"A man's true state of power and riches is to be in himself"

Power and wealth are often tallied in bank balances, job titles, and the deference of others. Yet the most durable power is self-command, and the most dependable riches are the capacities of mind and heart that no market fluctuation can erode. When power is rooted within, it shows up as the freedom to choose one’s response, the steadiness to endure praise without vanity and blame without collapse, and the courage to act according to conscience rather than compulsion. Such power cannot be granted, rented, or revoked by circumstance; it is cultivated through habit.

Riches within are the stores of character and understanding: curiosity that keeps learning, gratitude that multiplies sufficiency, compassion that enlarges one’s world, discernment that governs desire. Skills, wisdom, integrity, and the ability to love well outlast fashions and fortunes. External measures are contingent; inner resources are portable. They travel with a person through failure and success alike.

To locate one’s estate within is to accept radical responsibility. It shifts attention from acquisition to formation: shaping desires rather than merely satisfying them, building competence instead of collecting credentials, choosing integrity even when it costs. Paradoxically, those who are rich in themselves often prosper outwardly; people trust reliability and clarity. But their contentment does not depend on those gains, so loss does not impoverish them.

Such inward abundance benefits others. A person not enslaved to approval or scarcity can be generous, because giving does not threaten identity. Influence becomes service rather than domination. This orientation grows through practices: know yourself and tell the truth; keep promises to build self-respect; master a craft to anchor worth in effort; prune appetites to recover freedom; tend attention through silence or study; cultivate friendships that challenge and steady.

The truest estate cannot be hoarded or stolen. It is a way of being that accompanies its bearer everywhere, turning every place into enough.