PUBLIC WARNING: Gold Coast Entrepreneur, 72, Warns the World It Is Giving Away Its Most Valuable Asset — Time

time is your most valuable asset

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The world is facing a growing problem that few people are stopping to calculate: how much of their lives they are giving away to endless online content.

"You can lose money and earn it again. You can lose a business and build another. But you cannot replace time, and most people have no idea what it is costing them.”

— wayne sedawie

GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA, November 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- After 52 years in business, Wayne Sedawie says the growing battle for human attention, driven by social media, digital platforms and artificial intelligence, is costing people something they can never replace.

The world is facing a growing problem that few people are stopping to calculate: how much of their lives they are giving away to screens, social media and endless online content.

At 72, after 52 years in business, international entrepreneur Wayne Sedawie is issuing a public warning that the world's most valuable asset is being consumed every day.

Time.

"You can lose money and earn it again. You can lose a business and build another. But you cannot replace time.

"This isn't just an Australian problem. It's happening worldwide, across every generation. We are allowing technology and digital platforms to compete for our attention, and most people have no idea what it is costing them.

"We need to wake up and start treating time as seriously as we treat money."

The Growing Battle for Human Attention

Sedawie believes the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is making an existing problem considerably worse.

Having built businesses through the development of the internet, Web 2.0 and the emergence of Web 3, he initially saw technology as an opportunity to give people greater control over their knowledge, creativity and ability to earn online.

However, he believes the explosion of AI-generated content is creating a new challenge: an endless supply of material competing for people's limited attention.

"Have you noticed how many online videos run for 25 to 35 minutes when the useful information could be delivered in five?

"People start watching one video, then another, then another. Before they realise it, an hour or more has disappeared.

"AI makes it cheaper and easier to produce enormous amounts of content. But nobody is creating more hours in the day.

"We need to ask ourselves whether technology is giving us more freedom or simply finding new ways to consume our time."

Sedawie believes this issue will become increasingly important as AI becomes embedded in everyday life, particularly for younger generations growing up surrounded by digital platforms.

The Numbers Should Make Us Stop and Think

According to DataReportal's Digital 2025 Global Overview Report, the typical internet user spent approximately 2 hours and 21 minutes a day on social media.

That equates to approximately 36 full days every year.

Over ten years, that is almost an entire year of someone's life.

Sedawie believes people should consider what they could achieve if even part of that time were redirected.

"Imagine having another 36 days every year. What could you do with that time?

"You could learn a new skill, spend more time with your family, improve your health, build a business or simply enjoy life.

"I'm not telling people to abandon social media. I use it myself. But there is a difference between deciding when to use technology and allowing technology to decide for you."

At 72, He Still Starts Work at 5:30 am

Sedawie says his views on time are based on personal experience, not theory.

After 52 years in business, he continues to operate five companies across e-commerce and property.

He starts his day at 5:30 am, prepares breakfast, walks five minutes to work and begins by checking sales and cash flow across his online businesses.

He works through each business systematically, protects his mornings from unnecessary interruptions, exercises throughout the day and takes a 20-minute afternoon rest.

He also makes time for new ideas and creative projects.

"I don't work because I need the money. I work because I genuinely love building businesses.

"I get a buzz out of creating something, solving problems and seeing customers around the world benefit from what we do.

"At 72, I could slow down, but why would I stop doing something I enjoy?

"The important thing is that I choose how I spend my time. I don't want somebody else making that decision for me."

A Worldwide Wake-Up Call for the Next Generation

Sedawie believes time management should become an important part of education worldwide.

Schools teach children mathematics, financial literacy and budgeting, but he questions why there is so little emphasis on teaching them how to manage their most limited resource.

He believes young people need practical education in:

Managing digital distractions and social media.

Planning their days and setting priorities.

Setting goals and turning them into achievable tasks.

Understanding the relationship between time, money and financial security.

Recognising the difference between productive activity and simply being busy.

Making time for health, family, learning and personal development.

"If we can teach children to budget money, why can't we teach them to budget time?

"This isn't about making children work harder. It's about helping them understand the value of their lives and giving them the skills to make better decisions."

A Seven-Day Challenge: Find Out Where Your Time Goes

Sedawie is challenging people worldwide to conduct a simple seven-day time audit.

He wants people to record what they actually do throughout the day, using 30-minute blocks.

The purpose is to identify how much time goes towards meaningful activities and how much disappears through scrolling, unnecessary interruptions and digital distractions.

"Most people can tell you how much money they earn, but ask them where their last seven days went and I doubt many could give you an accurate answer.

"Don't guess. Write it down. You might be surprised by what you discover.

"Even taking back one hour a day gives you 365 additional hours a year. That's more than 15 full days."

His challenge is simple: identify one activity that consumes unnecessary time and replace it with something that adds lasting value.

Success Beyond Money

Sedawie's philosophy is closely connected to his book, Bubble Genius: Business Secrets from a Self-Made Millionaire for Success Beyond Money.

Through more than five decades in business, he says he has learned that financial success alone does not guarantee a rewarding life.

Time for health, family, learning, creativity and enjoying everyday experiences matters just as much.

He also believes people should reconsider unnecessary spending and find practical ways to reduce household costs without sacrificing quality of life.

"People spend so much of their lives trying to earn more money and buy more things. But how often do they stop and ask whether those things are actually making them happier?

"I have spent 52 years building businesses. If there is one lesson I would pass on, it is this: don't become so busy trying to make a living that you forget to live.

"Money can be earned again. Businesses can be rebuilt. Property can be replaced.

"But yesterday is gone forever.

"We need a worldwide wake-up call. Start valuing your time before you run out of it."

About Wayne Sedawie

Wayne Sedawie is a Gold Coast, Australia-based entrepreneur with 52 years of business experience across e-commerce and property. He is the founder of several international online auction businesses, including OpalAuctions, GemRockAuctions and Coins Auctioned, connecting buyers and sellers across international markets.

He is the author of Bubble Genius: Business Secrets from a Self-Made Millionaire for Success Beyond Money, which explores business, wealth creation and building a life that goes beyond financial success.

wayne j sedawie
Treasureauctions
+61 418 151 227
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