When one mentions the word “wealth”, the first thing to come to mind is usually a large bank balance or an inventory of worthy stocks. Although financial assets are a critical part of our lives and money can go a long way towards living a wealthy life, they are not the only things. True wealth is based on the ability to control your time and live according to your values. Today, we will discuss why time is a more useful way of defining wealth than only money.
Imagine that every morning, you wake up with $86,400. You can spend it daily, but can’t save any of it. At midnight, your account would reset to $86,400 and you’d lose whatever remained the day before. What would you do with that money? There are 86,400 seconds in a day. You can spend those seconds, but you can never save them.
In most societies today, success is quickly associated with or measured in monetary terms, with little regard for other factors. However, financial resources alone don’t guarantee liberty, freedom, or autonomy. You could have all the money in the world, but what good would it do if you have to work constantly and can’t use it? Or work to old age just to have a few years to enjoy the fruits of your labor before death?
One example is the high-paid executive who earns six figures while working 80 hours a week and gets almost no personal time. They can become chained to their career. Even though they earn a lot of money, they never feel fully free because they can’t pursue things they’d like to or spend time with people they love. This scenario highlights the critical limitation of measuring wealth solely by financial means.
Society’s obsession with becoming rich can be overwhelmingly costly in other ways. Individuals might lose precious hours with their loved ones, forget about their hobbies, ignore their friends, and potentially fail to pursue important, meaningful activities. This can lead to a life that is full of cash but lacking in happiness, contentment, and freedom.
While money undoubtedly makes life much easier (especially if one has a disposable income), money alone doesn’t equate to success or fulfillment. What good is money if you’re too busy to use it and alienate yourself in the process of accumulating it? That’s when we begin to realize that to be truly wealthy, one needs to have time.
Free time is crucial to people’s well-being because it helps them recover, think, and pursue activities that support physical, mental, and emotional health. Whether that means pursuing hobbies, learning new things, traveling to exotic places, or spending time with friends and family, having the time to do what truly matters to you is invaluable. Additionally, while people usually think of free time as a lack of work, they forget that it helps them avoid stress and burnout due to the lack of constant obligations and deadlines. Free time is an important strategy that can be used to boost happiness, resilience, and life satisfaction.
Time wealth is defined as having the ability to control and manage one’s time to live according to personal preferences and values. It’s about having the freedom to choose how you want to spend your days, without being yoked to work or someone else’s expectations. Having time wealth provides a sense of freedom, fulfillment, and control over one's life that financial wealth alone cannot.
Those who have time wealth can schedule their days to correspond with their likes and preferences. They can pursue matters that interest them and give them personal satisfaction, resulting in more balanced and fulfilling lives. Time wealth allows you to live authentically and according to your terms.
Time wealth creation requires deliberate measures to ensure that time is not consumed in pursuit of working and amassing money. Here are some effective approaches:
Outsourcing and Delegating Tasks: Delegation goes beyond merely assigning tasks to others. By outsourcing or delegating routine work that isn’t necessary for you to personally handle, you can free up time to concentrate on what is important to you. Master the art of effective delegation by learning how to delegate like a dealmaker.
Investing in Personal Development and Skills: Enhancing your skills and investing in personal development can increase your earning potential, job offers, and flexibility. This, in turn, allows for more control over your work-life balance and career path. Know what employers look for, become an in-demand employee, and accept offers on your terms.
Adopting a Minimalist Lifestyle: Living a minimalist lifestyle means intentionally living with fewer possessions, focusing on necessity rather than extravagance. It allows for a reduction of the need to earn a lot of money, which in turn frees up time. When you take the time to eliminate the clutter and concentrate on what matters most, then you can manage your finances better and get more time to do what you want.
Pursuing Entrepreneurial or Passive Income Opportunities: Investing in businesses, setting up passive income streams, freelancing, or generating other alternative sources of income can grant you financial security while working on your terms and freeing up more time. Your income is not directly proportional to the hours you spend working which gives you more time to focus on what you value.
True wealth is not just about the size of your bank account; it's about the ability to control and enjoy your time. Ultimately, the measure of your wealth should be the degree of control and freedom you have over your time. Accepting this broader view of wealth will bring more satisfaction, better quality of life, and richness to our lives.