The Time Trade

Back when I began working, I was very young, but I possessed something special. I had a job selling chocolate bars door to door. Thirty in a box, $2 each, and I would make $15 per box.

Piece of cake. Give me three boxes.

Maybe it was because I was young. Or because I was cute and had my speech down pat.

It worked, and within an hour I was on my way home eating the last one that I had saved for myself out of my profits.

Smooth sailing.

Then in high school I got a part-time job. Minimum wage. I thought I had it all. A whopping $5.75 an hour with a minimum shift of three hours.

That was $17.25. Minus taxes.

Writing this out and doing the mental math for that stage of my life is very unsettling. It took me an hour to get to work and an hour to get home. My unpaid time, not to mention the cost of transportation.

I feel sick.

Looking back, it helped me with my independence, but what I gave up was far more valuable.

Fast Forward

Fast forward to the birth of my children. I was still making an hourly wage. In my head I needed guaranteed pay, so I got a salaried job with benefits.

Still not enough.

I was offered a second job as an instructor in disciplines that I taught, which were specialized.

When my children were born, I made a pact with myself. If I had to be away from my family beyond the job I had to do, I would not leave my house for less than double my previous salary.

In my head I thought that would solve the problem of money and time.

I opened my own business on top of that.

Three jobs, the latter paying more than triple the first.

The Dollar Value of Your Life

Then one day, sitting in my office at the first job contemplating my life choices, something dawned on me.

Every moment that you are at any job, no matter what the pay. You have placed a dollar value on your life to that company.

You've told them that from Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, you value your life at this amount.

I know you fight for your raise and hope you get a big one, but in the same breath what your employer pays you is what they value your time to be worth.

This may be uncomfortable to read, but let it sink in.

Money is infinite, but your time here is limited.

I saw this as my shift to find a solution to my problem.

That's why and how I began this journey.