--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time is our most precious currency. So…" description: "\"Time is our most precious currency. So it's significant that we are being encouraged, wherever possible, to think of our attention not as expenditure b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/mohsin-hamid-798_alchemy_time-is-our-most-precious-currency-so-it_3223765.jpg" --- # Time is our most precious currency. So it's significant… ![“Time is our most precious currency. So it's significant that we are being encouraged, wherever possible, to think of our attention not as expenditure but as consumption. This blurring of labor and entertainment forms the basis, for example, of the financial alchemy that conjures…” quote by Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/mohsin-hamid-798_alchemy_time-is-our-most-precious-currency-so-it_3223765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/mohsin-hamid-798_alchemy_time-is-our-most-precious-currency-so-it_3223765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/mohsin-hamid-798_alchemy_time-is-our-most-precious-currency-so-it_3223765.jpg) > “Time is our most precious currency. So it's significant that we are being encouraged, wherever possible, to think of our attention not as expenditure but as consumption. This blurring of labor and entertainment forms the basis, for example, of the financial alchemy that conjures deca-billion-dollar valuations for social-networking companies.” [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attention is a scarce resource; treating it as consumption reshapes work and leisure, driving massive tech valuations. **In simple terms:** Treat attention like a consumable resource. Key Takeaway Guard your attention. Themes attention economy technology value labor Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - social media use - work focus - media consumption - investment decisions Key Concepts behavioral economics digital culture Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what to consume with your attention? - What are the risks of treating attention like money? A Different Perspective Viewing attention as consumption may oversimplify complex motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Attention Expenditure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-expenditure-6070553/) [Bases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bases/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Consumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/) [Currency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currency/) [Currency Significant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currency-significant-6070554/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Expenditure Consumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expenditure-consumption-6070555/) [Financial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial/) [Financial Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial-alchemy-3183526/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Networking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/networking/) [Significant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significant/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social networking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-networking/) [Think Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-attention-1668652/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Valuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuation/) ## Related quotes > [One of the reasons we think this market will start to run out of gas at some point is that you've essentially created as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-simon/one-of-the-reasons-we-think-this-market-will-start-to-run-out-of-gas/) [Scott Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-simon/) > [I think, sometimes, if you get too much attention, then everybody watches you more closely, and they make these broad generalizations about you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-adams/i-think-sometimes-if-you-get-too-much-attention-then-everybody/) [Neal Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-adams/) > [I've always wanted to have fun and always wanted to have, I think attention, in a way, where I'm making someone laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-stalter/i-ve-always-wanted-to-have-fun-and-always-wanted-to-have-i-think/) [Megan Stalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-stalter/) > [Arthur Miller said one of my favorite lines ever, that he had the mother say to her two sons about a very unstable father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/arthur-miller-said-one-of-my-favorite-lines-ever-that-he-had-the/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) > [When you think about it, attention-deficit order makes a lot of sense. In this country there isn't a lot worth paying attention to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/when-you-think-about-it-attention-deficit-order-makes-a-lot-of-sense/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“I texted back: Did you make it home? A few minutes passed while I stared at my phone. Yeah. Fam showering me with affection.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/i-texted-back-did-you-make-it-home-a-few-minutes-passed-while-i/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [I think we have the attention span of a gnat. You know, with cell phones and Twitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-daniels/i-think-we-have-the-attention-span-of-a-gnat-you-know-with-cell/) [Jeff Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-daniels/) > [But these dear boys and girls--there is, something to be made out of them. If now they yield themselves to Christ they may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/but-these-dear-boys-and-girls-there-is-something-to-be-made-out-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Asset values and earning power are the dominant factors affecting the valuation of a controlling interest in a business. Market price, which governs valuation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/asset-values-and-earning-power-are-the-dominant-factors-affecting-the/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Nothing turns off an investor more than when an entrepreneur comes in with a ridiculous valuation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-harrington/nothing-turns-off-an-investor-more-than-when-an-entrepreneur-comes-in/) [Kevin Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-harrington/) > [Valuations are always much-debated. I try to center on what is the value to us. Is it solving a problems for us? If