How Many Hours Will You Work In Your Lifetime?
I've been thinking recently about how short life is and, on average, how much of it we spend working. I decided to do some calculations and see exactly how our time is used. If we consider that an average working week is 40 hours then that equates to 1,960 hours per year once annual holidays are deducted. That's 22.4% of our lives, not including any overtime that we may be required to complete.
I took it a step further because I was intrigued how many hours that we spend working in an average lifetime. This is where things really add up. Allowing for school and tertiary education, let's assume that the average person begins their working life at age 21 and retires at 65. That's a career that spans 44 years. If we use the same 40-hour working week we arrive at a figure of 91,250 hours!
That's a huge amount of time and accordingly it's a huge proportion of our lives that is consumed in this way. The average human life expectancy in developed countries is 78 years, which means that we sleep for about 205, 000 hours. All our other chores and tasks have to be done in the remaining time which means that there's often very little time left for relaxation and leisure.
I could go on quoting facts and figures but I'm sure you understand the point. It all begs the obvious questions: "are we happy with this?" and "does it really need to be this way?" Let's examine these one at a time…
The question of happiness comes down to a personal choice. Basically, it depends on whether you live to work or work to live. I'm firmly in the latter category but I know there are many people who love their employment and career. Some to a point of not really viewing it as work at all. I've heard intriguing stories about people winning the lottery and going right back to work the following day. I've heard of a millionaire who continues to live a simple life in a caravan park and work as a caretaker.
Everyone has different philosophies and contributes to the interesting diversity in our population. However, I believe that given a choice, we would rather use our time to pursue things that we have a passion for and enjoy doing. It's human nature to enjoy being in control of our lives and making our own decisions on how to spend time. Naturally, we would rather use our time to benefit ourselves rather than working to ultimately make someone else wealthy.
So, does it really need to be this way? Once we begin, are we locked into 91,250 hours of work? Are we destined to give the best years of our lives to someone else and be left with just a precious few at the end for ourselves? Why is it that some 'lucky' people are successful in business and have enough money to retire tomorrow? These are all very good questions and deserve an equally good answer.
The simple truth is that, once again, it comes down to the individual's choice. For most people and especially anyone who is able to read this, you have the option. Once that is realised then the dream can begin. Dream big but also take action. One of my favourite quotes is very simple: nothing ventured, nothing gained. For many people, this means stepping outside the area that we often enjoy residing in: the comfort zone. It means moving away from our familiar environment into unchartered territory. It involves taking a risk or two but it's a challenge that can be embraced and enjoyed.
For many, this challenge may be in the form of a bricks and mortar business. This is often a sound investment but there are also many people who seek out the plethora of opportunities that are offered on the internet. With such a wide range of programs, it's important that know which ones have genuine potential. Seek something that is good value and research the program's reputation from existing members who post articles and threads in online discussion forums.
This is the first and most important step to making a change in your life. A step towards not having to work the thousands of hours that sadly, most people actually will. This is about recognising an opportunity and seizing upon it. Personally, I place a lot of value in my own leisure time. I decided that my 9-5 job wasn't ever going to offer me as much as I wanted. There are so many exciting things I want to achieve in my life and I'd never be able to do if something didn't change.
I love the quote from the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu which reads "A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step". Although this is the popular form of the quote, an even more correct translation would actually be "Even the longest journey must begin where you stand". In other words, it doesn't matter your age or how long you have already been working because we can all begin a path to financial freedom from where we are.
We all now live in an era of wonderful opportunity. The internet is a tremendously powerful marketing tool if we just learn to harness its potential. I'm glad to say that's what I'm doing and I hope, through my marketing, I give others that same chance. Those that want to spend more time with their families and giving them the lifestyle that they deserve. Those who have dreams to pursue and those who simple want to reclaim their unbalanced lives.
Together, let's break the cycle that so often seems to be an endless rotation of work, eat and sleep. It's been said that in life the only difference between a rut and a grave are the dimensions. While there's an element of truth in the statement, it is more true to say that you can usually get out of a rut. It takes a little courage and faith that what you are doing is for the best. It takes vision to see up over the edge and view what is possible beyond.
If you need any more incentive or encouragement to take a first step simply think of where you'll be if you don't. Continuing to work a couple of thousand hours a year with no hope of having the balance in life that you'd ideally like. In a few years time you will probably rue your lack of action. On reflection, for most people the biggest regrets in life are usually things that they didn't do rather than what they did.
A total of 91,250 hours is an awful long time to spend working. For the majority, it can become a daily grind but imagine for a moment a different daily grind. One that simply makes your morning coffee that you can drink in your own time each day…followed by activities that you can plan and enjoy. Unless you win the weekend lottery, it will take some time but the dream is within reach. You just have to take that first step towards it.
About the Author
FREE Resources for your MLM Success - http://www.mlmsuccess.weebly.com
My Money Fish - Over 3000 digital products for only $9.95: http://www.newcashconcept.com
Exploring Laos with US 2009: Internet Cafe
laos internet
No comments:
Post a Comment