Imagine a world where time is currency—literally.

You pay with minutes to ride the bus, eat a meal, or grab a coffee.

When your timer hits zero? That’s it—you die.

This is the striking concept behind the movie In Time, where the rich live forever, and the poor race against the clock just to survive another day.

It’s a dystopia, but one that feels strangely familiar.

What if this concept weren’t just science fiction?

While we don’t trade minutes for coffee in the literal sense, the fiat system quietly drains our time through inflation and debt.

Let’s explore what the movie In Time can teach us about life’s true value—and how Bitcoin might hold the key to reclaiming what’s ours.

Limited Time, Unlimited Money

Our lives are finite.

Each of us has a limited number of seconds, minutes, and years—and every moment spent is a moment we can never reclaim.

Most of the world operates on the belief that “time is money.”

But if this is true, how can one be scarce while the other is not?

There’s a leak in the system, and it’s draining our future.

Every day, your hard-earned money—the reward for the time and energy you invest in your work—leaks away. Not through a ticking clock, but through the invisible drain of monetary inflation.

The result?

A future that feels just out of reach.

In today’s fiat-driven world, currency is infinite, printed endlessly by centralized governments.

This creates a disconnect between the scarcity of time and the infinite supply of money:

• Monetary Inflation: Like water dripping through cupped hands, inflation steadily erodes the value of your earnings. You’re forced to “use it before you lose it,” making long-term goals harder to achieve.

• High Time Preference: Instant gratification takes over. Immediate consumption is prioritized over saving or investing for the future, and patience becomes a forgotten virtue.

• Credit Card Culture: Debt becomes the norm, allowing people to live beyond their means. But short-term convenience often leads to cycles of financial stress and instability.

This cycle doesn’t just affect our finances—it reshapes how we live.

We’re trapped in a system that prioritizes consumption over creation. It leaves us feeling stuck in the present with no clear path to the future.

But what if you could break free?

What if our money was aligned with the true scarcity of life itself?

Bitcoin flips the script. Let's talk about it.

Life and Death

If we could live forever, what would be the point of doing anything?

Why pursue a meaningful career or prioritize your health and fitness when you could simply start 1,000 years from now?

Life is precious because it’s scarce.

Without death, life itself would lose its value. Every second we have is finite, irreplaceable, and invaluable. Yet, the fiat monetary system fails to reflect this reality.

Instead of respecting scarcity, it creates money infinitely, draining the value of our earnings and eroding the meaning of our time and effort.

Bitcoin fixes this.

With a fixed supply of 21 million coins, Bitcoin respects scarcity. It mirrors the finite nature of life, giving money true value for the first time.

Fiat makes time feel cheap; Bitcoin makes it meaningful.

By aligning money with scarcity, Bitcoin preserves not only your wealth but also the energy and effort you’ve poured into earning it.

The Bitcoin Perspective

Adopting Bitcoin as the ultimate battery for your time and energy requires a shift in thinking.

The worldview of instant gratification and high time preference, shaped by conventional thinking, does not work in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin demands a paradigm shift: a mindset rooted in low time preference and long-term thinking.

This means:

• Choosing saving over spending.

• Practicing patience over instant gratification.

• Making decisions with second- and third-order consequences in mind.

For example, I’ve started questioning every financial decision I make. Instead of upgrading to the latest gadget or splurging on things I don’t need, I ask myself: “Will this still matter in 10 years?” Most of the time, the answer is no—and that’s money I can save in Bitcoin instead.

This shift isn't only financial; it’s cultural and philosophical.

Low time preference is the ability to prioritize the future over the present. It means delaying gratification today to reap greater rewards tomorrow.

Bitcoin rewards those who think long-term. With its deflationary nature, it encourages saving and investing for the future.

But this mindset doesn’t stop at money—it extends into how you approach life, work, and relationships.

I’ve learned to invest my time in meaningful relationships, the kind that build trust and last for years, rather than chasing quick validation or superficial bonds.

Adopting a low time preference mindset brings profound benefits:

• Financial stability becomes achievable as you set aside money and create a safety net, making you less vulnerable to financial shocks.

• The quality of your work improves as long-term thinking fosters craftsmanship and meaningful contributions, rather than chasing quick profits.

• Relationships deepen as long-term thinking helps you build trust and invest in meaningful connections.

• Personal growth accelerates as patience and planning lead to better habits, skill development, and a more intentional life.

It’s not just about money—it’s about rewiring how you think. The more I align my decisions with long-term goals, the clearer my path becomes.

Every satoshi saved and every intentional choice feels like a step closer to true freedom.

Shifting to a low time preference mindset requires deliberate effort. Start by questioning your assumptions about money and success.

Are you prioritizing short-term pleasures over long-term value?

Unlocking The Perspective

Shifting to a low time preference mindset takes effort, but it’s entirely achievable with deliberate steps. Here’s how to get started:

• Question Your Beliefs: Reflect on how you view money, success, and time. Are you living with true intention, or are you caught in a cycle of instant gratification? Recognize that your time and energy are finite and deserve to be preserved.

• Start Saving in Bitcoin: Allocate a percentage of your income to Bitcoin. Treat every satoshi saved as a piece of your life’s energy stored securely for the future.

• Think Long-Term: Before making a decision, consider how each choice might impact you 5, 10, or even 20 years down the line. Use this perspective to guide your actions, ensuring they support and align with your long-term goals.

• Prioritize HODLing Over Trading: Trading Bitcoin for short-term gains mirrors a high time preference mindset. HODLing, on the other hand, aligns with patience and trust in Bitcoin’s long-term value.

• Practice Self-Custody: Move your Bitcoin off exchanges and into your own hands. This is how you preserve your wealth with peace of mind. I teach this in The Bitcoin Self-Custody Triangle.

By taking these steps, you align your actions with a worldview that values patience, discipline, and long-term thinking.

The Bitcoin perspective is not just about preserving wealth; it’s about reclaiming control over your life and living with true intention.

Reframing Time and Value

Bitcoin gives people a fair shot.

It ensures that the time and energy they pour into their work are no longer devalued by an endlessly expanding money supply.

But thriving in this system requires more than just a financial shift—it demands a new worldview.

The Bitcoin perspective isn’t just a financial revolution; it’s a cultural and philosophical shift. It calls on us to reframe how we value time, money, and life itself.

Just as death gives life meaning, Bitcoin's scarcity brings back value to our money.

When money works as it should, people no longer have to act as financial experts just to survive.

Instead, they can focus on their craft, their passions, and their purpose. This opens the door to something extraordinary—a world where innovation, artistry, and meaningful creation thrive, unburdened by the constant struggle to stay ahead of inflation or debt.

Bitcoin rewards patience and discipline, allowing people to align their choices with their long-term goals. More than anything, it’s a reminder not to waste the most finite resource of all: time.

The Bitcoin perspective challenges us to see beyond the immediate and to build a future rooted in intention, freedom, and value.

Think about it.

— Robin