My Understanding of Time
Time - The Ultimate Currency
It is much more than the clock on the wall or your wrist or smartphone. Just like many other things in life, we understand time differently. Different cultures and religions around the world have different philosophies about time. We have "African time", "Asian time", etc. Others see it as eternal, while others see it as limited. Some don't even celebrate birthdays because it reminds them of the existence of the death date.
Let's do a bit of time maths. The life expectancy in South Africa is 65 yrs, meaning you have roughly 24 000 days to live or 570 000 hours. So if you are 25yrs old, you have already spent your 219 000 hours (38%), they are gone, and you'll never ever get them back. Of course, these numbers are very rough estimates, but they bring about a new perspective and sensitivity.
Time is the ultimate currency. Everything else that I know in life can be recovered and/or stored for future use; time lost is lost forever. So as I write this post, I am investing time (Thinking and typing), just like you are investing your time by reading this post. I hope it's worth it, and you'll get some good ROIT (Return on Invested Time).
A simple equation: Money = Effort(Energy (pap), Skills) + Time
We give our employers our time and energy (Directed by our skills) to create value for the employer, which is reported as revenue (and profits) and cost savings. Therefore, it is in the interest of your employer to pay you as low a salary as possible for maximum value. Having the same role designations does not mean we get paid the same salaries. That is why showing your payslip to someone else is considered taboo. It must be kept "confidential". In some cases, even spouses don't get to see this one-page document. Salaries are negotiated. There's no such thing as called market-related salary. You create the market salary through negotiations; this is a capitalist economy. Sometimes companies feel threatened by their competition and change compensation structures like these guys. This happens when employees realize that the value they are capturing does not correlate with their effort (energy invested).
The energy is acquired through food (proteins and carbs). Hence, we are paid enough money/currency to afford protein-rich meals. This is the story behind how the genetically modified (GMO) chicken (a.k.a broiler, the dumb fat one that is ready for consumption within 30 days) was created to be a source of cheap protein. So I think the issue of food security is secondary here.
Money also has to do with resources because it is simply the allocation of resources. If you have more Rands, you have more resources and freedom in a materialist view. The Rand itself is worthless. It's fiat currency; we, the citizens of South Africa, are the ones giving it value.
The equation also includes time. Time is the ultimate currency of the universe. Time lost can never be regained. This has made me very stingy with my time. On the other hand, it has opened my eyes to quickly detecting time-wasting activities daily and eliminating or augmenting them with something better. For example, in general, driving is a waste of time, and when in traffic, it's actually worse. Since I can't avoid it, I decided to augment this activity by listening to speeches, podcasts, etc., except music. Last year, 90% of the time I was driving, I wasn't listening to radio or music but podcasts and interviews such as Uncommon Knowledge.
Time can also be relative based on your speed. The faster you approach the speed of light, the time slows down. This is some crazy but real Einstein stuff. Then we have space-time. This is another discussion for another time, which says time as we know it didn't exist before the big bang.
In summary, let's stop killing time. Time is the ultimate currency. So let's spend it wisely.
Interesting posts so far, hope you'll keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteI've been digesting this monologue and the "don't ghost your help" post for the past few days. The dilemma I'm facing is, how then do we ensure that we make the most out of the little time we have while maintaining our humanity and not ghosting people?
I sure will! Thanks for investing your most valuable asset (i.e. time) into reading the post.
DeleteThe two posts are closely related. It's a balancing act between finite time and humility (Being a nice person); hence in the "Ghosting Your Help!" post, I mention that one has to constantly assess the cost-benefit ratio, that is, the relationships we have with people we interact with. There are more than 7 billion people globally, and you constantly interact with less than 100. It can be overwhelming to entertain every contact you have on your cellphone. This is where ghosting comes in. It's only human. Sometimes we get overwhelmed and choose to avoid texts and cellphone calls. The bigger your network gets, the harder it is to keep everyone happy. So, the main point of "Ghosting Your Help!" is always to keep communication channels open and end every chat on a high note such that if needed, one day, you can invite the individual for a cup of coffee to discuss politics, opportunities, philosophies and careers and get other life advice.
In "The Startup of You", Reid Hoffman talks about building meaningful relationships, romantic, family, and career relationships. Career/business relationships are all about having allies and hanging around a company that is already what you want to be. And making sure the relationships benefit both parties, there must be something in it for all parties involved. He talks about the I^(We) equation, meaning having the "I" without the "We" is basically a losing strategy. The "We" brings about exponential results/growth, and it is related to networks. So, avoid ghosting by analyzing the people in your life (network/relationships) and see how they fit into where you see yourself in the future (short-term and long-term). Keep closely (Time investment) with those who amplify your "I". You can't afford a negative "We" as an exponent. Always keep positive individuals, and leave negative individuals on a high note, so that you can leverage their wit and skills once they turn positive later on. This is a long-term strategy. This will require a great deal of emotional intelligence (To bring humility to the game). I hope this will help with the cost-benefit analysis of the relationships in your network.
So in short, emotional intelligence is key to maintaining humility.
Thank you for your response.
ReplyDeleteAnd I guess as individuals we also have to ensure that we are a positive force to those we engage with.
Of course. Like you know from physics, when two waves of identical wavelengths are in phase, they form a new wave with an amplitude equal to the sum of their individual amplitudes. We need constructive interference, in this case, to maximize the I^(We).
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