The Best Advice Mark Cuban Got — And How You Can Use It Too
Written by
J. Arky
Edited by
Gary Dudak
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Mark Cuban did not accumulate a net worth of $5.7 billion without an early pep talk from his elders. According to CEO Today, the entrepreneur of tech, pharma and athletics recently told the outlet that at the age of 14, his dad imparted this wisdom to him: “Time is your most valuable asset … His time was never his own. He wanted me to create my own path.”
That might sound simple, but Cuban credits his father — who he says worked 60 hours a week during his career — for giving him the best advice he ever got. This is how Cuban utilized it to build an empire — and how you can as well.
Humble Beginnings
“Mark Cuban’s rockiest ride — his father’s admonishment that teaches Cuban’s money and expertise, money is our most valuable asset — echoes loudly through his work across such a spectrum of entrepreneurial experiences,” said Dennis Shirshikov, an educational leader with Fullmind Learning.
Shirshikov highlighted that Cuban took his father’s advice to heart in the early days of his career, “where he’d make strategic moves based on the long-term value of his time rather than the immediate financial payout.”
Keeping Your Eye on the Prize
“Perhaps the most illustrative case for this was Cuban building MicroSolutions,” Shirshikov noted. “Instead of quick and easy gross margins, he focused on a number of tasks and investing for the long term, then profitably sold the firm.”
Shirshikov tracked how Cuban later exercised that principle once more with his involvement in Broadcast.com, being way ahead of the curve in recognizing “…that the value of streaming and internet-based platforms would grow, and so directing much of his personal time and financial capital into ventures that would yield exponential rather than linear returns for the time he might invest, rather than linear hourly earnings.”
The Big Payoff
Does this time utilization strategy apply to the average worker currently? In some ways yes and in other ways no, according to Steve Selengut, owner, founder and CEO at The Retirement Income Coach, LLC
“Time is certainly a valuable asset … if you know how to use it productively,” he said. “But my experience is that multiple sources of income, many of which require practically none of your precious ‘time’, are even more valuable.”
Selengut added, “My assets produce 10% or more (more than $1,000 per day) and I don’t have to lift a finger once the portfolios are in operation … and I’m no billionaire! You can do the math. I’m getting paid while I travel, sleep, play 18 holes, or do a beach walk with my wife. $1K a day is more than most normal people will spend, so keeping pace with inflation is not a problem either.”
However, Selengut pointed out that only applies, of course, if you have the time.
“You can ‘trade’ the securities for reasonable profits and grow the income even more,” continued Selengut. “So time is certainly a valuable asset, but not nearly as valuable as growing streams of income that allow you to make the most out of every available minute.”
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