My late father was in the Oil Business; he was known as a "Wildcatter." He drilled oil wells on speculation, in areas not known to be oil fields. Gambling was in his blood; it served him well. At the time I was born, my father was a wealthy man. We lived in an 8,000 square foot home on five acres of land in Dallas, Texas. Life was great.
The home my family lived in was built in the early 1950's and was modern contemporary, not unlike many of the new homes that are being constructed today in posh neighborhoods across the country (for those who can afford them and pay for them.) The entire back wall was all glass, with rooms looking out into a creek bed about 20 feet below and about 200 feet away. There were many other singular features of the home, too numerous to detail here.
Moving Out Of The House
Due to economic distress, my father's lucrative business hit some hard times and my father lost nearly everything. As a result, we had to sell our magnificent home. I know what it's like to have to leave a home you truly love. A very tiny apartment took its place. This was a dramatic change, not only in where we lived, but lifestyle as well.
I went through a depression similar to what many experienced in the 1930's as well as in the current economic downturn. I can tell you first hand it's not very fun. I'd rather go from rags to riches than the other way around. I was determined at the age of eight that I would never experience that again.
Going To Work
Okay, so I didn't exactly wear a hard hat at the age of 8. As mentioned, my family (including me) moved into this small apartment. At the time I thought my parents were ancient; not compared to the other residents, why, they were mere chicks. The other residents would go on vacation from time to time and I got to house-sit their pets. This included ALL kinds of pets, including goldfish. It was a great way to make money.
As a spoiled rich kid, I would go to toy stores and merely point to the things I wanted and they magically appeared in my house, a behavior similar to adults in the last few decades. That was over; I now had to work for the dollars to buy the things that were brought to me.
Money Is Time
Nope, you got that right: money is time. Most people think that time is money. What I realized was that I was trading my time (and talent) to my employer and they were giving me dollars in exchange. I would then take those dollars and make purchases. What I realized was that money went out of the equation altogether. I was tranding my time for the goods I bought. So, the cost of something was NOT dollars, it was my time.
That carries over to current day for me, for you and for everyone. Thinking about how long you have to work in order to earn the dollars to buy something is the basis for being LIQUID.
How long did you have to work to buy that latte you're currently enjoying?