For a long time, I felt like a slave. I’ve enslaved myself with my own startup. I’ve enslaved myself by being funded by outside investors, not customers.
I’ve enslaved myself by saying yes to things I should have said no to. I’ve enslaved myself by not valuing my time.
I don’t want to feel enslaved. I want freedom. That’s why I chose to be my own boss. And that’s why I’m a value investor and blogger today.
We protect our possessions with doors and locks, yet hand out chunks of our time left and right.
Would we do the same with our cash? Hell no.
So why do we do it with the most valuable thing in the world?
Being in charge of my own time is the greatest luxury I can think of:
I have no employees.
I have no meetings.
I can do whatever the hell I want.
Our default mode is “being busy”. We run around like chicken with our heads cut off. But we never ask why. What’s the point?
Busy is not good. Busy is the opposite of good. Busy is being a slave.
What happened to taking an afternoon off, without anyone noticing?
What happened to taking a week off, just like that?
What happened to taking a three-month trip, without things falling apart?
Recently, I took two weeks off, and nobody noticed. I just played video games and did nothing. What a luxury.
It’s time to refocus on what is truly important.
Having a full calendar is not something to be proud of. Having an empty one is.
Being the single person performing a critical task is not bravery. Automating the task with software is.
To consume is not the highest virtue. To invest is.
Let nature be our role model:
Be the cat that is relaxing all day.
Be the tree that doesn’t produce any fruit in the winter.
Stop being a slave, and start living.
In a few days, a new decade will start. Take charge, and make the most of it.
Maybe, just maybe, it might be your last one.
