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The Post-Economic Trap: Why Rich Friends Are Trading Great Hours for Useless Dollars

Subject: Your wealthy friends are making the dumbest trade of their lives (and you might be too)

Here's something that will make you uncomfortable.

Tim Ferriss has friends who've already earned the last dollar they'll ever spend. But they're still working 80-hour weeks.

He calls it "trading great hours for useless dollars."

Think about that phrase for a second. Great hours. Useless dollars.

Most people never reach this trap. They're stuck in survival mode forever. But some do. And when they do, something weird happens.

They can't stop.

The Moving Goalpost Problem

Bloomberg did a study on ultra-high net worth people. From $50K to $50 million net worth, the answer was always the same:

"How much do you need to feel secure?"

Always double what they currently had.

$50K wanted $100K. $1M wanted $2M. $25M wanted $50M.

It never ends.

Sean from My First Million calls this an "imagination problem." People haven't spent time thinking about what else they want. So they just move the goalpost on money.

But there's a darker side Tim doesn't talk about much.

The Social Wealth Trap

Here's what happens when you start making real money.

You begin hanging out with people who have more money than you.

Natural human behavior kicks in. You want what they have. Their toys. Their goals. Their lifestyle.

So you trade up again. Richer circles. Bigger ambitions.

Now you're comparing jets instead of cars. Yellowstone Club memberships instead of country clubs.

Tim's solution? Spend time with world-class people who make no money.

Elite archers. Concert pianists. Olympic-level athletes in obscure sports.

People who've mastered something and seem more content than the rich folks chasing their next phantom whatever.

The Post-Economic Shift

Sean has a term he stole from Tim: "post-economic."

It doesn't mean you have all the money you want. It means you no longer make decisions based primarily on money.

When you hit this point, one question becomes critical:

What are the right things to want?

Most people never ask this. They just keep optimizing for the same metric that got them here.

The 20-20-20 Club

Sean created his own version of this. Like baseball's 30-30 club (30 home runs, 30 stolen bases), but for life design:

• Lose 20 pounds

• Add $20M to his portfolio

• 20 "off-script" days

That last one is the interesting part.

Off-script days are when you throw away your routine completely. Force some adventure. Some serendipity.

Examples:

• Hired a professional basketball trainer for 3 hours

• Read two Harry Potter books in one weekend

• Tried to make a song from scratch

Because here's the thing. Any extreme strength carries an extreme weakness.

If you're great at routine and optimization, you might wake up one day and realize all your days blend together.

You're content. But you're not growing.

The Kids, Dogs, and Dead People Rule

Tim's trainer has a rule: "Kids, dogs, and dead people."

That's who you want to spend time with.

Dogs have it figured out. Unconditional love. Play. Loyalty.

Kids interrupt workouts to play obstacle courses. They integrate play into everything.

Dead people (meaning: timeless wisdom from books) over timely news and social media noise.

It sounds simple. But when did you last spend a full day with any of these three categories?

The Creativity Gym

Tim has something he calls a "creativity gym."

45 minutes a day. Getting creative reps. Like physical exercise, but for your brain.

Digital painting on an iPad. Archery with Olympic coaches. Making board games with legendary designers.

Not for money. Not for optimization. For the thing itself.

The Real Question

Here's what this all comes down to.

Most people spend decades learning how to get what they want. But they never go back and ask: "What do I want now?"

The thing you wanted at 22 probably isn't the thing you should want at 35.

But if you never ask the question, you'll keep optimizing for the old metric.

Trading great hours for useless dollars.

The scary part? This trap isn't just for rich people.

You can trade great hours for useless validation on social media. Useless busy work at a job you hate. Useless activities that make you feel productive but don't move you forward.

Your Next Move

Tim writes down what he wants from life. Every year. Stream of consciousness. Then he edits it like a first draft.

Most people are only the author of their thoughts. They're never the editor.

Try this: Write what you actually want right now. Not what you wanted last year. Not what you think you should want.

What do you want?

Then ask: Are your current decisions moving you toward that? Or are you just trading great hours for something useless?

The answer might surprise you.

P.S. - Tim still uses almost everything from the 4-Hour Work Week. The principles work. But they're necessary, not sufficient. Getting more efficient at the wrong game is still the wrong game.