How Much Is Your Freedom Worth?
As I look at what different "learn to be rich" guys (is it me, or are really only guys doing this?) are teaching, there seems to be a common theme among all of them - and that is that money is only important, while you don’t have enough. So my question to you is, how much is enough for you ? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - you don’t want money. You need money to pay for rent, car, phone, jewelry, internet, TV, and all those other little toys that you have. You need money to invest, and have something to pay for your food when you retire.
But you don’t really want any of that. You don’t want a house - you want security and warmth. You don’t want a car - you want to get to places more conveniently and faster. You don’t want a phone or internet - you want to connect with friends and family, and you want to find out what’s happening. And on, and on, and on. Or you might want a sports car and a mansion, because it makes you feel superior. Whatever your reasons, you don’t want the things themselves - you want something else. You want the experiences and emotions that using those things will offer you.
This is where the value of money comes from. Money in and of itself is worthless - unless its gold coins (then you can use it as jewelry). But there are things that make it valuable.Money is valuable, because it can buy you security in the form of a house, speed in the form of a car, connection in the form of a phone. Money is valuable because it gives you the chance to do things that you want to do. Money is valuable because it can get you to places that you want to see. Money is valuable because it can buy the experiences and emotions that you want.
The problem is, that in order to use the things you buy, to do the things you want to do, to visit the places you want to see, you need something else beside money - you need time. If you have a wonderful car, but spend 16 hours per day, every single day, in the office, chances are you’re not using the car very much so you’re not getting much out of it. Money is worthless, if you don’t have the time. So how do you value your time?
The easiest way is to look at the time that you sell. If you work 12 hours a day, and make $200,000 a year - you’re making about $60-63 per hour. But that doesn’t tell you the whole picture. Suppose someone asks you to do some extra work - how much would they have to pay you, to spend that extra hour? $20? 30? 40? I’m surprized to see, how many people are willing to trade that extra hour for less, than what they normally earn - it shows that to them, the value of their time drops with every extra hour that they work.
For me it tends to be the opposite. If your only motivation is money, you’ll have a harder and harder time convincing me to sell an hour more. Unless, of course, you offered me $10,000 to miss one night’s sleep - but that is more an exception that proves the rule. You need to start thinking about how much is your time really worth. How much is an hour spent with your kids, your friends, your spouse worth? How much is an hour doing something you’re passionate about worth? How much is an hour of relaxation worth? How much is an hour of not being stressed out worth? How much would someone have to pay you, to give up all that?
When you’re giving up your time, you’re giving up your freedom. Too many people forget this. I don’t know about you, but for me freedom is invaluable. You need to remember, that you’re working for a reason - whether that is an evening with kids, a weekend with friends, a vacation, a bigger house, or whatever - and whatever the reason, it will require time. You need to start valuing your time, and stop valuing money - because with out time, money is not worth anything.
If you want to learn how to reclaim your time, take control of your life, and find personal freedom to do what matters to you (and, since you are reading this, you probably do), you're in the right place. Make sure you don't miss a single update - subscribe to the blog and have all the latest post delivered straight to your RSS feed reader or your inbox. You can also follow me on Twitter so we can chat and get to know each other a little better. This blog is not about me, it's about you - so feel free to email me, or leave a comment. Thanks for visiting, hope to see you here more often!
