sons was fleeting.   
“Since they were young, I had been saying that you don’t get your children for eighteen years, you get them for about twelve or thirteen, if you’re lucky. After they cross that line, you become a chauffeur, a taxi, and a hotel-they need food, a bed, and transportation to events with friends, sports, school activities, and, soon enough, jobs and dates.”   
It was that awareness that led Alexis to take advantage of every moment-of the precious time she did have with her growing boys. During spring break of that year, she surprised them with a ski trip to Colorado, a trip she call “a huge treat,” since her older sons were either working or in school at the time. Reminiscing about the adventure, Alexis broke into a smile. “It was the trip of a lifetime; many memories were made.” 
A few weeks later, following her mantra of embracing every moment, Lockhart threw a small birthday party for her middle son, Jackson. "Even though he was 'too old' for cakes and parties, we had a family celebration with presents, a cookie cake and candles. We celebrated him." 
Everything was right in her world. Until it wasn't. On May 23, 2019, the unthinkable happened: Jackson was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident, just days after celebrating his twentieth birthday. 
When I received an email from Alexis in April 2024 telling me this story, it stopped me in my tracks. As a new father, I could not even bear to imagine the pain she felt in losing a child. When we spoke later, she shared photos of her boys, pausing on a photo of a four year-old Jackson and smiling broadly. "I cannot tell you how happy he was as a little kid. He never lost that. “Always remember," she said "everyone we love, they are on loan to us for a short period of time. They are gone in the blink of an eye.” 
The Advise: 
Family time is finite-cherish it! 
#myreflections #familyfirst #timewealth