There aren’t a lot of absolutes in life, but we all know this one. Either you are rich or you aren’t! What does rich mean to you? Lots of money, lots of clothes, troves of jewellery, the latest car, expensive trips, big house, no debt.By contrast, rich in spirit is having an having an ethereal presence in your life. You are free of material worries, you feel connected to the world, your family, your role in life. You are at peace with yourself. But, even with this suffusion of joy within your spirit, you still need money, a community, a job, and savings to survive.How do the rich become rich? What do the rich invest in that provides the consistent returns that we ordinary people don’t see? Are they shrewder than the rest of us with their stock market allocations? Have they just worked harder, had more luck, or inherited money? Since we know that none of the above are guaranteed methods of financial success, there have to more attributes that come into play.The reasons can’t be tossed cavalierly around, but some common denominators among the very successful that provide insight.First and foremost, most wealthy do not start with great wealth. They have built their way up.They are often well educated, innovative, entrepreneurial, risk-takers, driven, with a sense of conviction along with compelling ideas and inventions that have had changed the world. They have a sense of the big picture that is far-reaching and possess an insistent vision that their ideas will be driving forces in improving lives and enhancing economic business values. It is always interesting to revisit the classic case and the extraordinary business story of Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx. His assessment (and his term paper on his prospective business model) of the accelerated change in transportation demands, is now legendary.How are the rich different from us?Glitter, glitter, everywhere (or nowhere). Public bling is out for now; if it is visible at all, it is just not done in an ostentatious way. One can rather reliably use the rule that the more accoutrements of wealth displayed on a person’s torso, the less there exists in serious invested financial assets. In the fascinating book, ‘Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich’ by Robert Frank, 2008, Mr. Frank describes the rich as “having their own means of recognising wealth within their coterie of friends. They’ve moved far past the brand names in watches, luggage, and shoes, for instance.” The middle class, or any class below the upperclass, aspire ownership to convey their hoped-for ascension into wealthier climes. In fact, by the time the “wealthy brand names” are acquired by those pushing upward mobility, the super-rich have long abandoned those elements of stature for more discreet emblems of luxury.”The very wealthy know the very wealthy. According to the Economist, on January 22, 2011, in the Few: A Special Report on Global Leaders, “Clever, well-educated people are increasingly marrying each other and raising clever, well-educated children.”Education credentials are a tacit prerequisite for entrance into top-tier finance circles. Education is part of many austere conservative lifestyles, starting with attendance at ivy-laden hallowed hall private schools and onward through world-class universities to graduate postdoctoral studies.Attending the commencement exercises years ago of a close friend’s child on full scholarship at one globally-known hundred-year-old private school, it occurred to me that this was a very, very different world than the one our family came from. Education at these prestigious knowledge institutions is only one of the vital career components provided.It is there that deep social, financial, and family connections are initially made, connections that carry through one’s entire life. The admittance regime verified these thoughts, noting that legacy family children will always have a place in the roll call.The impression of connective history among this group of people was so strong that I decided to make an impromptu investigation of various public persona in the news of the day: artists, politicians, financiers, philanthropists, foreign service diplomats and the like.Almost without exception, the list of the above contained the impeccable backgrounds of exposure to focused academics. This was an astonishing observation in the implications of power and influence. They were implicitly connected, decades, even hundreds of years through their friends and families, long before Facebook and formal modern networking groups.Capital Preservers and Modest LifestylesIn the ‘Millionaire Next Door’, by Thomas J Stanley, and William D Danko, one reviewer wrote the following: “ Creating wealth is sort of like dieting. Everybody wants the end result but the discipline to achieve that result is usually lacking.” Millionaires next door tend to be modest individuals with low-key lifestyles, unpretentious homes and assets. In reality, the wealthy are no different than the rest of us, except that they know how to accumulate capital and are willing to discipline their work and lifestyle habits to achieve success.Where does that leave the rest of us?Learning to live within our means so that we have the extra to invest could be a good start. Everyone is connected. Work on your networking skills to move your plans for future into reality. Achieve all education goals available to you while remembering that the difference between not graduating high school and graduating from college is more than three million lifetime dollars.Can we aspire to that group? Or should the better questions be these?Should we aspire there are millions who spend their lives striving to be first at the finish line to the detriment of health and relationships. Will we forget the journey along the way? Would we be any happier?Perhaps, being rich to an individual is as simple as having no debt, three square meals a day on the table, a wealth of knowledge in focused mental faculties, a happy family, a nourished self-confident spirit that embraces life, and a legacy of trusted ethical relationships.Cause in the end, no matter the plane of elevation, we will ultimately depart this world, all of us leaving the same way.Bling does not count in the great beyond.Martha Harris Myron JP CPA/PFS CFP(US) TEP is an international Certified Financial Planner™ and an experienced US tax practitioner with Patterson Partners Ltd specializing in cross border tax and financial planning, retirement, and estate strategies for dual citizens of Bermuda and the US, foreign nationals with US connections, and US citizens living abroad.She serves on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference Committee.She is a Masters in Law candidate in International Tax and Finance and the American Citizens Abroad contact for Bermuda www. aca.org. Contact martha.myron[AT]gmail.com or 296 3528.