How Will You Spend Your 43,245 Hours?

Photo by Kaylah Otto on Unsplash

Did you know…

On average, people spend the equivalent of 13 years and two months of their lives at work. That adds up to 4,805 days or 43,245 hours. (Source)

With those 43,245 hours, the median retirement account balance in the U.S. is just $60,000 - not even $2 per hour worked over an entire lifetime. (Source)

But let’s be clear. Working isn’t just about the money, is it?

I believe that we all have the opportunity to make a living using our unique abilities, to create a business based on being ourselves. I call this the point of authentic earning.

Point of Authentic Earning: The creation and generation of revenue using your unique abilities to contribute to others. A common byproduct of working from your point of authentic earning is having lots of fun and enjoying life.

For me, creating and generating revenue is as core to my self-expression as smiling and saying hello to the people I pass on the street.

But I get that it’s not like that for everyone.

Remember when we defined the American dream as homeownership? Thank goodness we’ve moved beyond that ideal to recognize that not everyone is down for that dream. Homeownership can be overrated and expensive or tie you down to a place you no longer wish to stay. 

But a similar, narrow point of view used to be mine when it came to starting businesses. 

I remember years ago sitting at our local burger joint on bingo night. The bingo guy, probably in his early 20s, was standing at our table passing out cards. I asked him, “Hey, is this your bingo business?” He told me that it wasn’t his business but he loves getting paid $50 a night to host games around the city. 

Without skipping a beat, I laid out a revenue plan for him to start his own bingo business and earn four times the revenue. As he politely stood and listened (as southerners do, probably mumbling “bless her heart” under his breath), my son kicked me under the table and aggressively whispered: “Mom, not EVERYBODY wants to start a business!”

Then just last week. I was in Raleigh, NC getting certified to teach an amazing course called Crucial Conversations. I spent the week surrounded by training professionals, and many of them work within big corporations.

For every person who pulled me aside at break and said, “Can you share your story with me? How did you break free and start your own business?” There was always another classmate leaning in to say, “How can you do it? Isn’t it so scary and overwhelming to have your own business? I would never choose that.”

Each time I’d share with them the one question I had to answer for myself before making the decision to go out on my own: What do I value most about my work and my life?

For me, it’s freedom, opportunity, independence, creativity, and being myself. Those values are the ones that make having my own business worth the risk, overwhelm, and uncertainty - for me.

But enough about me... let's talk about you.

What do you value? And is your work allowing you to live into those values? 

Look, I’m not here to talk you into leaving your corporate gig, starting a side hustle, or exploring your unique abilities.

And yet, if you’re curious about finding your point of authentic earning, I’d love to help you get started.