Want to be happier? Ask yourself these five simple questions

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At home, where a pricey bottle of wine was waiting.

On the surface, everything seemed perfect. “At the age of 23, I left college straight into a six-figure salary at a private equity firm,” says Bloom. “I had the prospect of millions and millions in the future from carried interest, a performance-based pay reward.

"We spent a year staying at five-star hotels in Thailand, Dubai, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and India with my wife, Elizabeth," he says.

But in 2021, at the age of 30, Bloom took a step back. "Growing up, I'd been convinced that having a lot of material wealth was the key to a happy, stress-free life," says Bloom, whose mother, who is Indian, and father, who is Jewish-American, both academics, had a comfortable lifestyle, but not as affluent as those of his friends. "It was the way I had been taught to measure success."

I was indoctrinated by personal chefs, he says. "I didn't have the time to question whether the definition of 'rich' was the correct one. I thought my life's goal was to figure out what the wealthiest people did.

“Slowly, then all at once”, he says, he began to grasp that he was on the wrong track. Following a meeting with a friend, which he describes as a “gut punch”, he re-thought his priorities and left his job.

It is published on February 4. Bloom is clearly still in the "growth" industry: his followers on X (formerly Twitter) have grown from a mere 5,000 in 2020 to over a million now. He counts Apple chief executive Tim Cook as "a mentor and a friend".

During his finance career, often working 80 to 100 hours a week, Bloom barely had time to enjoy his wealth. "It was more like money was a scoreboard," he says. "I'd sit on my net worth tracking app, and see the number going up and up."

The most disheartening aspect, he has come to understand, is that his relentless pursuit of wealth was going to have a profound impact on his life. “Elizabeth and I were starting to discuss the possibility of having children, but I had begun to think that this wasn't a good idea, as it would be a distraction from my work,” he says.

Bloom's eventual decision to walk away from a lifetime of chasing the dollar and to move back to the east coast, near his parents, wasn't the most straightforward one.

“On paper, it didn't add up,” he says. “Almost everyone thought I was barmy. My firm was backing me and kept me on as an adviser, but I was still turning my back on the massive carried interest. My mentor told me: ‘This will either work out or be the worst decision you've ever made.’”

She was expecting their son Roman, now two and a half years old.

Bloom then decided to focus the rest of his life on "what matters most", the five principles of which are the subject of his book. "Now that I run my own fund, I have control over my time," he says. "I have hours to spend time with my son, playing with toy cars that talk. I'm no longer a member of an elite golf club, and instead of spending my evenings at pricey restaurants, I go to bed at 8pm."

The notion that money doesn't bring happiness is hardly a novel concept. So what does Bloom have to share with us that's particularly original?

“Absolutely: it’s not enough just to say that,” he says. “But what you can do is identify what gives you a sense of happiness in life and find a way to measure those things. These are the things you can track.”

Bloom is keen not to give the impression that he's "being insincere", because he's clearly already made a tidy sum of his own. "Of course, having a certain amount of money gives you the means to make choices, to take risks and have experiences," he says. "Money isn't nothing, but it can't be the only thing. It is a tool, not the ultimate aim. I'd love people to question their own definitions of a successful life."

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“Nobody has all the answers; the most significant breakthroughs come from knowing which questions to ask,” says Bloom.

How many moments do you have left to share with your nearest and dearest?

Bloom had a "lightbulb moment" after a dinner with a friend, almost four years ago. "He asked me: how old are your parents? Did you know that if you only see them once a year, you are only going to see them 15 more times in your life? The fact that I could count this on my fingers and toes really knocked me for six," he says.

This conversation marked a pivotal moment for Bloom. "I could see that my parents were already slowing down," he says. "So I decided to take those 15 potential meetings and turn them into hundreds."

He's eager for people to consider how they actually spend their time, compared with how they perhaps should be spending it. For example, in his book, Bloom explores a tool called the "energy calendar", where the reader goes through their diary, colour-coding events green (for energy-creating), yellow (neutral) and red (energy-draining). The aim is then to spend more time on the former, and reduce the latter.

