Time and Money
We are followers of Jimmy Jones, cutting in the kool-aid line
–Wolves in wolves clothing by NOFX
“Time is money”. There is a quote that I hear just about every day. Constantly folks are telling me how time is money. When they are waiting in lines they give an exasperated sigh - “Time is money”. Leaving a meeting to go to another - “Time is money”. Speeding down the freeway 30 mph over the limit - “Time is money.”
You know what? Time is not money. This is an idea that needs to be stopped. And unfortunately not only are most people deluded into thinking that this is true, but there entire careers reflect the same idea.
Steve Pavlina describes trading time for money as being “income for dummies”. That’s about the best I’ve ever heard it put. Think about it… what really has value. Me sitting at a desk and keeping my chair warm for 8 hours? Or is it what I can accomplish? It’s not the time itself that is valuable but rather the product of your time. Let’s say I spend the next year writing and book and when I’m done I charge $8 for it. Now what if I took me two years to write it instead of one? Would you pay $16 for the same book in that case? Of course not.
It’s not your time that has any value. It’s your ability to produce something that has value to others. Yet I see people every day who haven’t grasped this concept and instead are stuck in a job somewhere trading their time for money. I used to joke about my 40 hours a week sitting at a desk. I felt that I spent 1 hour a week being brilliant and 39 hours a week doing mindless tasks. I’ve seen this to an even greater extent in others who are “working” by playing solitaire or reading wikipedia entries (or lifeisyourcareer!) all day. And they are getting paid the same either way and all along they are telling themselves, “Time is money”.
Well that idea sucks and I want no part in it. I want to be paid for my ability not my time. If I can do as good a job as someone else in half the time then I still want to be paid the same thing. Don’t be deluded into thinking we’re all equal… we’re not. If you’re a better worker and can accomplish more faster then you should be making more money. When I do consulting work I always charge by the project and never by the hour of my time. My time isn’t valuable… it’s the change I can help people make that is valuable.
Another great thing about decoupling time from money is that you no longer have to be working to make money. Why just get paid when you’re working? I like getting paid while I eat dinner, while I ski, and while I’m sleeping. When you look at people who successful entrepreneurial businesses they have started they are making money all the time. The business they have created keeps on giving them more and more income. Same goes for authors and many other careers as well.
Plus you’re money is no longer limited to a pre-defined amount. Let’s say you run a great marketing campaign for the company you work for and their profits increase by $5 million dollars. What do you earn for this great campaign? $20 dollars an hour for however long you worked. What would you have earned playing minesweeper all day at the same job? $20 dollars an hour. On the other hand when you are working for yourself and no longer buying into the idea that time is money… you get to keep everything you make. As well it should be. If you have the ability to create something wonderful, then you should benefit from the financial windfall your hard work produces.
Time is not money. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Keep looking towards the entrepreneurial path and stop pursuing “income for dummies”.
