Completing the Conversation the "New Rich" Started In The 4-Hour Workweek

For most of modern history, wealth meant one thing: money.

Income. Net worth. Assets. If the number went up, life was considered “successful.”

Then Tim Ferriss introduced a disruptive idea in the best-selling book, The 4-Hour Workweek.

He called it the New Rich. I read it over a decade ago and it was great. But I picked it up again recently and started to go over it again. I'm not the same person I was the first time I read it and I wondered if there were insights that would mean something different to me this time around. Like watching a kids movie as an adult and picking up on dirty jokes you missed as a child.

What I found wasn't what I was initially looking for. The rules Ferris' lays out for the New Rich sing to my contrarian soul, but I realized that they were incomplete. Not flawed, just unfinished.

And once I saw it, the reason was obvious.

The New Rich successfully redefined money and freedom. But it stopped short of redefining wealth itself.

That’s where my TEAMS framework picks up and expands the conversation beyond money and freedom into something more durable.

I call that next chapter New Wealth.

The New Rich rejected the old rules:

• Work now, live later
• Status over freedom
• Deferred joy

Ferriss asked a better question than most financial thinkers dared to ask:
Why build a life you need to escape from?

That question mattered. It woke people up.

But it also left something unfinished.

Because money isn’t the only resource that gets mismanaged.

Time gets spent.
Energy gets drained.
Attention gets hijacked.
And the soul—quietly—gets neglected.

New Wealth doesn’t replace the New Rich. It completes the framework.

That framework is TEAMS:
Time. Energy. Attention. Money. Soul.

T — Time

From Borrowed Time to Owned Days

There is an old saying: “The trouble with time is you think you have more of it.”

The Old Rich traded time for money.

The New Rich reclaimed time through leverage, remote work, and optionality.

New Wealth asks the next question:
Do you own your time or does it still own you?

I once worked with a senior executive who had total schedule flexibility. No one tracked his hours. He could “work from anywhere.”

Yet he hadn’t taken a real weekday off in five years. Why?

Because every system depended on him.

Time wealth isn’t fewer hours. It’s fewer forced hours.

New Wealth time looks like:

• Calendars that reflect values, not just obligations

• White space that is planned, not accidental

• The ability to step away without guilt or collapse

If your life only works when you’re constantly present, you’re not time-wealthy. You’re time-fragile.

E — Energy

From Burning the Candle to Stewarding the Flame

“You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

The Old Rich extracted energy until something broke.

The New Rich reduced unnecessary effort with systems and outsourcing.

New Wealth goes further: Your body is not a machine. It’s a responsibility.

I watched a business owner hit every revenue goal he set. On paper, he was winning. In reality, he lived exhausted, irritable, and wired on caffeine.

Eventually, his body forced the conversation he refused to have.

Energy is upstream of everything.
No energy, no focus.
No energy, no patience.
No energy, no wisdom.

New Wealth energy looks like:

• Sustainable physical stamina
• Mental clarity without constant stimulation
• Emotional steadiness under pressure

Discipline without recovery isn’t strength. It’s denial wearing a productivity costume.

A — Attention

From Noise to Depth

A man digs ten shallow holes and finds no water.
Another digs one deep well and strikes a spring.

The Old Rich fought for attention.

The New Rich learned to batch, ignore, and outsource noise.

New Wealth recognizes the deeper truth:
Attention is not just scarce...it’s formative.

A founder once told me, “I’m busy all day, but nothing meaningful is actually getting done.” His phone never stopped buzzing. His calendar was full. His mind never rested.

He lacked depth, not opportunity.

New Wealth attention looks like:

• Long, uninterrupted stretches of focus
• Fewer inputs, better decisions
• Comfort with silence and boredom

If you can’t stay with a problem long enough to solve it, no amount of income will save you.

What you give your attention to doesn’t just shape your output. It shapes who you become.

M — Money

From Master to Servant

“Money makes a fine servant, but a terrible master.”

The Old Rich worshiped accumulation.

The New Rich reframed money as a tool for freedom.

New Wealth finishes the thought:
Money is not the point, it’s leverage.

I once challenged a high-net-worth client who refused to spend money on restoring his marriage. He had invested aggressively for decades but resisted anything that didn’t show a financial return.

He was stubborn to most of my recommendations until I asked one blunt question, "What will a divorce cost you?" Then he changed his tune when the realization hit him.

Money should reduce stress, not multiply it. If more money increases anxiety, something is misaligned.

New Wealth money looks like:

• Cash flow that buys margin and peace
• Spending aligned with values, not ego
• Security without obsession

Money is powerful but it was never designed to carry the weight of meaning.

S — Soul

From Success to Truth

“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” - Matthew 16:26

This is where most self-help stops. Not because it’s unimportant but because it’s uncomfortable.

The Old Rich ignored the soul.
The New Rich hinted at meaning but rarely defined it.

New Wealth makes it explicit.

Soul wealth is not “good vibes” or vague purpose. It is alignment with Truth.

Truth about:

• Who you are
• Why you’re here
• What you are accountable to

For many (myself included) that includes belief in a higher power. A moral reality that exists whether we acknowledge it or not. It makes sense philosophically, scientifically and by common sense standards.

I’ve seen people personally win by every external metric and still feel hollow. Not tired. Not confused. Hollow.

They've had all the fame, family, friends, and fortune any human would ever want. But then death approaches or comes suddenly and every foundational thing in their life they ever had counts for nothing. 

Success without Truth collapses inward.

New Wealth soul looks like:

• A clear moral compass
• Work that doesn’t require self-deception
• A life you would choose even if no one applauded

When God or Truth is removed, something else always fills the gap. Usually money. Status. Control. Self.

Those are poor gods.

The Real Definition of New Wealth

The Old Rich asked, "How much do you have?"

The New Rich asked, "How free are you?"

New Wealth asks, "How aligned is your life across all five resources?"

Because:

• Time without energy is fragile
• Money without attention is wasted
• Freedom without truth is empty

New Wealth doesn’t reject the New Rich. It finishes the work it started.

It’s not about escaping work. It’s about building a life where Time, Energy, Attention, Money, and Soul compound together under Truth, not ego.

That kind of wealth lasts and fulfills so let's aim for that.