The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life

by Sahil Bloom, William Collins (publisher)

*THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

*AS HEARD ON RICH ROLL, CHRIS EVANS, GRACE BEVERLEY, FEEL BETTER LIVE MORE, MODERN WISDOM AND MORE*

'An eye-opening, emotional call to action. Powerful human storytelling, timeless wisdom, and actionable strategies' Rangan Chatterjee, Sunday Times bestselling author of Happy Mind, Happy Life

'Will push you to rethink everything… The change you need to make right now to create a life you truly love' Mel Robbins, #1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of The Let Them Theory

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Reject the default, define your priorities, and achieve lasting happiness with this transformative guide to your dream life — a life centered around the five types of wealth.

Throughout your life, you’ve been slowly indoctrinated to believe that money is the only type of wealth. In reality, your wealthy life may involve money, but in the end, it will be defined by everything else.

After three years of research, personal experimentation, and thousands of interviews across the globe, Sahil Bloom has created a groundbreaking blueprint to build your life around five types of Time, Social, Mental, Physical, and Financial. A life of true fulfillment engages all five types — working dynamically, in concert across the seasons of your journey.

Through powerful storytelling, science-backed practices and actionable insights, in The 5 Types of Wealth you'll

How to prioritize energy-creating tasks to unlock more time in your day.

How to create deeper bonds and build a powerful network.

How to engage your purpose to spark continuous growth.

How to maximize health and vitality through three simple principles.

How to achieve financial independence and define your version of “enough”.

No matter where you are on your path – a recent graduate, new parent, retiree or anything in between – The 5 Types of Wealth will help you act on your priorities to create an instant positive impact in your daily life, make better decisions, and design the life you've always dreamed of. It’s a journey that can start today – and change your world faster than you thought possible.

'A powerful call to action to think deeply about what lights you up' Tim Cook, CEO of Apple

‘Full of great storytelling, great takeaways, and great wisdom' Susan Cain, bestselling author of Bittersweet and Quiet

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Finance, Business, Personal Development, Psychology, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published February 4, 2025

Reviews

[Kurtis Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every few years I read a book that fundamentally changes the way I view my life and the world. This book is one of those books. Normally self-help books like these are 5-10 pages of quality content and then another 200 pages of fluff. This is the opposite. Each chapter is so jam-packed with meat and key insights that it takes you a while to really get through everything because you end up putting down the book to reflect every few pages. Several key takeaways that I took away from this:

1. Anti-Goals are just as important as goals. What are the things you aren't willing to sacrifice as you strive to achieve your dreams?

2. Life Razor - What is the simple sentence that defines who you are? Use that to guide every decision and action in your life.

3. Step Outside Yourself - What would the movie audience of your life be screaming at you to do that is blindingly obvious but you’ve been ignoring?


4. Time wealth is actually the right thing to be optimizing for vs. financial wealth. You wouldn’t trade lives with Warren Buffett because even though he's a billionaire, time matters more than money.



5. When you’re on The Way, The Way reveals itself.

6. Before each week and each day, ask yourself a simple question: what would make this week/day great? Write it down and get it done and don't get distracted along the way.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrific framework with dull, repetitive, tired examples you’ve heard dozens of times if you read any amount of personal development.

I love his premise and think the five types of wealth is wise and actionable but I wish he would have used more creative, fresh and unique supporting arguments.

[Tej Dhawan · Rating 5 out of 5]

TL;DR - Sahil's debut full-length book is a perfect complement to his years of newsletters and social posts. It presents the wisdom he has curated and distilled into the five types of wealth we are born with and compound through life. The wisdom delivers ways to benefit from these pillars of wealth and provides cautions and ways to avoid squandering it.

Full review: Although I cannot remember when exactly I subscribed to Sahil's newsletters, something in his writing on social media clicked for me. Perhaps it was our shared Indian ancestry, perhaps my desire to hack his way of exercise (but not the icy baths!!), and perhaps the top "x" ways to hack a portion of life. They just did. I became a regular reader of these missives in my email every Wednesday and Friday. The book collects them all and more, and tells some of the backstories. There alone it shines. But there was more.

The book is about designing a life; whether for someone just starting it in their 20s or someone reflecting on it in their 50s (like me). It captures the wisdom of numerous known and unknown names he has interviewed and divides it into five wealth vaults - Time, Social, Mental, Physical, and Financial.

Though many stories steeped in historical wisdom are simply restated parables, this book brings the parables into actionable insights. For example, the parable of a Pyrrhic victory is complemented by checklists and warning signs to avoid - the modern complement for the bus(ier) individual. After all, could a 21st century guidebook not include a checklist or more :)?

