This weekend, the YouTube algorithm chose to serve me a video of two sibling influencers cruising through New York in an open-top Maybach, puffing on cigars while waxing lyrical about their incredible success.
Well, trying to anyway, for this is the impression it left me: if you’re going to film yourself in those circumstances, you should at least try to rehearse profound conversation and sound refined. Something other than ego.
There’s a certain image of the self-made celebrity influencer that gets held up as aspirational. The cars, jets, yachts, clothes, and penthouse views. But the more I see of it, the more it strikes me how fragile that whole performance really is.
Behind the designer sunglasses and curated confidence, there often seems to be a need to be seen, admired, and validated. So much effort seems to go into appearing fulfilled.
To me, it seems vacuous and shallow. I don’t envy that playboy lifestyle at all. It feels exhausting, chasing external markers of success just to keep up appearances.
I’ve come to value something far simpler: contentment. The ease that comes with being at peace with what you have, living within your means, and not needing the world to applaud your choices.
Contentment is a form of wealth that doesn’t depreciate. It doesn’t need upgrades or followers. It doesn’t parade itself. It’s the satisfaction of having enough, knowing who you are, and not needing to prove it to anyone else.
In a world that constantly tells us to want more, be more and show more, choosing to be content in a little might be seen as a radical act. But it’s true: the best wealth is contentment in a little.
Last modified: 19 April 2025