Time Billionaires

“We have two lives and our second begins when we realize we only have one.”

–  Confucius

Graham Duncan, co-founder of East Rock Capital, coined the idea of a “time billionaire” on The Tim Ferriss Show. Duncan was exploring the idea of how much a financial billionaire like Warren Buffett would pay for 5 years of his life. Even though Duncan is a professional investor, he couldn’t put a price on what 5 years of his life would be worth. Duncan went on to assert that a “time billionaire” was anyone with a billion seconds to invest.

The scale of a billion is hard to grasp. One thousand seconds is just 16 and a half minutes. One million seconds is around 11 and a half days. One billion seconds is just over 31 years and 8 months.* A billion seconds is a long time. And each second is an actual moment we get to think, do, and feel.

Time is by far our most precious asset. Yet, on a day-to-day basis, we spend lots and invest little. Why? We tend to undervalue time early in our lives and in small increments.

When we’re younger, there is always time to do things later. While true, most don’t get around to taking those guitar lessons, learning a second language, or traveling abroad. And early years spent doing things that seem less meaningful in hindsight can become a source of regret. We also undervalue small increments of time. While we get testy when we pick the slow line at the grocery store, we’ll waste twice as much time that same day watching cat videos on social.

Thirty-one years is enough time to pay off a mortgage. If you invest $10,000 in the stock market, earn 10% annually, and wait 31 years, you’ll have over $191,000. If you practice your guitar, a second language, or take an annual trip during that time, you could be a capable musician, fluent in a second language (or two), and have traveled the world.

A thousand seconds can be meaningful too. I’m talking about those 16-minute blocks of time we tend to spend frivolously. If you read for 16 minutes a day, you’d finish a book about every 15 days. That could be the very time you invest practicing scales on your guitar or learning a language on Duolingo.

According to our insurance company, I’m expected to live about 87 years. I’m almost 55. So guess what, I’m a time billionaire. Take that Warren. At the same, both my kids can look forward to two billion seconds or more. They are time multibillionaires!

Look, no one can buy back the time they have already spent. We can invest the time we have with purpose. The best time to do it is today.

One question to ponder in your thinking time: What can I invest my time in today to build something I will cherish later?

Co-author of The One Thing & The Millionaire Real Estate Agent ​

* How long is a trillion seconds? That’s about 31,710 years! Nope. No one is a time trillionaire.