Time Wealth - this is, indeed, the most valuable treasure we are born with, an unstated, seemingly infinite reservoir from which we draw seconds until it suddenly empties. The modern parable of 'it's later than you think' helps create a measure - if not of time remaining, then certainly of value achieved from that time. Sahil's book, thinking, and writing are heavily influenced by his young son and aging grandmother, the barbells of life he deeply values, enjoys and cherishes throughout the book. And their lives seem to create the otherwise impossible deposits into his time vault. The books is valuable to study in this juxtaposition alone.

As with each of the other wealth pillars, this pillar provides methods to gauge progress, anti-goals to avoid, systems to implement to achieve satisfaction through progress. He provides simple checklists and quizzes to visualize and document progress without need for expensive journals and toolkits. Many are as timeless as Benjamin Franklin's daily habit and as new as Apple Notes.

Social Wealth: This attribute of the human animal is next. We have an innate ability to form deep networks with those around us yet continue to find ways to devalue the very connections and allow them to wither. This section's stories are more modern, chronicling studies and lectures from luminaries such as Margaret Mead and weaving in Sahil's personal stories. The outcome - a pathway away from loneliness toward an additive, productive, accretive life of the balanced social interaction. He doesn't lead the reader toward extroversion; quite the opposite in his approach to building and nurturing the very connections that matter through their depth, breadth and status. Here too, the section ends with guides, assessments, hacks, and systems for success.

Mental Wealth: This section addresses the world within our mind and how it can expand to infinity or contract to seemingly nothing. How we open ourselves to infinity to a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and curiosity, of the rituals that allow us to grow and reflect are the foci of this section's systems, hacks, and guides. Sahil's collaboration with Susan Cain (author of Quiet and Bittersweet) is powerful in making this section a stand-out chapter.

Physical Wealth: The earliest readers (I think) of Sahil's work will remember his social media accountability about maintaining and attaining physical wealth through seemingly impossible runs, workouts and ice baths. This chapter elevates toward the why and a bit of accessible HOW. He addresses WHY through modern and historical stories and leads to designing a pattern via movement and resistance through simple methods. Exercise without proper nutrition is only part of a solution so he does address nutrition - again simply making it achievable to all. The systems in this section are naturally targeted toward a WOD.

Financial Wealth: This final section addresses the most common type of wealth-money. Here Sahil focuses not so much on the constant addition but the concept of enough. As the pursuit of 'just a little bit more' cannot ever be met, wisdom of the ages distilled in this chapter leads toward understanding enough. The pillars - generating stable and consistent income, managing expenses, and investing for the long-term- are easily stated. These pillars can easily fall when faced with the 'next best thing' but followed religiously, prove to be the wealth generators over time. The guide and systems here are practical, simple, and straightforward checklists and missives.

Each of the five sections end with a summary that I think will be a good one to review every so often as they are nearly complete recollections of the chapters. I reread summaries a month after finishing the book and smiled at the things I'd remembered and underlined those I hadn't. Sahil's epilogue is like the conversation you have with a friend at the end of a shared evening over a favorite beverage. Short yet meaningful. A perfect end.

I'll leave this review with this final thought that Sahil's grandmother shared with him and has stuck with me:

"Never fear sadness, as it tends to sit right next to love"

[Antti Tähtinen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Expected a lot from this thanks to the rave reviews. Nope.
TL;DR: Spend more time with your loved ones. The rest is just filler content from other self help books, awkwardly glued together.

[Brittany Giarnelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't even finish. Dude set out to prioritize what was important in life after he already made millions. Not relatable at all

[Chanel Mullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sahil Bloom’s The 5 Types of Wealth redefines wealth as more than money, focusing on time, social connections, mental clarity, physical health, and finances. Each section offers powerful insights and actionable tips to create a balanced, fulfilling life.

The quote that stayed with me from the Time Wealth section perfectly captures the book’s message:

“Family time is finite—cherish it.
Children time is precious—be present.
Friend time is limited—prioritise the real friends.
Partner time is meaningful—never settle.
Coworker time is significant—find energy.
Alone time is abundant—love yourself.”

This book is an inspiring, practical guide for anyone looking to design a truly meaningful life. Highly recommended!

