Simon Squibb Urges Professionals to Own Their Time, Not Sell It

In a recent LinkedIn post, Simon Squibb urges professionals to fundamentally rethink their relationship with work, advocating for a shift away from selling their time towards owning assets that generate income.

Squibb begins by highlighting the finite nature of time, stating:

“It’s the most expensive thing you’ll ever own. And the only thing you can’t make more of.”

This scarcity, according to Squibb, is precisely why trading hours for money is an unsustainable model for wealth creation. He posits that truly wealthy individuals understand this principle and have structured their lives and careers around owning assets that work for them, even when they are not actively engaged.

The Limitations of Trading Time for Money

Squibb emphasizes that the traditional model of employment, where one exchanges labor for a salary, is inherently limiting. He points out that this approach does not scale, as there are only 24 hours in a day, regardless of effort or desire.

The author argues that this crucial distinction is not taught in formal education or often shared by employers, suggesting a deliberate omission.

“They don’t teach you this at school. For a reason.”

Squibb contends that this lack of education perpetuates a cycle where individuals remain tethered to their jobs, unable to build long-term wealth effectively.

Three Paths to Owning Your Time

According to Simon Squibb, individuals seeking to break free from the time-for-money trap have three primary avenues:

1. Own Equity Where You Work: This involves having a stake in the company you are employed by, aligning your financial success with the company’s growth.
2. Seek Employment Offering Equity: If direct equity is not an option, Squibb suggests looking for roles in companies that provide equity as part of their compensation package.
3. Build Your Own Business: This is presented as the most challenging but ultimately most rewarding path, offering the potential for perpetual income.

Squibb elaborates on the long-term implications of these choices, contrasting the trajectory of self-employment with traditional employment.

“Working for yourself is hard at first and gets easier if you do it right. Working for someone else is easy at first and gets harder every single year.”

He further explains the end goals of each path: one leads to owning your time, while the other results in owing your time to an employer for an extended period.

Embracing the Challenge for Long-Term Gain

The core message from Simon Squibb’s post is a call to action: embrace the difficulty of building something of your own or securing equity now, rather than settling for the perceived ease of traditional employment that may lead to long-term financial constraints.

As Squibb concludes:

“Do the hard thing now.”

This sentiment underscores his belief that short-term discomfort in pursuing ownership or equity is a necessary investment for achieving lasting financial freedom and control over one’s time.