This article came as a result of a recent M.I.T that got a lot of positive feedback from my newsletter subscribers. Here it is below.
“If I were to give you a million dollars today and told you that you could do anything with it, with the only stipulation being that I would take the entire value of it back at the end of the day, what would you do?
You might be tempted to buy the best car, house, clothes, etc., but remember, the stipulation is that I would take the value of it all back, so at the end of the day, you wouldn’t have those things anymore.
What if you were to stick that million dollars in a 24 hour savings account that yielded 5% interest? I would take the one million back, but the 5% of that one million would be all yours to keep.
Now imagine I make this offer to you everyday. What would you do?
You might combine the million I give you with the 5% interest you’ve accrued day by day, and pretty soon, you’ll have your own million that will all be yours.
The truth is, we are all given a million dollars everyday.
It just has a different unit of measurement.
24 hours to be exact.
Invest your time in something worthwhile today, tomorrow and the day after.
The return on it will prove to be priceless.”
The reason why this particular M.I.T was so effective in my opinion, was that it did something that changed the way we look at time by placing a specific value on it.
All the time management techniques in the world will not help you if you cannot get this one fundamental down, that your time is valuable.
But it’s not enough to say your time is precious. That has no meaning. It must be measured so in this case, I equated 24 hours with one million dollars (but in reality, time is priceless).
Most of us do not place value on our time because it seems “free” in a sense.
Let me ask you this.
What would happen if it cost you $100 for every minute after 5 minutes of a hot shower? Would you be taking those long, luxurious, piping, steaming, hot 20-30 minute showers?
Or would you find a way to do everything you need to do within those 5 minutes so you wouldn’t have to pay overtime?
Granted, it does cost you money to take a shower, but nowhere near $100/minute. By placing value on that shower, you see it in a different way and get much more done in a smaller amount of time.
Placing value on your time is so important because if you do this, you are literally paying out of your pocket when engaging in the day to day activities you choose to pursue.
Let’s say you place your time at $500/hour. You watch TV for an hour. You have effectively paid $500 out of your pocket to be entertained for an hour. Would that be a wise investment?
How about reading a self improvement book for an hour instead of watching TV? Sure, the same $500 would be spent, but this time there would be a significant return. Knowledge. Understanding. Realization. And that will serve you for the rest of your life. Not just for an hour.
I’m not saying cut TV out completely (although that would be wise). There are times when we just want to relax and that’s a good investment as well. Rest, relax, kick back, but not too much.
Going back to that shower example, now let’s say in addition to paying $100/minute for every minute over 5 minutes, let’s also say you only get 5 gallons of water for all your showers every month.
Not only is your shower valuable, it becomes scarce. You would definitely try to get the most out of it now wouldn’t you?
When you place a specific value on your time and realize just how scarce it really is, you will think twice about what you do with it on a daily basis.
And time is scarce. Think about it. A fresh 24 hours is given to you everyday, but you will NEVER get those exact 24 hours back ever again in your entire life.
Sure, you’ll get a new set of 24 hours the next day, but you will never get those specific 24 hours back on that specific day on that specific month on that specific year and all the possibilities that would’ve been related to those specific 24 hours.
The difference between most people is simply this.
Many spend their time frivolously on a daily basis. Few invest it in something worthwhile.
We are all given a million dollars everyday. All of us, whether we realize it or not. Free of charge. But the value of it is then taken away from us at 11:59 59 PM. The question is, will we invest that million dollars and start reaping the results or will we do the same thing everyday and literally burn those million dollars to a fine crisp?
The few that do invest it have an understanding of the value of time and a true understanding of its scarcity on a daily basis, so they seek to invest as much as possible in one day, knowing that the sum of their investments will reap huge rewards in the future.
When you place value on your time and have a true understanding of its scarcity, you will think twice about the things you do.
The return you get on investing your time daily will reap greater returns than any stock, mutual fund or bond ever will.
Why?
Because your investments will compound daily and serve you for LIFE.
Place a specific value on your time and truly realize how scarce it is and I guarantee you that you’ll never look at how you spend your time the same way ever again.
