[The Typing Baker] If You Want to Be Rich, Don't Hesitate to Spend Money

Book - Wealthinking (Wealth Thinking: Thoughts on Wealth)

"A rich person does not simply mean someone who has a lot of money. A rich person is someone who has decided to help others, practices social contribution, and is complete in character. In other words, only when money, contribution, and character are all fulfilled can one truly be called rich."

Kelly Choi, founder of the global company KellyDeli, defined the rich this way in her book Wealthinking (Wealth + Thinking). KellyDeli is a company that makes and sells sushi, with 1,200 stores across 12 countries in Europe and South America. Its annual sales reach 600 billion KRW.

Choi believes that wealth and money should not be mistaken as the same thing. However, when she first started her business, she thought money was the entirety of wealth. Born into a severely poor family, she began working in a factory at the age of 16. Having struggled alone overseas without a penny, she believed that earning a lot of money would bring happiness. Even when she failed in business in Paris, France, and incurred a debt of 1 billion KRW, her thinking did not change.

However, while running KellyDeli, Choi said that by not just accepting money but planning and practicing how to let it flow, she gained wealth beyond imagination. She firmly stated that if she had been obsessed with personal success, she would not have gained such great wealth. Instead, the idea of making healthy and delicious sushi and providing jobs to immigrants and locals brought her greater wealth. For example, when people who wanted to open a KellyDeli branch lacked initial capital, she first allowed them to open a franchise and pay the franchise fee after they earned money.

Choi points out that many people around her view money as the root of evil, but she insists that attitudes toward money must change. This stems from the 'Ressentiment' toward the rich. According to Choi, ressentiment is a mixed emotion of hatred, revenge, jealousy, and anger that the weak feel toward the strong. She advises erasing negative notions about money, as they may be learned. She encourages people to define for themselves what being rich means and what money is, and to change their attitude toward money.

Choi identifies seven roots for creating wealth: core values, decisiveness, declaration, faith, belief, conviction, and questioning. Based on one’s unique core values deep inside, one makes decisions and declares them to those around. Goals must be precise, grand yet achievable step-by-step. She advises believing in oneself, having conviction, pushing forward, and asking questions. She also mentions that questioning is a key root of wealth; cultivating the habit of questioning oneself helps one respond wisely even in crisis situations. Visualizing goals is also very important. Writing down goals is like setting milestones in life, so she suggests writing anything down first. She compares trying to achieve goals without writing them down to a captain sailing a ship into the sea without any plan.

She volunteers as a mentor for women raising children while working, urging them to challenge themselves with higher goals to become the best experts both at home and professionally. She advises producing good results during the limited time they can spend at work to be confident when away from the workplace. She urges not to skimp on costs for hiring experts and helpers. Loss of confidence due to career breaks can make even starting difficult, so she emphasizes catching both rabbits ? career and family.

(Wealthinking / Kelly Choi / Dasan Books / 16,000 KRW)