*Updated explanation for my rating. I loved the book and its points. This was a genre I don’t normally read so I wasn’t fully invested. So if you love personally development books the above review and book is for you. 😊

[Melany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this truly interesting. While we all think of wealth in the financial sense, I loved that this but delves into the 5 types of wealth. It truly opened my eyes to things. I found the author's wording and writing style intriguing but also enjoyed how much research based information backed it all. The story spiraling from how many times he'd see his parents into so much more was such a powerful thing to read through. It is very eye-opening but also motivating, making me want to do more and spend more time focusing on things that truly matter and less time on things that truly don't in the end.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Ballantine Books to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this is your first foray into the personal development genre it probably would be extremely insightful.

However, for anyone that has read or listened to anything in the genre over the last 10+ years this book will feel like a very shallow summary of things you have heard many times previously with nothing particularly new, creative, or insightful added.

Take the book for what it is and you might get a few things of use/interest but calling it life changing is probably a bit naive.

The idea that wealth should be counted beyond just your bank account is a worthwhile objective but difficult to take non-cynically from someone talking about how they made huge amounts of money in their 20s.

Loved Sahil on a variety of podcasts and find him insightful but was left relatively disappointed from the book.

[Geo Saba · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will change your life. We are too focused on financial wealth and lose sight of the other aspects of life. Sahil's framework of viewing these other important aspects of wealth is a groundbreaking and important contribution that will change how you spend your time and who you spend it with. Sahil is a very clear writer and very effectively uses memorable graphs and anecdotes to keep it engaging throughout. This is a good investment of your time and money and I hope you order copies for your friends and families!

[Cory Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s fine. Anecdotal and formulaic. A few good nuggets to help generate a healthy perspective/view of a robust, healthy life.

[Aaron Pinkston · Rating 2 out of 5]

For context, I read a decent amount of business, finance, psychology, and “self help” books. After getting through a quarter of this book, I didn’t feel there was a ton of depth other than:
*There are many types of wealth in our life we should work to obtain - social, financial, health, etc.
*At different times in our life, we will find the balance of these types of wealth to change.

If this is your first foray into these concepts, this could be a good place to start! If you are familiar with this genre, you might be able to write the book from the title. Clearly others find a lot of value in this book, so YMMV.

[Harald D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. This book doesn't necessarily teach you a lot, but I find it a very good summary of the whole field of personal development. It condenses what all the big bestsellers have been saying, and makes for a nice synthesis!

[Laura Di Luch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book! Best and most relevant “self help” book I’ve ever read especially as someone with an extremely busy life I constantly think about priorities and how to achieve balance. Over the last few weeks since finishing it I have found myself referencing concepts from the book in many of my discussions with friends. I think so many people could benefit from this content!!!

*audio book disclaimer*

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conclusion: Overhyped. The overarching framework of this book is solid, I appreciate the breakdown of the 5 types of wealth. However, it's apparent from the get go that Bloom comes from a place of financial privilege and it was mind-blowing for him that something other than money could be important. 


In the actual content of the chapters, this book should best be viewed as a reference summary of every other self help book. Much of the content I recognize from other books I've read, reformated to be stuffed into the 5 types of wealth format. In particular, I recently read Ikigai, and much of the books is reflected in Bloom's work, including comments about centenarians and references to works about Blue Zones. 


My final critique - In giving examples of things, Bloom clearly tried to reflect a wide array of life experiences. However I noticed that new motherhood was often described as a season of life in which the woman chose to step back from her high powered career to care for children. Fatherhood was described as a passion for providing for the family. It's a bit disappointing that in trying to be inclusive, Bloom missed the mark and landed on reinforcing traditional gender roles. 

[Paige Otto · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the principles in this book, but i couldn’t stop thinking about how male-centered the writing was. every anecdote, historical story, and inspirational quote was from a man. it was hard to see myself in a lot of the examples because of that.

[Victoria Phillippi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Common sense.

[Kerri D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to recommend this to all new grads heading out into the world. Lots of good advice for people in general but esp for people in their early 20s

[Luca Michienzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

great reminder of common sense approaches across all facets of life, but no new insights to readers of all-time classics.

