Time is the Most Valuable Asset
The most valuable asset in the world is time. Time is the only asset in the world that is absolutely finite and once you lose some, you will never get it back. Time can be used to acquire other assets such as information which can lead to all kinds of monetary assets.
Money can be Acquired, Time Cannot
Money is great to have but money comes and goes and if you know how to make money, chances are that you will make much more than you lose. You can make money with time but you can never make more time.
Compound Interest is One of the Wonders of the World
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest”. Most people only consciously apply compound interest to money. They look for the best savings account or investment that will give them the most compound interest, dump their money in and wait for it to grow.
You have the option not to save money but to use it as it comes in. You can live paycheck to paycheck and never put money away. In fact, most of the world unfortunately does this. They then wake up 20 years down the line and try and figure out where all their money went and why are they still broke.
If you look at the big picture monetarily and see yourself 20 years down the line, it is a no-brainer to start saving for your future. The only question is, why stop there? You can get compound interest on a lot more than just money.
Get Compound Interest on Your Time
Just like with money, you have a choice to spend it or save it, you have almost the same option with time. The difference between money and time is that money you either spend or save and time you either use productively or you waste. Now, if you look at the big picture with time, you will realize that it is more important than money and you will start saving it up or using it towards a goal.
The end result of compound interest on time is the accomplishment of a goal. To use time productively, you must have a goal that you are working towards. Without a goal, you have no direction and will probably not invest your time wisely. Just like when you are looking for the best savings account or investment for money, you must find the best investment for your time to get the best result.
The great thing about time is that it can be invested towards whatever is most important to you. It could be your family, friends, health, your business or your hobbies. You just have to set your goals and work towards them. The longer range your goal is, the more compound interest you can get.
If you live day to day, you will do what is important for today but you will not be preparing yourself for years down the line. If you plan ahead and invest time into your goals, you will be building your future. Just think of prerequisites in school. To graduate, you need certain courses but to take those courses, you need their prerequisites. When you go to school, they pretty much map out your 4 year goal. It is to graduate from your program. Once you enter the real world, no one will tell you what you are going to need 4 years or longer down the line. You need to set your own goals and work towards them yourself.
How Compound Interest on your Time Works
Imagine wanting to read an entire set of encyclopedias. You think to yourself that it will take years to finish and you never pick it up in the first place. You then lose out on all the information that you could have gained from reading the encyclopedias.
If you decide to read one section a day, then within a certain amount of time, you will have accomplished your goal, have the gained knowledge and most importantly be able to apply the knowledge to your life. Being able to apply this knowledge to your life is priceless because the more you know, the more educated your decisions can be and the better chance there is that you will be successful.
Timeline of Compound Interest of Time
Just like compound interest with money, as time passes by, you don’t keep getting the same dividends. The amount of interest keeps going up. When you invest $1.00 at 10% you will end up with $1.10 but the next time you get interest it will be on the $1.10, not on the $1.00. At this rate, in around 7 years you will have $10.
When you invest your time, each day you get closer to your goal, the amount of interest you get goes up as well. By using your time wisely and productively, you can accomplish things that you never imagined possible. If you continue to live day to day, 20 years down the line, you will still be in the same position that you are in today.
Making Goals
You must make short term goals as well as long term goals but to maximize your success, your short term goals must help you accomplish your long term goals. For example, if you want to lose 50 lbs. in a year, make a short term goal to lose a pound a week.