it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/valuations-are-always-much-debated-i-try-to-center-on-what-is-the/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [I don't think I have ever in my managerial time really given my valuation its proper consideration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-neill/i-don-t-think-i-have-ever-in-my-managerial-time-really-given-my/) [Martin O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-neill/) > [I do not believe that a moral philosophy can ever be founded on a scientific basis. … The valuation of life and all its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-do-not-believe-that-a-moral-philosophy-can-ever-be-founded-on-a/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [This sentiment of self-contempt is a frequent one in young people of both sexes. Their valuation of themselves varies as much as the barometer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/this-sentiment-of-self-contempt-is-a-frequent-one-in-young-people-of/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [When a new idea comes our way, we must put it on our mental scales and weigh it carefully before deciding its value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/when-a-new-idea-comes-our-way-we-must-put-it-on-our-mental-scales-and/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) ## More by Mohsin Hamid > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. 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As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/it-seemed-to-me-then-and-to-be-honest-sir-seems-to-me-still-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the uncertain future becomes the past, the past in turn becomes uncertain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-uncertain-future-becomes-the-past-the-past-in-turn-becomes/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the machine of a human being is turned on, it seems to produce a protagonist, just as a television produces an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-machine-of-a-human-being-is-turned-on-it-seems-to-produce-a/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-think-fiction-allows-you-to-inhabit-new-domains-and-it-s-you-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. 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I believe it in my fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-m-not-a-representative-of-pakistan-i-m-just-an-example-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“end of a couple is like a death, and the notion of death, of temporariness, can remind us of the value of things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/end-of-a-couple-is-like-a-death-and-the-notion-of-death-of/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [NYC doesn't have a big sign saying "You must love diversity and the rights of all people." And that's not what makes you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/nyc-doesn-t-have-a-big-sign-saying-you-must-love-diversity-and-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) [Explore all 361 Mohsin Hamid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## More Alchemy quotes > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [As in the instances of alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and other such popular creeds, political economy, has a plausible idea at the root of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/as-in-the-instances-of-alchemy-astrology-witchcraft-and-other-such/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“...the world is only the visible aspect of God. And that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-is-only-the-visible-aspect-of-god-and-that-what-alchemy/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Art is Alchemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-nicolai/art-is-alchemy/) [ELLE NICOLAI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-nicolai/) > [“You must learn to bend to open windows, my friend. That is why artists and dancers are closest to God. They clench their chests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/you-must-learn-to-bend-to-open-windows-my-friend-that-is-why-artists/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Every human being has gone through a tragedy of sorts. 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But actually creating it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/everybody-can-close-their-eyes-picture-a-dream-house-or-a-perfect/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [“She pushed the book towards them, and Harry and Ron read: The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/she-pushed-the-book-towards-them-and-harry-and-ron-read-the-ancient/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [For I am every dead thing In whom love wrought new alchemy For his art did express A quintessence even from nothingness, From dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/for-i-am-every-dead-thing-in-whom-love-wrought-new-alchemy-for-his/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Arya Maloney updates the basis and practice of transpersonal psychology by using the spiritual principles of India's masters and the transformational alchemy inherent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/arya-maloney-updates-the-basis-and-practice-of-transpersonal/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [“To follow our bliss and dive deeply into the mysteries of fragrance, color, and taste; blend with the magnificent diversity of mother nature; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prana-gogia/to-follow-our-bliss-and-dive-deeply-into-the-mysteries-of-fragrance/) [Prana Gogia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prana-gogia/) > [ I want to explain the new alchemy \[in the "From Earth, Air, Fire, and Water to a New Vision of Mind and Time"\], which… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-alan-wolf/i-want-to-explain-the-new-alchemy-in-the-from-earth-air-fire-and/) [Fred Alan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-alan-wolf/) > [We swung over the hills and over the town and back again, and I saw how a man can be master of a craft,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/we-swung-over-the-hills-and-over-the-town-and-back-again-and-i-saw/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [We find that alchemy has to do with magicians or magic and may even have roots in the Chaldean people who lived in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-alan-wolf/we-find-that-alchemy-has-to-do-with-magicians-or-magic-and-may-even/) [Fred Alan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-alan-wolf/) [Browse all 349 Alchemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Time is our most precious currency. 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