[Neil Pasricha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled to write this review. This book is good. Really good! Did we expect anything less from Sahil (“SA-hill”) Bloom, *the* Sahil Bloom, the potentially most optimized person I’ve ever met, with his ​six-pack of steel​, his membership to the Core Club in Manhattan (where he’s the youngest member), his double-Stanford pedigree (which he jokes in the book and other spots doesn’t keep up with his Yale sister, ​Harvard dad​, and Princeton mom, who still encourages him, to this day, to “try for medical school” (page 5)). Even his haircut is “​intimidating​”—according to Susan Cain, who makes a wonderful wisdom-drenched cameo on page 229 in a two-pager co-written with Sahil titled, somewhat unSusanny, “​Mental Hacks I Wish I Knew At Twenty-Two​.” I mean, the man ​wakes up at 4am every day​ to take a televised ice bath. He is OPTIMIZED. I picture him discussing one-legged Romanian Deadlift angles and best brands of organic avocado oil in a group chat with Andrew Huberman, Tim Ferriss, and Bryan Johnson. And big respect to all those guys—it’s not easy being so public, pushing yourself, pushing our understanding of how hard pushing is possible. Just for me I … didn’t quite connect with the book the way I expected to and way I often do with Sahil’s wonderful email newsletter ​The Curiosity Chronicle​. On page 7 Sahil writes: “I was thirty years old and making millions of dollars.” And right away it’s like—um, that’s a tough place to connect. He confesses right afterwards that “…the feelings of happiness and fulfillment I expected were nowhere to be found.” We know this! We hear this everywhere. Money doesn’t make you happy! Just that most of us would like the millions of dollars first—you know, just to be sure. Unfulfilled workaholic twentysomething multimillionaire? This is your bible! He speaks, like we all do I suppose, to the me-of-yesteryear. I guess for me that super left-brainy, quantitative, systems-everything guy is still in there, for sure … just a bit distant. I think I kept wanting to *feel* the book more—in my gut, in my heart. But it just kind of put its feet up in my left brain. I like my left brain! I have sticker charts and trackers up the wazoo. But I also think I read, partly, to get away from that, to tone down that side of myself, to enter places of greater vastness and spirit and soul. As ever: right book, right time. And I do think this book will catch people—like it caught famed billionaire investor ​Bill Ackman​, who Sahil shares he reached out to over Twitter for lunch years ago, or billionaire Apple CEO ​Tim Cook​, who Sahil shares he met while working out regularly in a gym in SF at 4am (“There are no losers in the gym at 4:45 AM,” he says). It’ll catch people who maybe need to chill more? Need to call their mom more, need to get outside more, need to sleep more … need to think about money *less*. In some sense this book feels like you fed every uber-popular self-help book (like those that’ve sold >5 million copies) and every uber-popular self-help viral tweet or LinkedIn post (those that’ve been viewed >5 million times) and you stirred, stirred, stirred them together in a big yellow bowl before pouring that chunky batter into muffin-cup chapters and baked it all into something moist and delightfully chunk-free. Don’t get me wrong: I think it’s incredibly hard to do this! I’m just saying that if you’ve read the genre widely then you probably read about the Eisenhower Matrix (pages 96-97) in ‘​The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People​’; the history of Parkinson’s Law (pages 100-101) in ‘​The Happiness Equation​’ and, let’s be honest, before that in ‘​The 4-Hour Workweek​’ (and, before that, probably in ‘​Getting Things Done​’ by David Allen); and you probably saw Benjamin Franklin’s ‘daily calendar’ (pages 115-116) in … ‘​The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin​.’ If you’ve been online a lot you’ve probably seen the viral ​Ikigai graphic​ (pages 212-213), heard the ​Steve Jobs commencement speech​ (pages 216-217), and heard many versions of famous Joseph Heller “I’ve got something he can never have … enough” story (pages 313-314) a few places. But, of course, those pieces have gone viral for a reason, and finding them all, bringing them together, is no small feat. This is a book full of “life productivity techniques.” Not getting more done, but maximizing yourself on all the scales. On page 55 he encourages everyone to sit down and write a letter to their future selves. This is the kind of thing I want to do, and maybe should do—but it’s hard. It helps that Sahil generously shares the letter he wrote to himself in 2014 at age 23 which includes lines like “You have a lot you hide from the world. You’re insecure. You compare yourself to everyone but yourself.” and “I hope you live closer to your family” and “I hope you’re working on something that feels meaningful.” Now he his! And you love him for it, for finding and following his dream. He details in the opening chapter a story that feels like Tim Urban’s “​The Tail End​”—about how a friend told him given he only sees his east coast parents once a year, and they’re in their mid-sixties, he’ll only see them 15 more times in his life. Of course, some of the examples on how to correct this, are … kind of funny. Like on page 37, when ​Sahil discusses Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph's sturdy rule for himself​. What’s the sturdy rule? Every Tuesday night Marc makes sure work is “wrapped up by five” so he can have dinner with his wife. He developed the system after working “eighty hour weeks.” I mean, on one hand, sure. But on the other hand, who the heck is working 7am to 7pm for 7 days a week—so much so they need to calendar in a weekly dinner with their wife? I’d resonate more with the story if it was the other way: tracking nights away from dinner with your family, which feels like the more obvious expected baseline. But I do agree: if you never have dinner with your wife scheduling one a week is a good start! Sahil is an eager and hard-working disciple and distiller and his efforts come through. In this 369-page book, stuffed to the absolute brim with tools, models, “razors,” quotes, and heuristics, you will likely find one thing, perhaps many things, that you can reliably and valuably apply to improve your life. This man has the steepest learning curve, the steepest output curve, and one of the sharpest minds of anyone I know. He's in his early thirties and I know will be someone to follow for decades. I can't wait to see what he gives us in 5 years, 10 years, and beyond.

