Someone once said that, “While money doesn’t buy happiness, it sure does make me giggle a lot.” Obviously, this was said by someone who not only was given money, but also had time to spend it. Because, the truth is, money alone doesn’t create joy; being able to have time to spend it and do things with those you love is what happiness and success truly is. When people want to become entrepreneurs they don’t actually think about the work; they think about the freedom.

What Is Success?

This boils down to what success really is. Success is freedom. Success means that you can take the day off to spend with your kids on a field trip. Success means that if you want to enjoy a leisurely breakfast with your spouse on Sunday morning, you can. Success means that if you want to take that trip to Nepal, you can. Yes, money does help you afford those things, but money is only the means by which you can purchase them and anyone can make money. But, not everyone who has money also has the time to actually enjoy it. Time is finite; money is not.

The Value of Time

Timothy Ferriss, in his book, The 4-Hour Work Week says, “To enjoy life, you don’t need fancy nonsense, but you do need to control your time and realize that most things just aren’t as serious as you make them out to be.”

That’s why prioritizing the things you do things based on money will often backfire. Instead, base everything you do on what kind of time it will cost you. What will it take you away from that you really would rather be doing? Some things, of course, have to be done that we don’t want to do. However, most of those things can be outsourced and worked around the most important things on your to-do list. Most things can simply wait.

People who are truly successful in life realize the truth of the limits of time and they do everything they can to make the most of the time they have. That’s why some of the most successful people you know are so productive. Successful people often live by their calendars and schedules. That might seem unromantic but the truth is, scheduling in work and fun will make your life better by leaps and bounds.

In fact, get out your calendar right now and first schedule in all the things you want to do with your family and for yourself that are not related to work. Once you’ve done that, you can fit in work around those things. That’s the entire point of becoming an entrepreneur – to have freedom, but it’s important that you remember what constitutes freedom. Not money, but time. How much is your time worth?