I wonder

Many people ask me to tell them what keeps me so busy. Others just tend to wonder.


I find myself lost for answers. I know that I am hectically busy yet unable to understand how so little output can keep me as busy as it does. Society defines outputs in terms of income; the busier one is, the more income one should be bring in...

I seem to have the mix all wrong, or do I?

So much of my time seems to go into ventures that have zero financial yield. Charity work sucks up a substantial portion of my day. Make no mistake, it is highly rewarding and fulfilling, in that I get to use my talents for the good of others. There is also plenty of time spent with my family; the polar opposite to the situation when I was a corporate lackey. This is valuable time, real influence in the lives of my children. Then there are some entrepreneurial ventures that give me great pleasure and one day may show incredible returns, such as my foray into classic cars.

And yes, some of my time is spent working incredibly hard on projects that yield hard cash.

Sometimes, like now, I struggle to justify my choices to myself. Can I really ‘waste’ my time on stuff that does not support my family in the here and now? Is it possible to have some fun and dabble in incredibly interesting undertakings rather than directing all of my efforts towards making piles of loot? How will I afford a skiing trip for my family if I spend most of my time on charity work? How do I create a financial nest egg for our later years if I am giving away my best time for free? And so it goes...

I tend to come back to the stand point that I am trading much of my time to meet goals that are important to me and have been for all of my life. Goals that I could not have hoped to meet in my past corporate existence. As a result, my entrepreneurial life provides time but also brings much risk, excitement, and loads of self doubt.

I feel more fulfilled than ever, yet the more fulfilled I feel, the more I feel I need to do. I question if I am using my time well enough, can I not do more with what I have? I can only hope and pray that the long term cost of the fulfilled life is not too great. Then again, when I die, I would have done exactly what I had set out to do. Surely this is exactly what I want, and worth a potential difficult old age? Or as my wife may argue; a frugal now!

And the questions continue...and time moves on.