I’m A Billionaire

Billionaire.

That's not a word most of us would associate ourselves with.

Bold statement alert... I am a billionaire and you probably are too.

Let me explain.

I’m 42 and what this means is that I’m at the tail end of a majority of my most important relationships and important experiences.

For instance, 90% of my time with my parents has already been spent. I lived with them full-time until I was 18 and now, I might see them one weekend a month. Most of my time with them has been lived.

The reverse is true for my kids. Over the next ~18 years, I will have spent 90% of my time with my kids.

This is sobering but also motivating.

Tim Urban has visualized this concept of the Tail End. He visualizes all his favorite things showing how much he has already experienced them and how much time he likely has left to experience each.

If I live to my mid-80s I might only have 40 Autumns left with my wife and kids…I better find a way to relish each one.

We can also look at this through the lens of time. If we took our graphing calculator with a couple of quick strokes you would see how most of us are billionaires.

Not by the zeroes in our bank account but as a measure of time. We're all likely ‘time’ billionaires. 11 days is a million seconds and 31 years is a billion seconds. That means most of us are billionaires with the wealth of time, our most precious resource.

My takeaway:

Since I am on the tail-end of most of my most important relationships and experiences I better make the most of my time with my kids, especially fall hikes.

And I am rich. I likely have a billion seconds left and it is up to me how I use that billion to enrich my life and my kids and the lives of those around me.

P.S. This was one of our last fall hikes of the season. Check out that lil’ creeper in the background.