How Much Does It Cost You To Work | Leonard Skinner | TEDxBallyroanLibrary

[ajcoleman22]

https://youtu.be/QqhmZmE1YjQ

Short TEDx talk I think everyone will enjoy.

[Sclass]

Cool! Thanks for sharing.

[Ego]

That was great! I love his perspective in the second half regarding selling hours. Well worth the time spent watching it.

[vanishingpoint76]

Very good. Thank you for posting. The 'selling hours' aspect really hammers his point home.

[Campitor]

In stoicism there's a saying "Memento Mori" - remember death. The speaker in the link above alludes to the hours in an average 70 year old life span as a basis for viewing the value of time and how that should affect our choices. Life is finite but we treat time as if we're immortal.

Too much car - buy a cheaper car or commute via public transportation. Too much house - live in an RV or tiny house or rent a cheap apartment. Too much commuting - find a closer place to live. People sabotage themselves by letting circumstances dictate their lives instead utilizing contemplation and deliberate effort to free themselves. The hardest part is actually having the wherewithal to think deliberately about choices and selecting wisely instead of engaging in low level thinking which is very easy to do.

[2Birds1Stone]

I sent this to my dad last week. He really needs to internalize it, as someone who is 64 years old, with declining health, yet selling his hours for money that is not needed.

[jacob]

Perhaps it's what keeps life meaningful for him? I have the same discussion with my parents regularly, but work is what "keeps them active/going". At least that's what they tell me, so I just accept it. The unneeded money is then spent on thneeds. It's the complete opposite of what I've been doing. Part of this I think is also a lack of imagination about what to do other than work. For most, there's only TV and quick consumer experiences that can't fill 40hrs of the week. It could also be a generational thing: http://earlyretirementextreme.com/three ... usion.html

[take2]

I think it’s a combination of generational, habit, and lack of imagination. My father is the same. Now 70, he finally sold his business but is still working there to ensure the transition is smooth despite not needing to. He doesn’t really have any ideas of what he wants to do and while he loves to complain about all the work he has to do I think he either actually enjoys it or has done it for so long that he can’t see any other way.

[Jin+Guice]

I think this is the natural consequence of a society who's first question is almost always "what do you do?" If you've defined yourself by your job for 40+ years, it's hard to leave that behind.

I do think that working for money can be part of a meaningful and interesting life, but I also think it's massively tragic when someone doesn't want to stop working because they wouldn't know what to do with the time.

[Sathera]

Thank you, really puts it all in perspective. Would be a good chart for visual savings rate to use a calendar to show ho many days per week you work for freedom.