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When I was in my early twenties, I was determined to make a fortune. Like everyone else my age (or at least the ones at the ambitious university I attended, aka rookies!), I viewed riches as the quick fix to happiness. So I set my sights on money over passions that excited me (which, coincidently, would actually lead to more money than just blindly chasing money — but that’s another story).

Two experiences in college, however, deeply changed my opinion, if not cliche and shortsighted approach to adulting and fulfillment.

The first was a fellow classmate with blonde, curly hair. I don’t remember his name, but we sat by each other and briefly become friends that semester. One day he showed up and announced that his older brother had just decided to quit his high-paying job as a prestigious tech attorney in San Francisco to become a — wait for it… low-paying elementary school teacher! To make matters worse, he had to return to school to earn a bachelor’s in education before he could teach. His seven year (and expensive) law-degree wouldn’t cut it.

Why would anyone do that? I thought to myself. The man had riches already. Why would he abandon riches and incur more expenses on a second degree for a low-paying job to teach no good kids in California basic arithmetic, language arts, and world history? Did he know something I didn’t?

The second story involved high-earning investment bankers from New York. One of my business professors profoundly taught my class how many entry-level investment bankers working 80 hours a week for six figure salaries actually made less money per hour than a 40 hour a week manager at McDonalds with no degree. Not only did these “blinded by riches” lemmings make less per hour than a fast food manager, but they had less time to spend their smaller incomes. Madness, I thought!

I didn’t want to make the same mistakes these people had. If time is money, and time is priceless, then I better value time over money. It took me a few more years of trial and error, but I’m happy to report I eventually learned this lesson before I turned 30.

Why does this matter? It matters because the ​two biggest regrets of the dying​ are, “I didn’t spend enough time with the people I love,” and “I worked too much and missed out on life.” Had I not learned these life-saving lessons in college, I fear I would have repeated the all-too-common mistake of chasing money over an entire lifetime instead of more rewarding relationships and free time.

But I didn’t just apply this thinking to money. I applied it to my relationship with needy and addictive technologies that rob of us of our ability to spend more time with people we love and on more creative and adventurous endeavors. It ain’t easy, but it is possible. We just need to ask ourselves if the status quo is working or not.

If you feel trapped, the good news is it’s never too late to make a change, become someone else, and prioritize relationships, time, and our true passions over all else. Which brings me to the other top regrets of the dying, which all involve letting fear of the future, uncertainty, and risk-taking to prevent us from living in the present.

As we head into the holidays, I ask you: Who (and what) do you want to spend your time on?