Bloom also suggests breaking the day down into short, separate time slots for tasks such as emailing, meetings and personal tasks. “Sprint, rest, repeat,” he says.

Who would be the first in line to attend your memorial service?

'I often wish people had their funerals while they were still alive,' says Bloom. 'Close your eyes and imagine your own funeral. Who is sitting in the front row? These people – your front row people – are the ones who truly matter. Make sure you cherish and show up for the people you want to show up for you.'

Bloom explains that we should evaluate our relationships, ranking them from "highly supportive" to "ambivalent" and "demeaning", before mapping them out, and deciding which ones to pursue and which to end. "Interestingly, although you might assume that demeaning relationships are the most detrimental, research suggests that ambivalent and inconsistent relationships are actually the most damaging to your physical and mental health," he states.

Are you looking to drive on mountain roads on your days off because you dream about it, or do you want people to see you in your car and think you've made it?

He says it's far more beneficial to "earn" your status through developing meaningful relationships, donating your free time, sharing your knowledge and experience, and gaining respect - things that require a significant amount of time and can't be bought with money.

What would your 10-year-old self tell you if they could give you advice now?

“Your time on this planet is limited,” writes Bloom, “so selecting the activities – personal and professional – that yield the greatest benefits in that time is crucial. Take a moment to pause and ask: what is your purpose?”

In the book, Bloom talks about how to "jump-start" your mental wealth. He recommends making three separate lists: one for things you love doing and "bring you joy", another for things that come easily to you, and a third for things you "need" to do, such as taking care of your family or going to work. Drawing circles and writing tasks inside can also be helpful, like a Venn diagram.

“Your life's purpose is situated at the crossroads of these intersecting sets, and it serves as the foundation for further exploration,” says Bloom. “Bear in mind that your purpose does not have to be linked to your occupation.”

At the age of ninety.

Will you be dancing at your 80th birthday bash?

“A healthy body is a status symbol,” says Bloom. And he’s certainly embodying this principle. An avid sportsman throughout his career, he was a top baseball player at Stanford University, and his Instagram is full of photographs of his toned torso and punishing exercise regimes.

“Consider your body as a home you'll be living in for the next 70 years,” he advises. “You're in charge of maintaining the current state and future condition of your body. Ensure that the fundamental aspects and outer structure are in good condition, deal with minor issues as soon as they come up, and make the regular daily, weekly and monthly investments necessary to keep it in good condition for a long, long time.”

He proposes three challenges in the book: gold, silver, and bronze. Bronze involves engaging in 30 minutes of physical activity every day, consuming whole, unprocessed foods for 80% of the time, and getting seven hours of sleep per night. The silver and gold levels increase the amount of sleep, physical activity, and healthy eating, as well as drinking a pint of water upon waking.

What do you consider to be a satisfactory level of financial wealth?

When Bloom spent his life among the extremely wealthy, he noticed that whatever they owned, someone else had something even better. "In other words, you may have a yacht, but there's always a bigger boat," he says.

“As I was working in finance, I noticed a lot of wealthy individuals who didn't seem particularly happy,” he says. “There was a billionaire businessman whose four children he had no relationship with, and a multimillionaire who had been divorced three times.”

It was discovered that money can only increase happiness up to a certain amount - around £70,000 per year," Bloom explains. "However, that sum may be sufficient in a rural area of the US, but it's likely to be insufficient in a city like London. I would estimate it to be higher than £70,000." Bloom further notes: "Perhaps a household income of £162,000 could be a more realistic figure.

“Actually, I don’t want to be drawn into talking about a specific amount,” says Bloom. “The main thing is that money does bring you some happiness, definitely – it meets your basic needs and gives you pleasure, and you can look after others. But once you've got that sorted, it's about other things. Otherwise, you'll spend your life being disappointed.”

Building a Life of Abundance: A Comprehensive Guide to Achieving Your Ideal Lifestyle by Sahil Bloom is released on 4th February.

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