Your Most Valuable Asset
Life is a series of trades. Use money to buy time for what matters.
Most people trade time for money.
But the truly rich do the opposite.
Here’s how losing my dad changed how I measure wealth.
The Week That Changed Everything
Two years ago, my dad passed away. He had spent forty years fighting Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that slowly took everything from him except his spirit.
In his final week, he was in the hospital for ten days. We expected he would come home. Jana and I visited that Sunday morning, but the boys weren’t allowed in the ICU. We promised we’d bring them soon. That afternoon, while we were at a friend’s pool party, I got the call. His condition had taken a sudden turn. By 3 a.m. Monday, he was gone.
It was a heartbreaking time for our family. My boys adored their “Pappap.” Even as his body failed, he found joy watching them ride their bikes around his bedroom. If he couldn’t get out to have fun, we brought the fun to him.
When he passed, I stopped everything. No notice. No plan. Just space to feel. And when I came back to work, something surprising happened: everything was fine. My team figured things out. Clients were cared for.
That week gave me the perspective I didn’t know I needed. I had spent decades believing constant motion equaled importance, that busyness proved dedication. But the stillness of that week revealed a different truth: life continues even when you step away. That’s when it hit me: work expands to fill the space you give it. If you give work unlimited time, it will take it. There will always be another project, another email, another opportunity waiting for your attention. Our most valuable asset isn’t money. It’s time. Guard it fiercely.
Are You Rich?
It depends on your definition of rich. Most people think of money. But what’s money worth if you’re on your deathbed?
Warren Buffett is worth about $148 billion and he’s 95 years old. Would you rather be Warren Buffett, or a 21-year-old with zero dollars but a lifetime ahead? I’d take the 21-year-old every time.
Here’s what’s remarkable: Buffett didn’t become a billionaire until he was 56. The power behind his success wasn’t luck, it was time. Compounding made him rich, but what allowed compounding to work was patience (read about Compounding in Money & Life here).
That same principle applies to life. Growth in any area, money, relationships, health, character, requires time and consistency. You can’t rush compounding. And because none of us know how much time we have, it’s priceless. Money can’t buy more time, but it can buy back time. It can free you from what drains you and allow you to focus on what you truly value.
So money isn’t the goal. It’s the tool to design your time around what matters most. As my good friend Lara Casey Isaacson says, “You know all those things you’ve always wanted to do? You should go do them.”
The Time and Money Trade
For years, I used to spend hours washing my own car. It saved me forty bucks, or so I thought. Then one day, standing there with a sponge in my hand, it hit me: I wasn’t saving $40. I was spending two hours of my life, two hours I could have spent with my kids.
That’s the hidden cost of time.
Now, sometimes I still wash my cars, with my boys. My dad loved cars and passed that love to me. When we do it together, it’s not about saving money. It’s about sharing something meaningful. But when the car is filthy and I’m short on time, I’d rather pay someone else and invest those hours where they matter most.
Every trade has a cost. The question is whether that cost matches your values. If $40 buys back two hours with your kids, that’s not spending. That’s investing.
More Work Doesn’t Equal More Wealth
Before I had kids, I worked constantly: late nights, weekends, whatever it took. I believed more work meant more money. I’d tell myself, “Why pay someone $20 an hour to sweep a jobsite when I can do it myself?” But I was missing the real math. I was undervaluing my time.
When my boys were born, I drew a line: I’m done working at 5:30, no matter what. And guess what? The work still got done. Work expands to fill the space you allow. Parkinson’s Law says it best: work always rises to fill the time available. When you set boundaries, you don’t become less productive. You become more focused. You eliminate the low-value tasks and concentrate on what moves the needle. Productivity isn’t about how long you work; it’s about how effectively you use your hours.
The Truest Measure of Wealth
Money is renewable. Time is not. When my dad passed, that truth became impossible to ignore. Work will always be there, but people will not. The truest measure of wealth isn’t your net worth. It’s how much of your life you actually live with the people you love. The irony is that most of us say we work to provide for our families, yet we often trade the very thing they want most, our presence. We chase more income, but what we’re really craving is more life.
That’s what I wrote about in The Wheel of Life: money is fuel, not the whole wheel. It powers the other spokes, but it isn’t meant to be the center. When you let money take over, life starts spinning out of balance. The goal isn’t to make everything about money, it’s to use money to strengthen every other part of your life: your family, your health, your growth, your joy.
The Legacy of Time
After my dad’s passing, I kept thinking about the little things that made him who he was, the way he never complained about his pain when the boys were around, the way his eyes lit up when they entered the room. He couldn’t buy time or health. But he spent what he had on joy, connection, and the people he loved most. That’s a different kind of wealth.
The greatest legacy we leave isn’t what we earn or build. It’s how we spend our limited time while we have it. When I think about how I want my boys to remember me, it’s not as the guy who worked late or was always on his phone. I want them to remember laughter at dinner, weekend adventures, and the feeling that they were always my priority. That’s the standard I try to hold myself to now.
Application: Your Hourly Worth
Add up your annual income. Divide it by the number of hours you want to work, not the number you grind through. If you earn $150,000 a year and work 2,000 hours, your time is worth $75 an hour. If you’re doing $25-an-hour tasks, you’re not saving money, you’re losing it. This isn’t about outsourcing everything. It’s about awareness. If you can hire help for something that drains you and use that time to create, to rest, or to connect, that’s a good trade. The bill for neglecting your time always comes due, in energy, relationships, or joy. The smartest people I know don’t just manage their money. They manage their time like it’s currency.
The Real Return on Time
If money compounds through interest, time compounds through intention.
Every moment invested in the right things multiplies its impact.
One dinner with your family strengthens a bond.
One focused hour of work opens doors for months.
One quiet morning of reflection can redirect a lifetime.
Compounding doesn’t just apply to money; it applies to the quality of your life.
Small, consistent investments of time in the right people, the right habits, the right priorities create exponential returns.
Your Turn
Where are you making unconscious trades?
Audit one area this week where you’re giving away time for less than it’s worth.
Reclaim it, and reinvest those hours in what truly matters.
True wealth isn’t what you earn.
It’s what you experience, who you love, and how you spend your numbered days.
Why We Build Wealth
At BOLD Wealth, we believe money is not the goal. It’s a tool.
We grow our financial wealth not to keep score, not to chase status, but to unlock freedom: freedom to live aligned with our values, connected to the people we love, and fulfilled by the work and choices that matter most.
That’s the real payoff. That’s what it means to minor in money and major in life.
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"We chase more income, but what we’re really craving is more life." Yes! 👏
Great newsletter Chris, very helpful and love how you broke down the $ per hour of tasks completed.