If you had all the money in the world, would you still write?

9 reasons to write, regardless of income.

Many of us write because we want to make money and create more freedom.

But what if you had all the money you’d ever need?

Is writing, in an age of AI, even a necessary pursuit?

What keeps great writers, philosophers, and thinkers returning to the page in the coming years even when they don’t have to?

Let’s strip away the veil of ‘needing money’ to see how we’d view writing in a less needy way.

Perhaps it will help you think about how you write and why you write, even if the bonus of making money from it is still in the picture:

1. Writing as a form of play.

When you take away the pressure to ‘perform’ or ‘sell, writing becomes a playground for your mind.

You get to experiment and write the weird, personal, and unexpected.

Some of the greatest writers in history (like Charles Bukowski and Hunter S. Thompson) wrote because they loved the process.

📌 Exercise: Write something completely useless but fun — maybe a ridiculous short story, a fake news article, or a bizarre philosophical rant.

What does this lead to?

2. Writing for mental clarity & emotional well-being.

Writing needn’t only be about what it’s for, but how it helps you internally.

Even billionaires and high performers journal daily to clear their minds.

You might even argue that the more successful you get, the more you need writing as a tool to maintain sanity and fulfilment.

📌 Exercise: Free-write for 10 minutes in the morning. No agenda. Just empty your mind onto the page.

3. Writing for legacy & influence.

Money lets you impact the world, but your ideas — your written words —can last far longer than your wealth.

Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations was never written for the public, yet it has guided countless people over centuries.

📌 Exercise: What would you write about today if you had 10,000 years to leave an impact?

4. Writing as a ritual for more effective thinking.

Great thinkers write to sharpen their minds.

Writing forces you to structure your ideas more coherently, which is why people like Naval Ravikant, Nassim Taleb, and even Albert Einstein kept detailed notes and writings.

Writing makes you think better, and this can be applied to all areas of life.

📌 Exercise: Write down a question that’s been on your mind and force yourself to answer it in 500 words.

5. Writing to serve & mentor others.

At a certain point, making money stops being motivating.

But mentorship and service never lose their meaning.

Great writers use their words to guide those a few steps behind them.

It’s one of the most fulfilling reasons to write — you get to help people through the lessons you’ve learned.

If you grow an audience, you can even start working with people one-on-one or, in groups or on retreats whether you get paid for it or not.

📌 Exercise: What’s the biggest insight you wish you had 10 years ago? Write it as advice to someone younger.

6. Writing to connect with like-minded people.

Even when money is no longer an issue, you still need connections.

Writing is one of the best ways to attract the right people into your life who share your ideas, interests, and values.

Writing for fifteen years online has brought me a thriving online business and friends and happy connections across several continents.

📌 Exercise: Write about something personal, passion-fueled, and quirky, then share it and see what happens.

7. Writing to pursue the dream of simply being read.

Not every writer wants fame, but every writer dreams to be read.

There’s something uniquely fulfilling about seeing someone resonate with your words and building a readership around your ideas and stories.

Even if you don’t need the money, having a small (or large), loyal audience of readers to your articles and books can be deeply satisfying.

8. Writing as a private art form.

Not everything needs to be shared.

Some of your best writing can be just for you. Billionaires like George Lucas still write because it’s an artistic pursuit, not just a financial one.

📌 Exercise: Write a personal letter to yourself 10 years from now or dabble with short story fiction writing as a side hobby.

9. Writing to stave off mental decline.

Like a daily game of Sudoku, regular writing keeps your mind sharp.

It prevents cognitive decline, improves articulation, and maintains your creative edge. Ever notice how some of the world’s greatest writers died unusually old?

Some of the longest-living, most mentally active people wrote daily.

If money were no longer a concern, writing would remain one of the best ways to play, create, explore, and connect. It’s a lifelong craft, a thinking tool, and a way to leave something behind that matters.

Would you still write if you had everything?

Let me know in the comments.

And if you’d like further support, where I show you the 16 secrets I learned over 15 years of online writing to take your writing to even higher levels, you’ll want my Online Writing Alchemy course.

The course shows you everything you need to know to write powerfully so you grow an online tribe of fans and buyers.

Learn more about that here.

If you’d like access to hundreds of locked articles like this one, you’ll want to become a paying subscriber here on Substack for less than the price of a couple of coffees each month:

—

Join us for free at the Mastery Den Telegram for daily content ideas so you never run out of ideas.