“Real wealth is discretionary time. Money is simply fuel for your life. You can always make another dollar, but you can’t make another minute. Don’t let the pursuit of money erode your wealth.”
– Alan Weiss
Time is the Ultimate Currency
We all think that the key to a great quality of life is to have Freedom of Money, and we dream of what it would be like to be a billionaire. But the truth is that having a ton of money doesn’t really do anyone much good, unless it enables you to spend your time doing the things that you most enjoy.
Did you know that one billion seconds is just over 31 years? So by the time you turn 50, you are probably still a “Time Billionaire” – but they go pretty fast! In fact, take a look at the chart below, published by writer Tim Urban, depicting a 90 year human life in weeks.
It seems pretty crazy, but a lifespan of 4,680 weeks can all fit on one page! You can actually place your finger on the week that you are currently living, and see how much of the chart you still have left to fill in. (Provided you can expect to live to be 90!)
Life is short – much shorter than we think it is. We think of “assets” like money, cars, real estate and investments as the most precious assets, but the reality is that discretionary time to enjoy life and do the things that are important to us is the only “asset” that gives any of these things meaning for us. Quality of life is a direct function of how we spend our time.
True quality of life is available to us when we understand the interplay between time and money. Money is mostly valuable to the extent that it can enable us to spend our time focused on the activities that are most important to us and which we most enjoy, and pay someone else to do everything else. If we want to spend more time with family, going on vacation, playing golf, reading a great book or getting in shape, we can “Buy” the time we need by paying someone else to do our grocery shopping, mow the lawn, prepare our taxes, or manage our money.
What are you spending your billion seconds on today?
A Valuable Message
We hope that you enjoyed our message this month, and we love it when you share our articles. So feel free to post this on Facebook, Instagram or any other form of social media. You might also feel free to email out to a friend or family member who might appreciate it.
Real wealth is discretionary time
You can always make another dollar, but you can’t make another minute.
About VALUABLES
Many financial advisors focus on communicating with clients to provide complex analysis of the investment markets and economies. However, we have learned that most clients are not particularly interested in this complex analysis. Most clients hire an advisor for their knowledge of the markets, not for their ability to explain that knowledge. Most want to know what time it is, not how to build a watch.
Experience has taught us is that wealthy families care most about using their wealth as a means to a desirable end, which is to achieve a more satisfying, fulfilled and impactful life, and to fulfill their most important Life Values.
VALUABLES is a periodic article series focused on the concepts, systems, and habits which we have observed among families who have been successful in this quest to use their wealth as a tool to live a life of significance. The most successful families share a set of habits, systems, and insights which enable them to use their wealth as a tool to fulfill their Values and what is most important to them.
We named this article series VALUABLES, because it provides an exploration of those habits, systems, and insights. We hope it will help you to consider your assets and possessions which are most valuable to you, and how you can use your financial wealth to enhance and cultivate your true “Valuables”.
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