Personal Notes Series 026 : Time and Purpose

One of the challenges I have right now is that of time. I though that having more money would give me more time, and yet here I am with more than ten times I had  2 years ago but I still find myself lacking.

There was a time I didn't do anything with a lot of money in my hands. The thought of living near the pristine beaches of the country or the cool foresty mountains in a private cabin with just your laptop and trading your way to riches sounds good. It's an experience yes. But the experience quickly fades. That life proved to be meaningless and on the contrary felt as if my life was slipping much faster than it should. Yes you'll have more time, but without purpose that is beyond self, things quickly fade.

I never knew batshit anything about how to run a company or a community 5 years ago. I just wanted to escape not having money by trading the markets and play my video games all day. 

Now I find myself not just trading 3 markets, but also leading a company and a whole community towards a vision and a movement. There's a meme going around that goes like this:

I didn't like working 8 hours a day, 5 times a week.

Now I work at least 16 hours, all day, every week.

It's funny but my life is like this now.

Surprisingly, I am not complaining.

I love what I do.

I could have chosen a life that's simpler. Not much work. Not much responsibility. Not much to worry about. But I guess that's just not how we were designed.

God designed us to worship Him, and to serve others. To have purpose. And the more wealth I accumulate, the more I realize how the parable of the talents hold true.

If you haven't heard about this yet, here you go:

The "Parable of the Talents", in Matthew 25:14–30 tells of a master who was leaving his house to travel, and, before leaving, entrusted his property to his servants. According to the abilities of each man, one servant received five talents, the second had received two, and the third received only one. The property entrusted to the three servants was worth 8 talents, where a talent was a significant amount of money. Upon returning home, after a long absence, the master asks his three servants for an account of the talents he entrusted to them. The first and the second servants explain that they each put their talents to work, and have doubled the value of the property with which they were entrusted; each servant was rewarded:

His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

— Matthew 25:23

The third servant, however, had merely hidden his talent, burying it in the ground, and was punished by his master:

Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

— Matthew 25:24–30

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Do you want to be wealthy? 

Be faithful with little.