Welcome back, thanks for subscribing, I’ll try to publish a piece / article every two weeks. For now, read the article below, it’s about life energy, how to analyze it and how to make the most with what you learn, enjoy.

This writing isn't just about tech or entrepreneurship. It's about something more significant: life energy.

When you take away titles, paychecks, and industries, every job comes down to the same exchange: time x energy for money. 

Are you getting yours? 

Before I left my last job, I spent weeks asking myself that question. The pay was great, but was it worth the hours spent in meetings that drained me? The late nights responding to BS emails? 

Let's break it down. Let's compare two of the most lucrative career paths out there—tech and consulting—and analyze how much life energy each truly demands. In it I’ll share what you can expect from both based on my experience. 

In the world of tech, total compensation typically includes:

A solid mid-career tech professional as an example:

Let's look at consulting:

For a mid-career consultant (manager level):

Now the real question: How much life energy do you spend earning that paycheck? Think about that. These are two of the highest-paying career paths. You can take others and do the same kind of math.

In tech, the average workweek hovers around 45–55 hours, with the  occasional everything-is-on-fire times. Roughly 2,500 hours per year. But not all those hours feel equal. Some are spent on creative problem-solving or interesting projects, while others are drained in meetings that could've been emails.

Consulting is a different beast. Workweeks often exceed 60–70 hours, particularly in the early years. That's over 3,500 hours per year. And let's be honest: Much of that time is spent on client deliverables, presentations, or endless iterations of decks that may or may not ever see the light of day, which is fucking NUTS to me. You mean to tell me we just spent….. You know what nvm. Continuing. 

Let's calculate the hourly rate:

On paper, the consultant makes a solid income. But when you divide it by the life energy spent, the picture shifts. The tech professional earns more per hour and has more time to spend on life outside work.

Numbers are only part of the story. What about the energy you don't get back?

In tech, the pace is demanding but often sustainable. There's room to breathe, think, and grow. Roles offer flexibility—remote work, generous PTO, and even sabbaticals. The life energy you spend is significant, but it leaves enough in the tank for family, hobbies, and personal growth.

Consulting takes a toll. The hours are long, the travel is grueling, and burnout is real, I experienced it twice.. Many consultants talk about the "up or out" culture and the relentless push to keep climbing. The trade-off often feels less like an exchange and more like a sacrifice.

So Why does any of this matter?

It matters because money isn't just money. It's stored life energy. It's the time and effort you've poured into earning it converted into a currency you can spend on what matters.

When you buy something—a pair of Jordans, a trip, a meal,—you're not just spending dollars. 

You're spending the hours, meetings, late nights, and stress it took to earn those dollars.

The goal isn't to earn the most money. It's to spend the least amount of life energy on the most fulfilling things.

When I left, I wasn't just leaving a job. I was recalibrating my relationship with life energy.

Tech paid me well, but I wanted more than money. I wanted time to reflect, to build, to live. I wanted to wake up every morning knowing that the hours ahead were mine to shape.

Anything I do and every challenge I tackle feels like an investment—not just in my business but in the life I'm creating.

So here's my question for you:

At the end of the day, money is just a tool. Life energy is the real currency. How you spend it defines not just your career but also your happiness, health, etc.

Ask yourself:

You have all of the time in the world (until you die of course) to recalibrate and redefine the terms of your exchange.

You don't have to live in a grind that depletes you. You can choose a path that energizes you, aligns with your values, and gives you more than it takes.

You can choose freedom.

And when you do, you'll realize the most valuable thing you've ever owned isn't money, it was your time.

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