5 Reasons Why Time Is Gold

I’ve never really undestood what the saying “Time is Gold” really meant until I learned a little more about the world of money.  Time is an abstract concept that doesn’t really exist, just like money.  But the sheer mention of the word ignites a lot of emotions from different people.  Those without it, are stressed out.  Those with a lot of time on their hands are either bored or dreaming.

While pondering this old saying, I realized there are actually 5 things that explain why time can be considered Gold.

1. You can never get it back

The only thing in this world that you cannot get back (aside from life itself) is time.  When you’ve spent 30 minutes of your time, you can not get it back, however you desperately want it.  You can invent the greatest time machine all you want, but at this point in human evolution, there’s just no way of turning back time.  That’s why the emotion of “regret” is very powerful.  If only you could turn back time somehow, you would give everything just to have it.

The ironic thing is, all the material things we trade our time for can be taken back.  I know of someone who lost her home to foreclosure, but managed to get it back years after because of her determination.  Donald Trump, the billionaire real-estate magnate lost a lot of money, but managed to get it all back and more.  Unlike material things, once time passes you by, you can never bring it back.

2.  You only have 24 hours in a day

This is really an amazing equalizer.  Everyone gets the same chance at life.  We all have 24 hours in a day.  Even the richest people on earth only have 24 hours in a day.  The poorest of the poor also have 24 hours in a day.  The only difference — they use their 24 hours very differently.

If you don’t like what your life is right now, there’s only one thing you need to do — change the way you spend your time.  You don’t need to place your hope in winning the lottery, or deceiving other people for your own financial gain.  You can get rich with integrity by learning to value your own time, and valuing other people’s time as well.

3.  You can trade time for money

You can trade your time for money.  How? Simply get a job and watch the next 40 years of your life traded for a monthly salary?  How much is your time worth?  Are you earning enough?  Is your time worth that much?

It doesn’t matter whether you are CEO or an entry-level employee, you still trade your time for money.  When you don’t go to work, you stop earning.  Unless of course, you are investing that time to build your own business, or investing your earnings on income-producing assets, that, hopefully someday allow you to hire other people to do the work for you and you can then spend your time playing with your kids, doing the things you love to do.

4.  You can leverage your time

Why is it that even though everyone only has 24 hours in a day, some people can get a lot more done than others? Reason? Leverage.  Henry Sy employs thousands of people to run his business empire.  By so doing, he multiplies his time by thousands.  With that thousands of hours, millions is earned by his businesses each single day.

Compared that into a one-man show employee.  His single-handed efforts, without any form of leverage, can only get to 24 hours, no matter how strong or skilled he may be.

5.   You can make the most of what you have

The hard truth is that your time is limited.  You never know when your time will end.  But one thing is for sure, you can make the most of the time that you have.

Spend your “golden” time with your loved ones.  Take care of them.  Enjoy what life has to offer.  Remember that we are just passers by in this world we call life.  When you live your life by the moment, you leave a long-lasting impression into the lives of other people…and your life’s meaning would be fulfilled.