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The Clock is Ticking!
You were born rich. In fact, everyone around you was born rich. Now you say, “how could that be, I’ve got $500 in savings and I owe a fortune!”
I’ve got good news for you and no, it has nothing to do with saving money on your car insurance.
The moment you materialized into this world, you were born filthy rich with an asset that is god-given to everyone. This asset is given to everyone equally at birth, yet, its quantity is unknown and ever expiring. In financial terms, this asset is a depleting asset, much like an oil well.
What is this precious asset and richness that you possess? It’s called TIME.
FASTLANE ACCELERANT:
The rich value their time very highly. The poor do not.TIME is an asset we all possess, share, and equally consume. Every day, we use it. No one gets more of it. No one gets less of it. No one can escape it. Each one of us is given 24 hours a day. And guess what? No one gets 25 hours. No one gets 21. No one gets cheated and no one gets an unfair advantage. We all get 24 hours to CONSUME, TO EXPIRE, and to SPEND.
The question is, how are you spending your ever depleting asset … your precious time?
If you dig deep into this question and honestly ask yourself, you could find the roots of your success, or lack thereof.
- Do you sleep until noon? You’re not spending time wisely.
- Do you watch hours and hours of TV? You’re not spending time wisely.
- Do you drive hours to save $20 bucks? You’re not spending time wisely.
- Do you buy plane tickets which multiple stops to save $100? You’re not spending time wisely.
- Do you fully engage in reality TV making sure that you don’t miss your favorite episode of Dancing with the Stars? You’re not spending time wisely.
Successful people spend time wisely. Successful people prioritize time as one of their most valuable assets. Why? Because it is. That’s right. TIME IS YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET. Moreover, we all are given the same amount of this asset daily. The bad news is most people don’t have a clue they possess it.
Unsuccessful people never recognize the value of time. They waste it. They consume it like it’s an unlimited resource that will always be plentiful. In fact, these people don’t value their time at all – it has no value.
This is one profound difference you will find between highly successful people and the chronically poor – VALUATION OF TIME.
FASTLANE ACCELERANT:
A poor valuation of your time leads to poorness. Start valuing your time as a depleting asset versus an asset in unlimited supply.Where can you spot a poor valuation of time?
I see it everywhere and typified by society. Of course, this could explain why 98% of the world will never acquire any amount of significant wealth. You will never be rich if you are a poor valuator of time.
MY EXPERIENCE … AN EXAMPLE
On my morning drive to the gym, I heard about a gas station that was selling gas 30 cents below market prices – at the time, gas was around $3.19 a gallon and this particular gas station was selling it at $2.89 – this made radio news. I realized that this gas station was on my way to the gym and thought it would be prudent to stop there if it wasn’t crowded.
When I approached the gas station, I immediately was amazed and dumbfounded.
A line of cars piled down the block and around the corner. There must have been 100 cars waiting to fill up.
The sight was sad. I was tempted to drive by and give these people a big “L” sign on my forehead (the non-verbal sign of “LOSER!”). Why?
I’d guess out of those 100 people waiting for gas, NONE of them will ever be rich.
Why? They value time poorly.
How much money would you save on a 20 gallon fill up by saving 30 cents? The wait probably was 2 hours. Is 2 hours of your time worth $6 bucks? These people value their time at $3 per hour. Yet, 100% of them would NEVER take a job making $3 per hour – yet, they “work” for $3/hr by pissing away their time. THIS IS TRUE IDIOCY IN ACTION and the mindset of the average American.
MY EXPERIENCE … AN EXAMPLE
My good friend who I love dearly wanted a piece of exercise equipment and found it on sale at an independent dealer. Unfortunately, this dealer was in Cave Creek which is about an hour drive from her home. I told her just to buy the darn thing locally and pay the extra $29. Instead, she drove 1 hour north to save $29. Subtract gas and the total valuation of her time is about $10 per hour. Last I checked, she doesn’t work for $10 per hour, but has no problem valuating her time at this rate.
