You will die! Everyone reading this today will not be alive by 2100.
So if you had to live your life in a way that maxes it out, what would you need? I think about this a lot. A blissful life needs 3 things.
1. Money comes first.
Money affords choice. Money lets me look after my family, save for my kid, live in a place which makes me feel like my best self and live through experiences worth remembering.
I was analysing my finances yesterday, and it was obvious I could have had a lot more in the bank if I hadn’t invested in people and ideas, and helped friends and family. Once my basics are covered, I tend to go after growth and creation. My move to Singapore took me back to basics, but I already know it will set me up for the next leap. I can feel it, and that belief is a prerequisite to achievement.
Money is the most objective way to judge how much value you create. It’s a system based on skills. Most people who have the most money have been of service to many others. Most get what they deserve. The shortcut, robbing a bank or scamming others, will never give you the satisfaction of building your own wealth. And of course it’ll lock you up in jail. In other words, there are no shortcuts!
Money also exaggerates who you already are. Assholes become bigger assholes. Good guys become great guys.
Money also lets you own your time. If you don’t have it, you barter your time for it. I call people rich when their money makes enough to pay for their monthly costs. If it makes more than they can spend, they are super rich.
2. Time is more important than money.
But time without money will never let you experience the best life has to offer.
You can infinitely add to your money. You cannot add to your time. You only get 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
The person who has nothing and the person who has it all own the same amount of time. Both sleep for 33% of it. Both eat, poop, argue, love and hate. Neither can escape the human condition, with its highs and lows. What they can choose is how they spend their waking hours.
So spend time on what brings you joy or energises you. Time with my kid brings me tremendous joy. I feel like I am reliving life through her eyes. Time spent making my team win energises me. I feel like I’ve scored a goal with them. Time spent exercising and journaling keeps me physically strong and mentally sharp, which enables me to stay focused on family and work.
Time needs to be spent. Too much of it turns corrosive. You would be better off working a job you hate than having no work. You would be better off working a job you love than a job you hate. Time is limited, and it needs purpose.
3. Purpose keeps evolving.
As a kid it is to get good grades or make the school team. When you graduate it is a high-paying job or a business. When you have a family it is to raise your kids with the right values. When you get old it is to give back.
Some want to run countries and some just want to live in peace. Some want to be billionaires and some just want to play with their kids. Most don’t have a purpose. They just blow with the wind. If you don’t know yours, let your intuition guide you.
Final thoughts
Prioritise money by being so good you can’t be ignored. Find purpose in the things which energise you, by playing at the intersection of your talents and interests. Spend your limited time on what really matters. For everything else, get Claude to be your chief of staff. It can plan each day around your calendar with your hardest work first, guard the time with your family, set your workouts, plan your meals and groceries, keep your accounts, track your bills and file your thoughts from a voice note.
I’ve built a system which just lets me focus on work, time with my family and looking after my mind and body. I don’t want to be distracted by anything else.
You won’t be here in 2100. Max it out.
Harsh
I spent sixteen years helping build a business till it sold. Now I'm helping build something much bigger. I share what I learn on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and this Sunday Email.