[Yvonne Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book! Great one to pick up and revisit to learn from at different points in your life. The base premise is great and while I knew a lot of what was shared in the book, I enjoyed the reminders.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't find the main concepts particularly groundbreaking, BUT the practical tools and systems Bloom offers are incredibly valuable. The book's organization makes it a helpful guide – the self-assessments and 1-week jump start stand out.

There were two thoughts I found myself countering with throughout the book:
1) That life can take drastic, unexpected turns – to what extent are you really in control?
2) Choice is a privilege.

But I think the foundation Bloom begins with are helpful for those very reasons: knowing your north star and life razor provides structure to the moves you make when both challenges *and* opportunities arise.

A great resource for anyone making big decisions or implementing habit changes to live in alignment with what *they* prioritize as important and meaningful.

(I listened to this on audio, but considering purchasing a print copy to revisit on a regular/annual basis!)

[Daniel Hocking · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across Sahil as a guest on the Rich Roll podcast. Immediately he opened my eyes on viewing success in life through different lenses. Specifically the wealth types of Time, Social, Mental Physical and Financial. This book was a stellar read and further delved into ideas explored on the podcast.

I enjoyed going in depth into each type of wealth and learning about the key pillars that underpin them. The best thing about this book was that it made you reflect. Reflect on what your current priorities are, what you want them to be, and how you can move towards your ideal life. There were plenty of strategies to improve in areas that you might be lacking.

I especially appreciated Sahils acceptance that your weighting of the 5 types can shift as you move through different phases of your life. This will mean that I definitely revisit this book for many years to come!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloom's book is broken into very short, easy to read chapters. I think he appreciates the decline of attention spans. The chapters are broken up into small bits with chapter summaries. While certain types of wealth have been figured out in my life the time and social wealth were the most compelling chapters.
I did find some of his parenting takes such as he's going to be at all his son's sports games (his son is one at the time of writing he tells us) and be his son's coach a little naive. As a parent of teens I can say your children will do what you least expect and have interests in areas you never considered if you give them room.
Over all it was an interesting read. I found the chapters on creating monetary wealth to be fairly generic but sound advice for people who are just starting out on their financial journey.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 5 Types of Wealth is the best book that I have read in 2024! This is not another self help book. This is a how to guide for looking at Time Wealth, Social Wealth, Mental Wealth, Physical Wealth, and Financial Wealth and how to analyze and improve all aspects of life. Each section helps to measure your wealth and then give meaningful steps to improve.

Sahil Bloom combines storytelling, interviews, questions, exercises and insight in a guide to living your best life.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I have also pre-ordered books for my adult children!

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was stunned by the content of the book. Sahil is someone i follow and aspire to become.
But this book is so simple yet radical that i have already started seeing the difference as i apply the laws of 5 types of wealth in my life.

The favorite wealth for me is time wealth.

If i am able to master it, i get everything else. The only thing that we can't keep or earn more is time in our life.

Hence, knowing how to maximize the available time in the best possible way is the best thing we can do.

So stop waiting. Go Buy this book!

[Vini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packed with insights and actionable guides on the pursuit of 5 types of wealth - Time, Physical, Financial, Mental and Social - it is comprehensive and relatable. And not to mention, the storytelling is engaging.

[Larry Chow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book was available to me 40 years ago. Well written and lots of great guidelines to live your life by.

[Kali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing super groundbreaking material-wise, but I appreciated the insight and techniques Bloom shared to help create an all around more balanced life.

[Rodrigo Herrera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a sexy title. It’s a very basic book, if you haven’t read any business book, you might find it interesting, but in general it’s more of the same, nothing new.

[Drew Wassenaar · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is just a conglomeration of all other self help/life balance/efficiency books out there. Nothing profound or original at all. Just read 7 habits instead.