Let’s talk about Wealth and Wisdom in choosing careers

Are we not often worry that the younger generation might chase wealth over wisdom, undervaluing the latter even though unintentionally.

To illustrate this, let’s look at a visual representation of Career Compass. The idea is simple yet profound: pursuing high wealth with low wisdom often leads to an unfulfilled life. On the other hand, seeking wisdom, even with modest wealth, generally leads to a better quality of life. While the most optimal path is to balance both, the importance of wisdom cannot be overstated.

Wisdom doesn’t come automatically—it requires effort and deliberate mental training, especially in areas like delayed gratification and sound decision-making. (Wisdom is a catch all word for cerebral prowess. It includes morality generally i.e. a wise person should generally have higher moral standards. Of course there are some gray areas but they can be safely put out of scope of this chart.)

Of course, creating such representations involves a level of generalization. There are always exceptions, and I welcome my readers to share examples or counter-examples that challenge or enrich this idea. Meaningful discussions like these only help deepen our understanding.

What do you think about this compass? How do you balance wisdom and wealth in your life?