Thursday, January 31, 2008

How earning BIG bucks doesn't mean you are rich!

What does success really mean to you? Is it solely defined by the amount of money you earn or the number of big ticket items such as a shiny new sports car or wide screen plasma tv? If the above is what you really think success really means, I suggest you take a reality check and reexamine your definition again!

If I were to make you an Offer A of a pay $10,000 per month, but in exchange for it you would have to work 7 days a week, 16 hours a day, would you take up the offer? In comparison, if I were make you another Offer B which pays $4,000 per month but you would only have to work a 5 day week, 8 hour day, which offer would you choose? If your definition of success is to make lots of money, offer A would be the obvious choice. However, are you really better off with Offer A?

Doing a simple computation gives me this result:

Hourly rate for A = $10000 / 31 days / 16 hours = $20.16 per hour
Hourly rate for B = $4000 / 24 days /8 hours = $20.83 per hour


On a hourly rate comparison, you will actually be slightly better off taking Offer B rather than Offer A.

Success cannot be solely defined in absolute dollars term! The quality of life ie. work life balance is also just as important as the amount of money in describing success. You do not want to skip through life solely doing just work and more work, missing out in the process intangibles such as spending quality time with family, friends or loved ones, indulging in your favorite hobbies etc. These intangibles are what matter the most 30 to 40 years down the road when you are old, not the monetary wealth that you have amassed!

Here's a new phrase that you can add to your vocabulary: Time Poverty. A quick definition of time poverty is not having the time to do what you want. You can be rich in monetary terms but poor in reality because you do not have the time to spend nor enjoy this money with your loved ones. To be truly successful, you have to be both cash rich and time rich, having just either one is not enough. Are you on the right path to success?

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2 Comments:

surfnux said...

nice post. Of course there's got to be a balance in working hours and free time. I see some people work morning and night, and sometimes even on weekend. There is just no free time or time to hang out and socialize. It sucks really.

Ryan said...

Definitely, even a machine or robot needs to rest for repairs, maintenance and upgrades, even more so for a human being! People got to change the mentality that working harder doesn't equate to working longer! The key, rather, is to work smart and more productively ie. doing more with less time!