If you’re like most people, you probably unwind with TV shows, follow your favorite sports teams, or keep up with the latest celebrity gossip. Maybe you know every Oscar-winning film from the last decade or can rattle off March Madness predictions like a seasoned sportscaster.
That kind of trivia makes for fun conversations at parties, but let’s be honest—it rarely moves the needle in your life or business.
Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, tend to approach their downtime a little differently. For them, leisure doesn’t mean shutting off their brains. It’s more like shifting gears. The activities they gravitate toward are often aligned with building something—something that offers a return, whether that’s financial, social, or intellectual.
Think about it: Someone with a love for real estate doesn’t just binge HGTV. They’re browsing Zillow, analyzing market trends, or even driving through up-and-coming neighborhoods looking for undervalued properties. Someone with a knack for numbers might be deep into stock charts, options strategies, or following financial influencers on YouTube who break down the market with data-backed insights.
If they love art, they’re not just admiring the brushstrokes—they’re attending auctions, investing in up-and-coming artists, or learning how to buy fractional shares of famous works. Their hobby becomes a hustle.
And if they are a people-person, they’re not just going to parties—they’re attending networking events, joining mastermind groups, and nurturing relationships that might open doors down the line.
The core mindset here is value creation.
While most people use leisure time to escape, entrepreneurs often use it to engage—with ideas, people, trends, and passions that eventually circle back into their business ecosystem. This doesn’t mean they never relax—it just means even their relaxation has a purpose.
Here’s the catch: this isn’t just about money. It’s about alignment. When your passions overlap with productive pursuits, the line between work and play gets blurry—in a good way. You’re building your future while doing things you genuinely enjoy.
That’s the secret sauce: It doesn’t feel like a grind. It feels like flow.
You don’t have to become a workaholic to take advantage of this. Start small. Love wine? Learn about wine investing. Obsessed with gaming? Explore the creator economy or game development. Got a green thumb? Start a garden blog or flip plants on Etsy. The tools are out there. Your leisure can be leveraged.
The key is intention. Passive entertainment has its place, but so does purposeful play. What could you build if you used just 20% of your free time more deliberately?
So let me ask you—how are you spending your leisure time, and what kind of return is it giving you?
