THE DREAM IN ACTION

Today I read in the Wall Street Journal about the increasing cost of babysitting. The avg. cost of babysitting has rising 39% percent over the last 5 years, much faster than the general inflation rate.  The cost of a babysitter is not something I hope to have to worry about for some time but it got me thinking… 

A few weeks ago I was reading an article in Fast Company Magazine about how it is increasingly difficult for employers to hirer and retain young employees.  The article discussed how young employees ranked more vacation time as the most important benefit they look for, this also got me thinking…

Out of my closest 6 friends in Chicago, 6 out of 6 of us have taken international vacations less than a year out of college.  These were expensive vacations to the other sides of the world and although the value of a dollar becomes more and more clear, the value of our time and the value of experiences seems to be winning out.

These articles and this fact have really got me thinking about the truth behind the mantra “time is money”.  What is the value of time? Just how much money should you get for your time?  How has that ratio changed in recent years?  Well, I’d argue that the time to money ratio has increased a great deal over the last 5-10 years.  The youth of yesterday is entering the workforce and this demographic considers their time and their out of work experiences (like travel) very valuable. 

Employers are finding it tougher to retain young employees and finding it very effective to reward with more vacation because this generation has realized that there is more to life that “work”. It’s cliché but there is a whole world out there and we want to see it!  Babysitters are demanding more money because unless they get paid good money they’d rather be with their friends and family, adding to there lives with great, memorable experiences.  My friends and I are traveling because we realize that there is no better time than NOW to do these things.  Eventually you have to get serious with life, but eventually is not right now.  You better get those experiences while you can because soon those spur of the moment decisions aren’t yours to make.  I’m not saying that life becomes un-fun or less sporadic, it just becomes a bit tougher to have those experiences.

So, get after it, get out there, enjoy now as much as you can.  Travel, take time off work, enjoy very little responsibility because like I said before, it doesn’t last forever.