When I was a kid, like many kids, I was told that if I wanted anything (like money, for example), I could only get it through hard work and “showing up” (usually to class and then work).
It makes sense why an adult would tell a child that, but as adults, we need to acknowledge that this message isn’t entirely true. In fact, it can be detrimental to our financial success.
Imagine two people with the same goal, but different skill sets. Meet The Artist and The Hairstylist, who both want to spend more of their time not working. Although they love what they do, they know it’s not all they want to do.
Who has the advantage in this scenario?
Remember, we only have 16 hours in our day (the other 8 should be spent sleeping).
While we’ve always heard about starving artists, in this scenario, The Artist has the advantage. While The Hairstylist isn’t in danger (haircuts aren’t going out of style anytime soon), The Hairstylist can only make money while she’s physically present, cutting someone’s hair.
On the other hand, The Artist doesn’t need to be present to make money. The Artist can simply create a piece of art and then sell copies of it (“prints”). This means that The Artist can earn money while not actively creating art. The Artist can be sound asleep in his hammock while his prints fly off the shelves. The prints are working, not The Artist.
“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” – Warren Buffett
To put it another way, if The Artist wants to double his income, he just needs to sell twice as many copies. Meanwhile, The Hairstylist, who is constrained by the number of hours in the day, must be present to cut twice as much hair.
If your goal is to spend less time doing any one thing, then your goal is to be scalable, not present.
Make your money to work so you don’t have to.
This article is part of the Winchell House Original Articles series.
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