The Most Powerful Element in Making Money is Time
The secret of the rich is knowing the power of time. By having time on their side, they maximize their income potential and become truly wealthy.
Exchanging Time for Money
Starting out, everyone works for money. We find a well paying job, and toil through each day for our salary. It doesn't matter whether we are a top executive, a business owner, or an employee.
If your job requires you to spend your days doing tasks to earn money, then you are exchanging time for money. Without expending effort or time, you get no income. This is the first step of our journey to financial freedom.
Exchanging Money for Money
Eventually, we tire out. We crave for vacations; we get sick; we get laid off. Often through difficult circumstances, we learn that we cannot work forever.
We begin to learn how to save and invest. We invest in assets such as stocks, real estate, bonds, or even cryptocurrency. We learn that money saved today can mean money earned tomorrow; and as we save more, our wealth compounds and accumulates over time. Money now becomes a tool to earn more of itself. This is the second step.
Exchanging Money for Time
The third and last step comes when we have developed a habit of earning, saving, and investing. We can look back and say that we need not work as hard as we did when we first started. We are able to earn money while on the beach or on a ski trip or even backpacking through different countries. When we reach this stage, we must remember why we work and earn in the first place.
This is not the time to splurge, but this is the time to buy back what we have lost. We pay for trips we didn't have the chance to experience with our friends when we were busy working. Money is no longer a crutch, but it helps us create more time for the things and the people that really matter.
In my journey, I am currently in the second step of learning to make my money grow and produce more on its own. One day, eventually, this will compound into something much bigger that will lead me to the last step, freeing my time and effort to work on more meaningful things in life.
How about you? Where are you in your journey? Let me know in the comments below!