MY EXPERIENCE … AN EXAMPLE
A quick check of my medicine cabinet reveals I need Bandaids and Mach 3 Turbo Razors. Instead of driving to Target, which is 20 minutes away, I drive to the neighborhood Safeway which is only 2 minutes away and buy them. I am fully aware that I will pay more – probably 2 bucks more than if I went to Target; four bucks more if I drive 30 minutes farther and go to Walmart.
Here is the financial analysis that whips through my brain in a micro-second.
- Buy at Safeway = 20 minutes of spent time.
- Buy at Target = 60 minutes of spent time.
- Buy at Walmart = 120 minutes of spent time.
Buying at Walmart is most expensive even though the price of the items is less.
The difference is, I VALUE MY TIME more than the savings. Purchasing these items involves TWO ASSET CONSUMPTIONS: MONEY & TIME. I chose to pay more and consume LESS TIME because time is a more valuable asset to me – it expires and erodes.
I can always make more money but I can never make more time. Time is fixed.
FASTLANE FACTOID:
You can always make more money - it is in limitless supply. You can’t make more time. Its supply is limited.Which brings me to the next point which involves cheating time.
How can you cheat time?
Successful people do it all the time and much of my success comes at the expense of cheating time by multi-tasking, or double-stacking time.
Double-stacking time? Huh?
While time may be linear and ever expiring, it can be double-stacked in your favor to produce accelerated results. The old cliché is termed: “Killing 2 birds with one stone”.
How does that work?
Simple: Accomplish TWO TASKS in ONE TIME FRAME. This is how you double-stack and multi-task your time and maximize your depleting asset. I attribute much of my success to double-stacking time and here are some examples you could leverage.
EXAMPLE 1:
Every human being sits on the toilet. It’s another thing we cannot escape. The time expended “sitting” will always be consumed. I double-stack time by reading books and magazines while doing an activity that I can never escape. Sometimes the reading session is only 2 minutes, while other times it could be longer.
The point is this: Everyday I am learning something new. Research studies indicate that learning occurs when delivered in short-bursts (no pun intended) – by reading each time I sit, I am forced to learn something – “I have no time” is a poor man’s excuse. With Toilet University, everyone is enrolled and everyone can learn – classes are every day and the length you desire. Not even 4 unruly children can keep a single mom away from Toilet University.
A life long journey of learning happens every day for me – and will always.
EXAMPLE 2:
When I am sitting in traffic, I listen to financial news radio. While driving to the store/gym/wherever, I, once again, learn more. TWO ACTIVITIES – ONE TIME FRAME.
EXAMPLE 3:
While exercising on the elliptical machine at the gym, I read books and magazines. Again, I am exercising and learning – BOTH consumes ONE TIME FRAME.
EXAMPLE 4:
Years ago, I drove limos, delivered pizzas, and delivered flowers. (Yea, I liked driving). These jobs had serious downtime in between jobs – while I waited for passengers, pizzas, and flower orders, I READ. I didn’t sit around playing Gameboy – no, I read. (Actually gameboy wasn’t around but you get the point). TWO ACTIVITIES (Working / Learning) ONE TIME FRAME.
EXAMPLE 5:
I don’t watch much TV however when I do, I do it while working. Next to my computers is a TV – while working, I turn the TV on and can get my fill of reality TV, sports … all while still getting work tasks accomplished.
See a pattern? TWO TASKS – ONE TIME FRAME. Double-stack your time and you’ll never say “I don’t have time!”
If you’re saying “I don’t have time” I say “BS!”.
Make better choices in time valuation and management and your odds of success wildly improve. Ignore your precious, god-given asset and you will find yourself running out of time, as well as money.
Peace
MJ DeMarco
When I was in my 20's, they laughed and said I was nuts. "MJ! You're dreaming!" Then, I got the last laugh. I retired in my 30's and now live a dream. Those same people now whore their life away for a paycheck only to reclaim their salvation on the weekend. With a correctly executed Fastlane plan, everyday of your life can be your weekend.
