Cost vs. Value
I have heard this phrase a few times and each time it makes me stop and think about my decision making process when purchasing something or investing my time. I don’t remember who said it first but I remember the feeling in my gut when I heard it.
“Buying things based on the lowest price vs the value that comes with the price is the difference between rich people and poor people.”
This could be stated a different way, Rich people buy based on value and Average people buy based on lowest price.
This was said not to make others feel less than or stupid, it is to shine the light on the value vs cost aspect of our investments. We tend to think about it in just the context of finances, which I think is a massive mistake. Money is generated, on and off for your entire life. There is always more to make and the pie of distribution is massive. ( I don’t believe any one group is stopping you from earning it, its just a matter of you thinking you're worth it). However, time is not infinite, you can’t get any of it back and there is only so much given to each person. We strive to with all our might but it slips away second by second anyway. Because this is true for all of us, we should think primarily where our biggest asset, time, is being spent. How we invest each hour and what we are doing to make the most of our day as a whole is our individualized responsibility. This became very real to me once I started working for myself. I had no one giving me tasks so it was easy to get distracted. Once I started planning ahead and holding myself accountable things started to change. I became far more aware of the power of intentional effort, the power of my time. Each hour became more profitable.
Taking control of our time allows us to view our wealth accumulation differently. We all have 168 hours in a week and 24 hours in a day, both rich and poor. What we do with those hours is up to us. I believe that maximizing your time each day only happens with intentional planned effort. No successful business flys by the seat of their pants, why should you run your business (life) differently? This is in all aspects of our lives not just work. The more scheduled we can become with our meals, working out, sleep and work the more our body can regulate its resources and give better responses. Our emotional volatility is also controlled when we schedule out our days because our system is prepared for the upcoming stimulus.
Intentional effort is the name of the game. Sit down and prepare for your days in advance. Cost vs Value is really asking the question what is my time worth. If I'm going to spend my hard earned money (payment for my time) on this how can I get the most for it. This is the defining factor between wealthy and average.
View your time as priceless.
