[jsmeaton]

He didn't though. For one, patio no longer does consulting work. For two, just because he is capable of earning $90k in 3 weeks doesn't mean that's how much that specific 3 week period of time is worth to him.

Imagine this scenario. I consult at $1000/h. On the weekend I need my lawn mowed which will take an hour. Should I do it myself, or pay someone $100 to do it? I guess you could make the argument that if I was consulting all weekend then I could pay someone else to do it. But the likely scenario is that I'm going to carve out an hour of personal time and do it myself.

If Bill Gates drops $1000 on the sidewalk it does make sense for him to pick it up (though whether or not he'd notice..). The 3 seconds it takes him to pick it up isn't actually costing him anything, even though his passive income/worth might be more than $1000/3-seconds.

Opportunity cost is only a cost if there is an opportunity foregone. And sometimes you might come out financially worse, but in a better position strategically, socially, or personally.

[StavrosK]

I really don't understand this argument, sorry. People tell me I should clean my house, but if the cleaner charges $20/hr and I charge $50, and I don't enjoy cleaning more than twice as much as I enjoy my work, why would I clean my house myself?

This is an actual situation that happens to me, by the way. I don't understand why people suggest this, it makes no sense. Bill Gates also ostensibly enjoys picking up his money more than not, so it's no trouble for him.

[clarky07]

I also charge a high hourly rate, and yet I still clean my house and mow my lawn. As it happens, I don't have enough work to fill up 24 hours of each. Also, I don't have any desire to work all 24 hours of each day. Why is this so hard for people to grasp?

Just because Patrick can charge 30k a week, doesn't mean he necessarily had a client lined up to give him 30k that week. Also, when these numbers get thrown around, there is legwork that happens ahead time that isn't actually getting counted (at least not when you state 30k/week rate). It might be a month of discussion and emails and phone calls and proposals and then 30k for a week of "work". Also, sometimes those emails, and phone calls, and proposals get turned down and that time ends up being $0/hour.

Finally, HE DOES CONSULT ANYMORE! He's the CEO of a new startup, and going forward he likely wants to focus his energy on that, and not on BCC.

[mistermann]

Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

[icebraining]

Oh, we should be so lucky!

[jsmeaton]

> People tell me I should clean my house, but if the cleaner charges $20/hr and I charge $50, and I don't enjoy cleaning more than twice as much as I enjoy my work, why would I clean my house myself?

You don't have to do it yourself. You might decide that it's worth paying someone else $20/hr so that you can do something else with your time, whether that is working, spending time on a hobby, or just sitting in front of the tv relaxing. One of those 3 scenarios is better financially, the other 2 are worse off financially but may be better for your health or happiness.

FWIW, I also use the services of a cleaner every couple of weeks because I judge that a worthy expense.

I was trying to make the point that not every hour of every day is "worth" exactly the same financially. My very last sentence was key, and probably should have been more prominent.

> And sometimes you might come out financially worse, but in a better position strategically, socially, or personally.

[viraptor]

That works assuming you have your week completely full, every time. There's no time in the whole week where you don't sleep or have some other activity for a total of 30min. Honestly, I don't think that's the case for majority of people. (but that doesn't mean I think you shouldn't pay for a cleaner instead - that's just personal choice)