You say wealth matters to you, but something feels off about it. Maybe you chase money and feel hollow afterward. Maybe you don't actually care as much as you think you should. You're not sure if wealth is genuinely a core value for you, or if it's something you inherited as a goal without examining it.
Who This Is For
This is for someone who suspects there's a gap between what they say they value and what actually drives them. You have enough self-awareness to notice the gap. You're tired of operating on autopilot or on someone else's priorities. You want to know what you actually value, not what sounds good or what made sense at twenty-five.
This is also for people who are reconsidering a path they thought was set. A job that pays well but leaves you spent. A business built around profit that never felt like yours. A decision made years ago that you're now questioning. Wealth might still be a value for you, but right now you need clarity on whether it's a core one.
This is not for someone looking for permission to not care about money. Financial stability matters. Having enough removes a real source of stress and opens options. This is also not for someone who has already done the deeper work and knows exactly how wealth ranks alongside their other values. You've moved past the question.
What You Will Discover
Schwartz's research on basic human values, conducted across 80+ countries over decades, identified ten universal value types. His circumplex model shows how some values sit adjacent to each other—they naturally support each other—while others sit opposite and create genuine tension. Wealth (what Schwartz calls "power") sits opposite to values like benevolence and universalism. Understanding this structure means you'll stop being confused by your own contradictions. You won't ask "why do I feel guilty when I achieve what I said I wanted?" because you'll see the tension is real, not a character flaw.
What shifts is your ability to make actual choices instead of half-choices. When wealth is a core value but sits in tension with connection or meaning, you'll see that trade-off clearly. You might choose wealth anyway, knowing what it costs. Or you might rerank your priorities and reorganize your life accordingly. Either way, you're choosing consciously. You stop blaming yourself for not wanting something you never actually valued.
Common Reasons People Wait
Some people hesitate because they're afraid the answer will be "no, wealth doesn't matter to you," and that feels irresponsible. Financial security is real. The fear is understandable. But clarity on whether something is a core value is not the same as deciding it doesn't matter. You might find that wealth ranks lower than you thought but still ranks—that you care about financial stability and options, just not at the cost of everything else. Knowing the difference is what lets you build a life that works, not a life of perpetual trade-offs you resent.
Others wait because they're not sure they'll like the answer. If wealth is genuinely a core value for you, acknowledging it means taking responsibility for that choice and the life it shapes. It means owning your ambition without apology or self-judgment. That clarity can feel risky if you've been trained to apologize for wanting money. Real clarity means you can stop performing modesty and actually design your path.
Some people wait because they think they need to figure this out alone, through more thinking. You don't. You can think in circles about whether you value wealth, or you can surface your actual values, see how they rank, and compare that ranking to how you're actually living. The second approach gives you something concrete to work with. Thinking harder doesn't usually create clarity—seeing the real picture does.
The My Values assessment surfaces your values, ranks them, and shows you where you are and are not living them.
How do I know if wealth is really a core value for me?
Core values show up consistently in your choices, not just your words. If you sacrifice time, relationships, or peace of mind for money, wealth is likely a core value. If you turn down more money to protect other things, it probably isn't. The gap between what you say matters and what you actually protect in practice is where the answer lives.
What if wealth is a core value but it conflicts with what I really want?
Conflict between values is normal and part of Schwartz's research. Wealth and connection, or wealth and meaning, are genuinely in tension. You don't resolve this by pretending the tension isn't there. You acknowledge it, decide how to weight it, and build a life with that trade-off conscious rather than hidden.
Can wealth become more or less important to me over time?
Yes. Life circumstances change. Your values can shift as you age, as your safety changes, as your relationships shift. What mattered at thirty might not matter at fifty. The point is to know what actually matters to you now, so you can make choices based on current truth rather than old assumptions.
Will this assessment tell me whether I should pursue a higher-paying job?
It will tell you where wealth ranks among your values and whether you're living that ranking now. That's the input you need to make the decision. Whether you take a higher-paying job depends on the trade-offs it requires and whether those trade-offs match your actual priorities, not what you think your priorities should be.