Don't expect work-life balance if you want to be rich

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Early in his career, investment adviser John D. Spooner would go into the office for a few hours during the weekend.

It wasn't a common practice. On Saturdays and Sundays, hardly anyone was parked in his company's garage.

But, he writes, "I always noticed when I did my weekend overtime that every car in the garage was the most expensive, high-end, top-of-the-line vehicle there could be."

In "No One Ever Told Us That: Money and Life Lessons for Young Adults," he explains that there's a clear lesson to be learned from this:

If you want the good life for you and your family, there are trade-offs. One of them may be that you have to show up to work, when no one else is there. No one sees you. Except you. Because you're the one who has to make the donuts (which is what I call going to work).

Spooner says he often hears young adults talk about wanting a work-life balance.

And while that's feasible, it won't make you rich.

He writes, "What this will turn out to be in the real world, if you want this balance, is that you will almost never be able to set yourselves free economically."

Nearly all the billionaires he's known have been completely dedicated to their careers, he adds. "They don't or didn't really care about you or anyone else, wives, children, or friends as much as they cared about the hunt."

Of course, you don't have to work on the weekends, Spooner says. "You can choose other paths. Simpler ones. But sooner or later, the biggest problem in the long run is money. Or rather, the lack of it." So before you choose the option that affords you the most free time, he advises, take a look at what you might be giving up. 

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