The evening of Sunday, September 14, 2008, I sat, legs swinging over the Hudson River, on the Jersey side, staring across the river towards Lower Manhattan, at the space where the twin towers once stood.
Just to the right, employees of Lehman Brothers were walking into a tall building empty-handed, only a few minutes later, to reappear with a small box of personal belongings. At this moment I realized, there is more to life than money.
At this moment, I realized there is more to life than money.
At the age of 34, I concluded that the things I cared about most could only be bought with time, not money. From that moment forward, I would make it my business to trade the one for the other. Whether this implies some type of wisdom or just laziness is a question that doesn’t deserve scrutiny.
Since the climax of that September day, I have worked to create an environment grounded in “What Matters Most To Me?” The art of creating my environment is constant awareness of what’s going on, all around me and inside of me? Within this environment, I ask myself, “What are the things that I can control?” and let go of the things I can’t.
To understand who you are, what you want and what you need is to first establish your priorities – What Matters Most to You? And then, start organizing the things you can control in your life. Aligning everything, from your finances to your daily routine, with your priorities.
The ultimate prize of making this conscious effort of change is Simplicity and Peace of Mind. Freeing time to focus on what matters most. The reward, to you, is time – Doing More of What You Love.
The reward, to you, is time – Doing More of What You Love.
As it works out, I got what I asked for. I have at my disposal, more uncommitted time that is ordinarily deemed proper for the average adult. Money remains, to a point, a conceptual theory. Interestingly, my freedom of time is directly related to other people, not having enough time. For example, my career as a wealth advisor, finds me conversing with people that, on a daily basis, just do not have time for a conversation. Oddly enough, the conversation is about creating and implementing their own process and plan to do exactly this: Freeing time.
What you do with this Free Time is best described by the story of “THE MEXICAN FISHERMAN.”
This story simply illustrates What Matters Most for two distinctly different people. It’s all about the journey, not the destination or a means to an end. In this story, the Harvard business man, clearly loves the journey of creating, and helping people achieve their dreams. A noble cause, and his passion for his work is contagious. The Mexican Fisherman, has abundance of time, and intrigued by this educated man, that can help him create abundance of money. In the end, the Mexican Fisherman decides he values his time more than money and he’s not willing to trade one for the other. His life already produces abundance of what matters most to him. He already lives the life he loves.
The process of creating and living the life you love now, and in the future starts with prioritizing what matters most to you. Organizing your life to align with what matters most. And simplifying a process and plan to achieve what you want. We help people make the best use of their financial resources. Freeing TIME to focus on what matters most to them.
Time to Do More of What you Love.
Charles Kochel is
a “fee-only” wealth advisor, specializing in helping people in Rural America. He has worked with some of the largest corporate financial services firm’s in the world. The opinions shared in “Mindful Wealth” are his and his alone. You can contact Charles at charles@yieldwealth.com.
“We help people in rural communities make the best of their financial resources. Freeing time to do what matters most. More of what they love.”
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