Do these words describe you? Hardworking, enthusiastic, energetic, conscientious, committed, pressed for time? Well, with so many competing priorities in our personal and business life, not to mention the internet, social media and all other forms of content bombarding us from every direction – it’s no wonder none of us seem to have any time left.
Jim Rohn said that “Time is more valuable than money”, Sir Richard Branson confirmed with his comment “Time is the new Money”. I don’t know about you, but I find myself appreciating this even more at my stage of life.
I now understand that you can’t put a value on TIME; you can earn more money but unfortunately you can’t earn or even buy more time. With age and everyone growing up around us, comes the realisation of significant value of time.
Personal circumstances over the last year have led me to reflect on my life, look at what I have achieved in my career, my business and my family life. This got me thinking how much time do I have left to do all the things I want to do, visit the places I want to visit and spend time with all the people who are important in my life?
This reflection was reinforced by an article I had read recently, which claimed that average life expectancy is 28,000 days, i.e. 76 years and 260 days. For a 25-year-old, that’s 19,000 days left to realise dreams, or 12,000 days for a 45-year-old to achieve all the things they want to do in life.
In fact, would you believe there is a company who have an LED clock designed and tailored to an individual to guess how many days they have left to enjoy and to count down the days until you die? Now if that doesn’t motivate people to seize the day, what will?
Anyway, this in turn provoked me to consider a few questions:
- How was I using my time?
- How was I currently spending my free time?
- Do I have the financial freedom to spend time in the way I want?
- If I had more time, what would I do?
How might you respond to these questions?
Buying Back Your Time
Often when presenting my business to others, I am met with the phrase “I just don’t have enough time” How many times have you heard that? Perhaps you even use it yourself? Does that mean you have no time to follow/pursue your dreams?
No matter which way you look at it we all have 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in each week, but where does it go? The following infographic shows how we might be spending this time.
So assuming you have 30 hours ‘spare time/free time’ in a week. How do you use it?
Studies suggest the average person will spend 5 hours a day on entertainment; this could be watching TV, playing sport, video games, scrolling through Facebook or other social media platforms to name but a few.
Do you realise that’s approx 150 hours a month or 1800 hours a year? So, give this some thought – How much is that time actually costing you each year? … and, Could you be spending that time more wisely?
An increasing number of determined people are now appreciating that a network marketing business can be started in their spare-time and if with a little effort can produce a ‘nice’ royalty type income, when the product happens to be consumable, it’s even better as the royalties keep being paid month after month as the customer re-orders the product.
The exciting part for me was that I started to see how I could ‘buy back my time’. As I increased the time and effort I applied to my ‘little’ home based business I could see my royalty income growing, steadily and securely. I never experienced this in the years I was working for someone else.
Royalty or Passive income literally ‘buys time’ for you. Can you imagine what you would do if all your work time became your free time?
Rather than wasting your ‘free time’ would it not make sense to do something important or valuable with it? Wasting time watching TV or browsing the internet is not going to help cater for the years ahead of us, but starting a part-time business for yourself can! This doesn’t mean giving up the day job, in fact I would encourage you to keep your job as you start your journey building your very own business; how about this phrase “Work full-time on your job and part-time on your fortune”.
Over time, your part-time business will deliver you a strong, ongoing income and this will present you with a choice of whether you wish to leave your job, thereby releasing lots of hours or continue working – the decision will be yours!
Time Freedom
Whether you work for someone else, are self employed, already a successful entrepreneur or a network marketer, we all have the same 24 hours each day. The question is, are you going to continue to trade your time for money or are you going to take action and do something about it? Isn’t it time for you to own your life, follow your heart and create the dreams you so desire?
What I saw when I looked at this business was TIME, not money, not holidays, not glamour, not status, but TIME!
Don’t get me wrong, having a substantial secondary income alongside the day job, having my car paid for by the company (for just being part time!), having security of thousands of Share Options, enjoyed many holidays paid for by the income I receive is fantastic – however the main thing is the Time and Freedom to make Choices.
Owning Your Own Life
Oh just in case you are wondering about what prompted me to write this article… Well after a few short years of running/developing my own part-time business (in my free/spare time) alongside a full-time job & family commitments, I have, after many, many committed years working for the same employer, made the decision to step away from the day job, leave behind a well paid salary and enjoy the freedom of literally, owning my life!
How much TIME are you willing to sacrifice to own your life?
In closing I leave you with the following to ponder:
Time is the most precious and valuable thing we have in life, so use it wisely, live it happily, make the best choices and have no regrets as once it’s gone you will never get it back.
If like me, you wish to create more time in your life or to live the life you want, why not give me a call on 07771 536891 and have a chat, I’d be happy to share my experiences with you – maybe they could change your life as they have mine!
