240. Own everything except life
There's only one thing that every person on Earth truly owns, and that is his/her life.
In other words, your time is the only thing you truly own.
Yet, most people living in civilized society are persuaded, through the educational system and other mass institutions like the news media, that one should work hard to own STUFF while giving up our own FREEDOM (freedom being defined as control over what we do, where and when and with whom, every day).
That's basically the deal we all get: give up your daily freedom, five days a week, and you shall be able to buy stuff. In other words, FREEDOM = STUFF.
We give up control over our time and life, and in exchange, we get a paycheck to buy the necessities in life.
In general, this is a fair deal. If you're in your early 20s, working for a company (that is, for a capitalist who owns a business) is a good deal: you get paid a decent amount of money while learning and acquiring marketable skills that you can use in future employment.
However, the older you get, the more this deal (of giving up your freedom in exchange for money) becomes more and more intolerable.
That's because your time is worth much more. For example, you might become a parent so the time you spend with your kids (especially when they're young) is priceless.
But since most professionals (even those with 20 years of experience) have never learned business, they are not able to become independent professionals and are not able to launch their own business.
Without launching a business venture that they own, they can never own their freedom. They are forever slaves to capitalists who will use their skills at the cheapest market rate, and hand out pink slip when their services are no longer required or no longer of strategic importance (that's when they outsource your job to a low-cost provider).
Conclusion: the only way to truly own your life, is to own your business.
But to own a business, you must thoroughly understand business.
People who don't understand business, end up owning a lot of stuff in life, but the one thing they never own is the most important of all: LIFE.
In other words, your time is the only thing you truly own.
Yet, most people living in civilized society are persuaded, through the educational system and other mass institutions like the news media, that one should work hard to own STUFF while giving up our own FREEDOM (freedom being defined as control over what we do, where and when and with whom, every day).
That's basically the deal we all get: give up your daily freedom, five days a week, and you shall be able to buy stuff. In other words, FREEDOM = STUFF.
We give up control over our time and life, and in exchange, we get a paycheck to buy the necessities in life.
In general, this is a fair deal. If you're in your early 20s, working for a company (that is, for a capitalist who owns a business) is a good deal: you get paid a decent amount of money while learning and acquiring marketable skills that you can use in future employment.
However, the older you get, the more this deal (of giving up your freedom in exchange for money) becomes more and more intolerable.
That's because your time is worth much more. For example, you might become a parent so the time you spend with your kids (especially when they're young) is priceless.
But since most professionals (even those with 20 years of experience) have never learned business, they are not able to become independent professionals and are not able to launch their own business.
Without launching a business venture that they own, they can never own their freedom. They are forever slaves to capitalists who will use their skills at the cheapest market rate, and hand out pink slip when their services are no longer required or no longer of strategic importance (that's when they outsource your job to a low-cost provider).
Conclusion: the only way to truly own your life, is to own your business.
But to own a business, you must thoroughly understand business.
People who don't understand business, end up owning a lot of stuff in life, but the one thing they never own is the most important of all: LIFE.
posted by Super Peter at 11:10 AM
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