Sunday 10 March 2013

Quote for the day

"Human emotion is a big enemy of the average investor and trader. Be patient and unemotional. There are periods where traders don't need to trade." - James P. Arthur Huprich 

Learn to Invest Time!


When I think of creating wealth, the first thing that comes to my mind is that I need to invest money. I need apply what I have learned from the Rich Dad series by Robert Kiyosaki by making my money work harder. All along, it never crosses my mind that I need to invest another essential thing to make it happen. In fact, I have been consciously investing this essential thing all along except that I do not realize it.

When I first heard about it yesterday, I feel enlightened. To be rich, I need to invest time too! I need to invest my time to study so as to gain financial literacy. I need invest my time to learn how to invest. I need invest my time to analyze investment opportunities. I need to invest my time to make the actual investments. I need to invest my time to monitor my investments. Time is definitely an essential component for wealth creation.

In short, I definitely need to spend a lot of time to create my wealth as well. That is where my problem comes. I want to be rich but I cannot find time to do it! Does this excuse sound familiar to you?

Unfortunately, according to Rich Dad's series by Robert Kiyosaki, time is one of the two available components that I can invest to create wealth. In other words, if I want to become rich, I must definitely find a way to overcome this excuse.

And this excuse is used for a lot of other things too. For examples, I want to exercise regularly so that I can become healthy. But I cannot find time to do it. I want to practice regularly so that I can become a good dancer. But I cannot find time to do it. I want to spend more time with my loved ones but I cannot find time to do it.

Why do I say that it is an excuse and not a limitation? Well, I have 24 hours a day like everyone else. No one is privilege to have more time compared to the other. Since the amount of time is the same for everyone, why is it that someone seems to have more time and accomplish more things than others?

The answer is very simple. It is a matter of personal choice on how I spend my time. Usually, I choose to spend my time on something that I feel is more important. That is why I will never have time for the unimportant things. Since it is a matter of choice, then it is an excuse when I say I do not have time. It simply means that I do not find the matter important enough to invest my time on it.

Imagine if 24 hours a day is like a note of $24, how will I spend the $24? I can spend $24 to buy a dozen of can drinks such as Coke from the supermarket. Alternatively, I can spend $24 to drink a few can drinks from a high-class restaurant or pub. Comparatively, I will have gained more if I have spent my $24 on the supermarket.

That is exactly the same situation with time. How much can I accomplish in 24 hours is really dependent on how I have spent it. If I have spent it wisely, I can accomplish more things. If I just laze around and do nothing, then I will accomplish nothing.

For any typical working person, he needs to spend about 8 hours per day on sleep. He spends about 4 hours daily on meals and personal items. Another 10 hours per day of his time is spent on work including travelling time. All that is left at the end of the day is about 2 hours. If he just relaxes and watches the television, then his whole day is basically gone. But if he spends the 2 hours wisely, he will be able to accomplish more things. Similarly, the way he spends his weekends will determine how much he can accomplish in life.

Some people may be luckier than others because they have more leisure time than the others. But that does not necessary mean that they will be able to accomplish more things than others. The key is how they invest their leisure time. Just like a person who earns more than others does not invest wisely as learned from the Rich Dad's series by Robert Kiyosaki, he will be definitely poorer than others by spending mindlessly.

In conclusion, I feel that learning to invest time is as important as learning to invest money if I want to succeed in life.


Source: Rich dad Secrets 4 Me