Time is the most valuable thing everyone has. It is the global currency that transcends any valuable commodities or technologies. It is something we can not take back once it is gone.

But do we take care of it well enough? I work very hard every single day to ensure that I use my time well.

Can we put a price for time? We could, but it would be an untrue price. Most of us sell our time for money, to be able to use that money for something else: food, clothes, home, etc.

The good news is this: we can actually buy time. We can use the money we have earned to buy someone else’s time to do something for us. The person has to be someone who needs to sell their time for money to get their needs.

The business of time is the business of the world. Every single person trades their time for a certain value in different forms. However, there is actually a better way to invest our time. We don’t have to trade our time for money directly. This is the worst way to invest our time.

Here are a few scenarios investing time would end up good:

1. Trade our time for knowledge. Once we accumulate sufficient knowledge that can actually help people to better their lives, we will be able to trade it for money. We can use this money to buy some people’s time to scale our trade. Think about entrepreneurs, consultants, authors, etc.
2. Trade our time for skills. Same case with knowledge, we can trade our skills for money. Think about basketball players, singers, actors, developers, designers, etc.
3. Trade our time for network. We can gain valuable opportunities that often are not known by others. In this case, we are trading our time for potential opportunities. Think about entrepreneurs, property developers, insurance agents, etc.
4. Trade our time for appearance. People value beauty. For women, beauty can be one of their largest investments. Think about actors and actress. Beauty can make money, which we can use for our needs.
5. Trade our time for reputation. We can build our reputation by engaging the community and gaining respect from the public. This reputation will open new doors for new opportunities. Think about corporate leaders, politicians, presidents, etc.
6. The final and most important thing of all: Trade all of the above for time and freedom. The world is designed to make sure everyone has to work and trade their time to be able to live. The goal is to win in the system. We create value, we accumulate capital, we then can buy time to ask for some people’s help to do the things need to be done. Good news, we can also buy software and hardware to do our work for us, welcome Artificial Intelligence! We can then use our personal time for our family, doing what we love, travelling the world, etc.

Time is the global currency. Love it or hate it. This currency exists since the start of civilization. Which side of the table are you gonna be in?